What would the maps of Palestine and Israel look like if the latter illegally annexed the Jordan Valley? What will remain of the historical land of Palestine for the Palestinians?
The map of Palestine is often described as having become like a "Swiss cheese" piece. Over the past century, it has been the target of nicks and seizures, and has been flooded with hundreds of settlement blocs and Israeli military checkpoints.
With the advent of the new round of continuous occupation and land grabbing policy, the map itself will become dismembered. As it was supposed that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on the first of this July the confiscation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea, but he waited to announce the move until he agreed with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The term "append" is usually used when a country unilaterally crosses its borders and annexes the territory of another country. The fact that the State of Israel annexed the Jordan Valley means that it now officially considers it part of its territory.
"International law is clear on this point. The UN Charter says that annexation and acquisition of lands are prohibited," said Michael Link, a human rights expert in the Palestinian Territories.
To illustrate the implications of the annexation process on the ground and how they are applied, Al Jazeera Net displays a variety of historical and modern maps that are useful in clarifying the issue, and to clarify the size of the extensive Israeli seizures on the Palestinian lands, even in contradiction with the agreements it signed with the Palestinians.
Historical maps
1917 Palestine in the pre-British era
During the First World War, Britain concluded a number of controversial agreements as part of its endeavor to win the various groups present at the time in the Middle East. Among the most dangerous agreements was the Balfour Declaration, which includes a solemn pledge "to create a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine."
On October 31, 1917, the British forces seized the lands of Palestine from the hands of the Ottoman Sultanate, ending an Islamic rule over 1,400 years. In the year 1920, the British mandate in Palestine started and lasted for 28 years. Before this mandate, the percentage of Jews did not represent more than 6% of the population of Palestine.
1918-1947 Jewish immigration from Europe
The British Mandate from 1920 to 1930 provided facilities for Jewish immigration from Europe. The percentage of Jews in the total population increased from 6% in 1918 to 33% in 1947.
1946-1920 Jewish immigration to Palestine The
British statistics estimated the number of Jews, the majority of whom came from Europe to Palestine between 1920 and 1946 at about 376,415 immigrants. Jewish immigration to Palestine reached its climax in 1935, when it reached 61,854 immigrants, according to the available statistics on the Population Census Survey of Palestine from the Stafford Institute - p. 185.
1947 International Partition Plan (Resolution 181)
The United Nations formed after the Second World War presented a proposal stipulating that 55% of historic Palestine be allocated to establish a Jewish state, and next to it a state for the Arabs over the remaining 45%, with Jerusalem subject to international guardianship.
The Palestinians rejected the proposal because it stripped them of their lands, bearing in mind that 94% of historic Palestine was under their control and they made up 67% of the population. This proposal did not find a way to implement it.
1948 Displacement of Palestinians
With the end of the British Mandate on May 15, 1948, the first Arab-Israeli war was ignited. The Zionist gangs displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians, and laid their hands on 78% of the land. The remaining 22% was distributed between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The fighting between the warring parties continued until January 1949 when armistice agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and the armistice line of 1949 was known as the Green Line, which became practically a watershed between Israel and the West Bank. This line is also referred to as the pre-1967 borders, as Israel occupied the remaining Palestinian lands this year.
1967 Israel occupies Gaza and the West Bank
during the 1967 war. Israel occupied all of the historic land of Palestine, and deported 300,000 of its residents from their homes. Israel also captured the Syrian Golan Heights in the north and the Sinai Peninsula in the south. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty stipulating the withdrawal of the latter's army from the occupied Egyptian territories.
1995-1993 Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords
represented the first peace agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The agreement stipulated the formation of the Palestinian Authority as an administrative entity whose task is to manage Palestinian affairs and control their internal security and civil affairs in the areas under their self-rule for a transitional period of five years.
Accordingly, the West Bank was divided into areas (A), (B), and (C).
Areas A: It started with about 3% of the area of the West Bank and extended until 1999 to reach 18% of it.
Areas B: represent 22% of the West Bank. While the Palestinian Authority handles health, education, and economic management in both areas, it leaves external security control in the hands of Israel. That is, the latter reserves the right to enter it at any time.
Zones C: represent 60% of the area of the West Bank. The Oslo agreement provided for its extradition to the Palestinian Authority. Instead, Israel retained full control of it, including security, planning and building matters. It was never handed over to the Palestinian Authority.
Current maps
What is the size of Israel and Palestine?
The land area of the Palestinians and those subject to Israel combined is 26,790 square kilometers. It is equivalent to seven areas of Syria, which amount to 185 thousand and 180 square kilometers, and twice and half the size of Lebanon's area of 10 thousand and 450 square kilometers.
On the Palestinian side, the occupied lands in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip cover 6020 square kilometers, while Israel covers, according to the Green Line, an area of 20,000 and 770 square kilometers.
Occupied Palestinian Territories The Palestinian territories have been
under Israeli military occupation since 1967, making it the longest occupation in recent history. The offline and occupied territories include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.
The Gaza Strip is a small coastal strip bordering Egypt on its southwestern side, and it is crowded with more than two million residents.
The West Bank is located to the east, and it is located west of the Jordan River, which gave it this name. East Jerusalem is located on the eastern side of the Green Line of 1949. 3 million people reside in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements
are Jewish population centers built on Palestinian land in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The number of settlers ranges between 600 and 750 thousand who live in 250 settlement settlements (130 licensed by the occupation and 120 without a permit).
From the standpoint of international law, the settlements are illegal, and they violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying power from transferring its population to the areas under occupation.
During President Donald Trump's term, the United States announced in 2019 that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are "not necessarily illegal", which was considered a dramatic shift in US policy adopted in this field for decades.
Settlement growth (graph)
The population growth rate among settlers in the West Bank and Jerusalem is higher than in Israel. The number of residents in these occupied areas is 10% of the total Israeli population of 6.8 million.
Although they are outside the known borders of Israel, these settlers have Israeli citizenship, as well as government support that contributes to reducing their cost of living.
In 2020, the number of registered settlers in the West Bank was 463,535, while in East Jerusalem they numbered 220,200.
The Separation Wall
Since 2002, Israel has built a wall that stretches 700 kilometers.
Israel says it was created for security purposes. Instead of following the internationally recognized 1967 borders known as the Green Line, 85% of this wall is located inside the West Bank.
The wall limits the freedom of movement of the Palestinians. Part of it also occupies part of the lands of Jerusalem.
Israeli Checkpoints
More than 700 checkpoints have been established on the West Bank, including 140 checkpoints. These checkpoints impose more restrictions on the movement of Palestinians. More than 70,000 Palestinians who hold Israeli work permits are forced to pass through these checkpoints daily.
Palestinian refugee camps
1.5 million Palestine refugees live in 58 of the officially recognized camps inside Palestine and in its neighboring countries. The total number of refugees registered in these areas reaches 5 million, the majority of whom reside outside the camps. The Palestinian refugee dilemma is the oldest dilemma that it has not found a solution in the world.
History of the Israeli annexation Israel
has consistently devoured the Palestinian territories and expanded settlement construction, and in the 1980s, it carried out two large unilateral annexations:
East Jerusalem 1980
Israel occupied East Jerusalem at the end of the June 1967 war. In 1980 it passed a law stipulating the legality of its annexation process to East Jerusalem.
Golan Heights 1981
Israel decided to annex the Syrian Golan Heights unilaterally in 1981. It used the term "applying Israeli sovereignty" over the annexed lands.
From the point of view of international law, annexation and acquisition of land are considered illegal. In 1981, the United States recognized the annexation of the Golan, as it was the only country in the world to take such a step.
Jerusalem .. the divided city
Jerusalem is a city divided according to international standards. West Jerusalem has been considered an Israeli territory since 1948, and Jews have become the majority of its population. Palestinians represent a majority in West Jerusalem, which was occupied in 1967. Since its annexation in 1980, Israel has considered East Jerusalem part of its territory. However, this measure did not gain international recognition, and for this reason, Israeli maps do not show East Jerusalem as part of the occupied West Bank.
Old Jerusalem Old
Jerusalem, located within East Jerusalem, contains some of the holy sites of Muslims, Christians and Jews. In 1981 the United Nations ranked it on the World Heritage List. In this area of less than one square kilometer, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Buraq Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are located.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
The campus of the Al-Aqsa Mosque includes the tribal chapel and Dome of the Rock. It is known to Muslims around the world as the Noble Sanctuary, and Jews call it the Temple Mount. The total area of the campus is equivalent to 20 football fields.
The occupied Syrian Golan Heights
Israel occupied in 1967 the equivalent of 70% of the Golan Heights. In 1974, the United Nations sent a number of its soldiers to monitor the ceasefire between Syria and Israel. In 1981 Israel was annexed unilaterally. In 2019, the United States became the only country to recognize the annexation decision.
What is the Jordan Valley?
The Jordan Valley accounts for 30% of the West Bank, and it includes half of its arable land. The narrow strip of 105 km long links the West Bank to Jordan, which is the lowest point on the surface of the earth. It includes the Dead Sea, which is 790 meters lower than the surface of the earth. 65,000 Palestinians and 11,000 settlers live in this area.
Israel annexed the Jordan Valley
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to annex the Jordan Valley on July 1, 2020, but the annexation was postponed due to internal and external considerations related to the American administration. The annexation plan generally aims to:
A- Tightening the siege on the Palestinians.
B- The West Bank has only one international border with Jordan. If Israel annexes the Jordan Valley, the entire West Bank becomes besieged by Israel. For the Palestinians, there is no Palestinian state without the Jordan Valley.
C- Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley receive 18 times the share of Palestinians in the West Bank. Palestinians are deprived of wells, forcing them to buy water from Israeli tanks. The annexation of the Jordan Valley means severing the Palestinian connection to the Jordan River.
D - Accelerating settlement construction
Demarcation or construction in the West Bank currently requires a permit from the Israeli Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister. This may take months or even years. If the Jordan Valley becomes part of the territory of Israel, then any construction process becomes a pure local matter.
Trump's vision
In January 2020, US President Donald Trump announced the Middle East peace plan to resolve a seven-decade-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He described the plan as a century deal.
The plan includes an illustrative map that allows Israel to annex parts of the West Bank while giving Palestinians control over 15% of historic Palestine.
The annexation of the Jordan Valley .. between Trump and Netanyahu
According to the report of the Israeli Peace Now organization, the area that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to annex in the Jordan Valley is greater than the area specified in the Trump 2020 plan.
According to the accounts of the organization, Israel plans to lay its hands on an area of 1236 square kilometers of the Jordan Valley. Whereas, the Trump plan presented last January allows Israel to control an area of 964 square kilometers of the Jordan Valley.
Gaza Strip Siege
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli naval and air blockade. Since 2008, Israel has launched three wars on the Strip, during which thousands of people, the majority of them civilians, have been killed.
In 1948, 100,000 people lived in the Gaza Strip. Now about two million people live, 64% of whom are refugees.
Where are the Palestinians today?
The Palestinian Statistics Authority reports that the number of Palestinians currently stands at 13 million, half of whom reside in historical Palestine, which includes 3 million in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, two million reside in Gaza, and 1.9 million are considered Israeli citizens. 5.6 million Palestinians reside in the Arab countries, while 700,000 others live around the world.
Where are the Jews today?
The Israeli Bureau of Statistics reports that the number of Jews around the world is 14.7 million, among whom 6.7 million live in Israel, 5.7 million in the United States, 450,000 in France, 329,000 in Canada, 292,000 in the United Kingdom, 180,000 in Argentina, and 165 Alpha in Russia.
International recognition
On July 31, 2019, 138 out of 193 countries and entities within the United Nations recognized Palestine. As of December 2019, 162 out of 193 countries recognized Israel.