President Obama has declared that “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” But what are Israeli requirements for “secure” borders? This study, which has been updated to 2014, presents a comprehensive assessment of Israel’s critical requirements for defensible borders.
U.S. Policy Has Not Sought Israel’s Return to the 1967 Lines The United States has historically backed Israel’s view that UN Security Council Resolution 242, adopted in the wake of the Six-Day War on November 22, 1967, does not require a full withdrawal to the 1949 armistice lines (sometimes loosely called the 1967 borders). Moreover, in addition to […]
UN peacekeeping forces from the Philippines after their abduction and release by Syrian rebels. The troops belonged to the UN Disengagement Force (UNDOF)that was stationed on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. Israel’s Experience with International Peacekeepers During the 1967 Six-Day War, I was a soldier serving in Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade of […]
Missile launch from Gaza Israel Has Sought Palestinian Demilitarization Since Oslo The State of Israel’s requirement that a prospective Palestinian state be demilitarized has been in effect since the 1993 Declaration of Principles (DOP), which served as the basis for the Oslo process and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA). However, the term “demilitarization,” as it […]
Defensible Borders to Ensure Israel’s Future Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan Israel Has a Natural and Internationally Recognized Right to Defensible Borders Israel’s fundamental right to defensible borders is grounded in the strategic and legal circumstances that emerged immediately after the Six-Day War, in which Israel captured the West Bank of the Jordan, Sinai, and the Golan Heights. The […]
Libyan jihadist with SA-7 shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft missile. These missiles from the Libyan arsenal proliferated across the Middle East and reached the Gaza Strip. Israel’s long-standing diplomatic goal of obtaining defensible borders in any future peace settlement has become even more compelling in recent years. Historically, since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israeli governments have repeatedly insisted that the […]
I. Introduction If an alien from another planet visited the United Nations and listened to its debates, read its resolutions, and walked its halls, the extraterritorial observer would logically conclude that a principal purpose of the world body is to censure a tiny country called Israel. Beginning around 1967, the full weight of the UN […]
Iran is behind recent attacks on Israel’s northern and southern borders.
BDS promotes values that are in opposition to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The U.S. and Russia convened the Geneva 2 peace conference to counter al-Qaeda in Syria.
There is considerable evidence that the Palestinian leadership has claims to Israeli territory within the 1967 lines.
Iraq, 210 miles from Israel, is planning to modernize its ground forces with new armored and mechanized formations.
On May 26, 2013, the Iranian regime officially began to recruit Basiji fighters to fight with Assad’s troops in Syria. The Basij are the popular militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and serve as a reserve formation. Known for their loyalty to the Iranian regime, they were used extensively for putting down anti-regime […]
On the second anniversary of the civil war in Syria, nothing on the horizon foretells a ceasefire.
As we speak, the key rejectionist groups who are united in opposition to Bashar Assad’s government in Syria are meeting in Morocco. This is the fourth summit convened by the Syrian opposition-in-exile, which for the last 18 months has had limited success in achieving the ultimate goal of removing the Alawite regime from power.
