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The West Bank's Area C: Israel's Eastern Line of Defense

(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen - This study explores the strategic-military implications of the establishment of a Palestinian state along the pre-June 1967 lines. Its central thesis is that the creation of such a state, on the heels of the IDF's total withdrawal from the West Bank, will not only deprive Israel of defensible borders but will almost certainly lead to the advent of a terrorist entity like the one created in Gaza. Since 1996, 90% of the Palestinians in the territories have not lived under Israeli occupation but rather under the Palestinian Authority's rule (in Gaza, since 2007, under Hamas rule). In other words, the current dispute between Israel and the Palestinians is not about ending the "occupation." The demilitarization of a future Palestinian state is a pipedream, as evidenced by the resounding failure to demilitarize Gaza despite the PLO's commitment to this step in a number of signed agreements. The writer served in the IDF for 42 years, commanding troops in battle on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts.
2019-04-24 00:00:00
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