Borders At its most basic level, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains a dispute about land. Accordingly, the issue of territory is a central focus of permanent status negotiations between the PLO and Israel, implicating almost all of the other issues on the agenda. The location of the sovereign borders of the state of Palestine will determine its political viability, its access to natural resources, its capacity for economic development, and its ability to defend itself from external threats. The Historic Compromise The Palestinian position on borders has undergone a significant transformation over the last 50 years and represents an enormous - and painful - compromise on the part of the Palestinian people. When Palestine was first provisionally recognized as an independent nation at the end of World War I, it encompassed all of what is presently recognized as the State of Israel, as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Its population, according to the 1922 census, was 87.4% Arab - Muslim and Christian - and 11% Jewish. Although Palestine's demographic composition changed significantly over the course of the Mandate as a result of the Zionist movement's efforts to colonize the country and the British Mandatory Government's initially liberal Jewish immigration policies, the population remained predominantly Arab through the end of the Mandate. In 1948, the population of Palestine was estimated to be 2,115,000 persons - 1,415,000 were Muslim and Christian Arabs, and 700,000 were Jewish. (See enclosed Maps under Maps Section) In February 1947, in the face of increasing Arab-Jewish tensions, Great Britain returned the Palestine Mandate to the United Nations, which established a committee to evaluate the situation in Palestine and make recommendations regarding the future of the territory. In August, a majority of the Committee recommended a partition plan that divided Palestine into three territories - an Arab state, a Jewish state, and an internationally administered enclave around Jerusalem . The Partition Plan provided for the establishment of independent Arab and Jewish States and conditioned international recognition of each State upon its establishment of effective independence and its declared commitment to guarantee the protection of religious sites and minority rights. The Partition Plan, however, never came into effect. Although, after some initial hesitation, the Zionists declared their willingness to accept the recommendations, the Palestinian Arabs rejected them out of hand, arguing that the United Nations had no right to allocate the majority of their territory to the Zionists, who, in March 1947, claimed possession of less than seven percent of the land in Palestine and ownership of only 5.66% and represented less than a third of the territory's population. The United Nations General Assembly nevertheless endorsed the partition resolution on November 29, 1947. Almost immediately thereafter, full-scale war broke out between the Arabs and the Zionists. On May 14, 1948, after establishing control over all of the territory allocated to the Jewish state (and over some allocated to the Arab state), a provisional Zionist national council announced the establishment of the State of Israel on the portion of Palestine allocated by the Partition Plan to form the Jewish State. Israel captured more territory allocated to the Arab state in fighting after its independence. By the time armistice agreements were concluded in 1949, Israel's boundaries encompassed 77.94% of the territory of Palestine. The West Bank fell under Jordanian control, and the Gaza Strip fell under Egyptian control. Then, in June 1967, Israel invaded Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, ultimately occupying the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip (as well as Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Syria's Golan Heights). The West Bank and the Gaza Strip together constitute only 22% of historic Palestine, today which is the focus of Palestinian-Israeli permanent status negotiations. The Palestinian Position The PLO's position regarding the issue of borders is simple: the international borders between the states of Palestine and Israel shall be the armistice cease-fire lines in effect on June 4, 1967. Both states shall be entitled to live in peace and security within these recognized borders. Accordingly, the PLO calls for the establishment of a boundary commission to delimit and demarcate the international borders, based on the Jordanian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement of April 3, 1949, the Egyptian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement of February 24, 1949 and other relevant documentary and testimonial evidence. The International Legal Consensus The PLO's position is supported by United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, the internationally recognized Palestinian right to self-determination, and other firmly established principles of international law. Since the signing of the Declaration of Principles in 1993, Israel and the PLO have consistently agreed to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. Resolution 242 emphasizes the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and calls for the withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the 1967 war. The Security Council's injunction is unambiguous: All of the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 were occupied by war; Israel is legally prohibited from acquiring (i.e., annexing) any territory occupied by war; accordingly, Israel must withdraw from all territory so occupied. In addition to its plain language, the resolution's drafting history indicates that the Security Council had no intention of endorsing Israeli annexation of any part of the West Bank or Gaza Strip. For example, the Indian ambassador to the Council stated in no uncertain terms that "the principle of the inadmissibility of force is absolutely fundamental to our approach and we cannot accept or acquiesce in any decision that leaves out territories occupied by military conquest from the provision of withdrawal." The ambassadors of a number of other States expressed similar views, including the U.S.S.R., France, Nigeria, Bulgaria, and Mali. The Palestinian position on Resolution 242 is also fully in accord with the important precedent set by Israel's peace treaty with Egypt and Jordan, which was also based on the resolution. Under Article 1 of Annex 1 of the Treaty, Israel withdrew both its armed forces and its civilians from the territory it occupied in 1967. The people of Palestine are entitled to no less. By virtue of their universally-recognized right to self-determination, the Palestinian people possess sovereignty over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and, accordingly, have the right to establish an independent State on that territory. As noted above, Palestinian acceptance of the June 4, 1967 borders represents an extraordinary compromise. Any further Israeli incursions into Palestinian territory will result in widespread disillusionment and disaffection and could strike a fatal blow to the peace and security that the parties are working now to forge.