Land for peace

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Land for peace is a general principle proposed for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict by which Israel would relinquish control of all or part of the territories it conquered in 1967 in return for peace with and recognition by the Arab world. The formula appeared for the first time in UN Security Council Resolution 242; it has since then become the main guideline of American and international policy regarding the conflict.

Land for Peace was first used as the basis for Israel's peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, which included an Israeli retreat from the Sinai in exchange for economic assistance to both sides from the United States and a peace treaty with Egypt. The international community supports the same principle for the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. In the Camp David Accords of 1978, the establishment of a Palestinian self-governing authority is envisioned; at this time however, Jordan was regarded as a representative of the Palestinians. Numerous statements by Israeli officials indicated that much of the Israeli establishment wanted to follow a similar course with Jordan and the West Bank. However, Jordan withdrew its claims to the West Bank and subsequently signed a peace treaty with Israel that included only minor border adjustments. The principle reappeared in the Oslo accords with the PLO. The hand-over of land in return for peaceful co-existence is a feature of most Proposals for a Palestinian state.

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Land for peace did not work as a strategy in the Gaza Strip, as Palestinian militants fired rockets at Israel soon after Israel gave the land there to the Palestinians.

The attacks from the Gaza Strip are continuing today [1], and the area is now being used to smuggle weapons into Israel illegally [2]. Additionally, tunnels are being built under the boarder for use in the smuggling of weapons and terrorists [3]. It is presumed that Hamas is the main terrorist organization behind the smuggling and tunnels, though other terrorists groups are likely involved [4].

Within Gaza, the Palestinians have continually fought with each other [5]. Though a series of truces between Hamas and Fatah, the two major political groups in the Palestinian Authority, have failed, a new co-operative government has been formed [6].