Green Line (Israel)

The Green Line or 1949 Armistice border^[1] is the demarcation line set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between the armies of Israel and those of its neighbors (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It served as the de facto borders of the State of Israel from 1949 until the Six-Day War in 1967, and continues to represent Israel’s internationally recognized borders with the two Palestinian territories: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.^[2]^[3]

The Green Line was intended as a demarcation line rather than a permanent border. The 1949 Armistice Agreements were clear (at Arab insistence)^[4] that they were not creating permanent borders. The Egyptian–Israeli agreement, for example, stated that "the Armistice Demarcation Line is not to be construed in any sense as a political or territorial boundary, and is delineated without prejudice to rights, claims and positions of either Party to the Armistice as regards ultimate settlement of the Palestine question."^[5] Similar provisions are contained in the Armistice Agreements with Jordan and Syria. The Agreement with Lebanon contained no such provisions, and was treated as the international border between Israel and Lebanon, stipulating only that forces would be withdrawn to the Israel–Lebanon border.

The Green Line is often referred to as the "pre-1967 borders" or the "1967 borders" by many international bodies and national leaders, including former United States president Barack Obama,^[6] Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas,^[7] the United Nations (UN) in informal texts,^[8] and in the text of UN General Assembly resolutions.^[9] The name comes from the green ink used to draw the line on the map during armistice talks.^[10] After the Six-Day War, the territories captured by Israel beyond the Green Line came to be designated as East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. These territories are often referred to as Israeli-occupied territories. The Sinai Peninsula, which was also captured at that time, has since been returned to Egypt as part of the 1979 peace treaty.

^ Custodians and Redeemers: Israeli Leaders' Perceptions of Peace, 1967–79. Amnon Sella, 1986
^ "Netanyahu Coalition to Recognize, Fund W. Bank Settlements Lacking Official Status". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
^ "Human rights situation in the OPT - Sp. Rapporteur (Dugard) - Report, SecGen note". Question of Palestine. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
^ Bernard Lewis (1993). Islam in history: ideas, people, and events in the Middle East. Open Court Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-8126-9518-2.
^ Egypt Israel Archived 2014-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Armistice Agreement UN Doc S/1264/Corr.1 23 February 1949
^ "Obama calls for Israel's return to pre-1967 borders" By Tom Cohen, CNN, May 19, 2011 [1]
^ "Palestinian leader Abbas affirms hope for state in pre-1967 lines" BBC News, 2 November 2012, [2]
^ "The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to (...) support the peace process for the achievement of the two-State solution on the basis of pre-1967 borders..." [3] Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
^ for example, "A/RES/67/120 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan" Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2012 [4]
^ Green Line: the name given to the 1949 Armistice lines that constituted the de facto borders of pre-1967 Israel — "Glossary: Israel", Library of Congress Country Studies

[1] Custodians and Redeemers: Israeli Leaders' Perceptions of Peace, 1967–79. Amnon Sella, 1986

[2] "Netanyahu Coalition to Recognize, Fund W. Bank Settlements Lacking Official Status". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-08-18.

[3] "Human rights situation in the OPT - Sp. Rapporteur (Dugard) - Report, SecGen note". Question of Palestine. Retrieved 2023-08-18.

[Lewis-4] Bernard Lewis (1993). Islam in history: ideas, people, and events in the Middle East. Open Court Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-8126-9518-2.

[EgyIsr-5] Egypt Israel Archived 2014-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Armistice Agreement UN Doc S/1264/Corr.1 23 February 1949

[6] "Obama calls for Israel's return to pre-1967 borders" By Tom Cohen, CNN, May 19, 2011 [1]

[7] "Palestinian leader Abbas affirms hope for state in pre-1967 lines" BBC News, 2 November 2012, [2]

[8] "The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to (...) support the peace process for the achievement of the two-State solution on the basis of pre-1967 borders..." [3] Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine

[9] r example, "A/RES/67/120 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan" Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2012 [4]

[10] Green Line: the name given to the 1949 Armistice lines that constituted the de facto borders of pre-1967 Israel — "Glossary: Israel", Library of Congress Country Studies

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