ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

The Modern State of Israel was founded in 1948. Since its founding, Israel has gained land and returned it, won it and lost it. The Israeli state today corresponds roughly to the United Kingdom of Israel from the time of Saul, David, and Solomon. It is situated in the Eastern Mediterranean and is slightly larger than the state of New Jersey, yet slightly smaller than Lake Michigan.

Moving clockwise from the north, Israel borders Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. To the West, lies the Mediterranean Sea.

The legal status of the Palestinian territories is a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To be brief, there’s no Palestinian State, it is comprised of territories. A territory is an area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state. There are 2 Palestinian territories within the state of Israel: the West Bank, Gaza Strip. Both territories were occupied or gained after the 6-Day War.

The West Bank and Gaza have governing bodies that work on behalf of the Palestinians, but they are limited in their prerogatives and authority. For example, Palestinians do not maintain control over their borders, airspace, or territorial waters; it is coordinated with Israelis.

The Golan Heights and East Jerusalem were both annexed after the 6-Day War and remain under Israeli control. Palestinians residents of Golan and East Jerusalem hold Israeli residency permits, some are full citizens of Israel, others citizens of Jordan, and still others were issued West Bank ID cards by the Israeli military.

The Palestinians in The West Bank and Gaza are citizens of a Palestinian State, but again Palestine is not sovereign.

The majority of the residents in the Palestinian Territories are Arabs Muslims. Outside of the territories, Arabs who were incorporated into the state of Israel in 1948 are known as Israeli Arabs.

According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics,

There are roughly 9,727,000 inhabitants of Israel, not including the Palestinian territories. Of that, over 7 million, or 73.5 percent are Jewish, just over two million or 21% are Arabs, and 534,000 or 5.5% are of other minorities like non-Arab Christians, Baha’i Samaritans, and Karaite Jews.

In 2022, the population by religion was roughly 18% Muslim (1,728,000), 2% (184,400) Christian, and 2% Druze (149,400). The rest were Jews.

The Palestinian Territories are more homogenous. There are 5.35 million people living in the Palestinian Territories. 3.19 million resided in the West Bank and 2.17 million in the Gaza strip.

Islam is the majority religion in the territories, with the majority of Palestinians adhering to Sunni Islam. 92% of West Bank residents identify as muslim while in Gaza its 99%. The remaining inhabitants adhere to a Christian denomination.

One way the West Bank differs from Gaza is that Israelis are permitted to live in the West Bank and form settlements. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered part of Israeli territory by the Israeli government, and they are subject to Israeli civil law. The settlers are full Israeli citizens and not subject to the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, which involved the evacuation of all Israeli civilians and the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the territory.

Israeli demographer Arnon Soffer recently made headlines when he claimed that Jews make up only 47% of Israel if the territories are included.

Maps:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-map-of-israeli-settlements-that-shocked-barack-obama

https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Maps/Pages/Israel-Size-and-Dimension.aspx

https://iris.org.il/size-comparison-maps/

Israel demographics:

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/441219-ISRAEL-2022-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jews-now-a-minority-in-israel-and-the-territories-demographer-says/

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/latest-population-statistics-for-israel

https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/Statistics/Pages/Generators/Time-Series-DataBank.aspx?r=ea3bd53b-b8ef-4c4a-8f6f-8eb5e8cdb84f&uptodate=1

Palestinian Demographics:
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-arab-citizens-israel

https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Press_En_InterPopDay2022E.pdf

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2019/12/palestinians-jerusalem-jordan-israel-citizenship.html

IDF Photo:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_The_Evacuation_of_Neve_Dekalim_Hotel_(6).jpg