Here are a few maps that will make my book (and the conflict in general) much more intelligible.
First, here’s a map of the Middle East, with Israel circled in blue:
Next, a schematic map of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories — the West Bank and Gaza Strip:
Here’s a topographical map of Israel and the Palestinian territories. The West Bank occupies the central hills while Israel is made up of the Galilee in the north, the central coastal plains (except for the Gaza Strip), and the Negev Desert in the south:
Above is a close-up of the West Bank. Down the central spine of the West Bank are the Palestinian cities of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. To the northwest are Tulkarem and Qalqilia, and in the desert north of the Dead Sea, there’s Jericho, where it’s always summer.
For a high-definition .pdf version of this map, click here.
This map is a little tricky, but let me explain, because it’s very important. Under the Oslo Accords of 1993, the Palestinian territories were divided into three areas: Area A (17%) falls under the nominal security and civil control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), although the Israeli army reserves the right to enter at will. Area B (24%) falls under Israeli security control, with the PA responsible for some civil affairs. Area C (59%) falls under total Israeli civil and military control.
Area C contains virtually all Israeli settlements and settler roads, large buffer zones around them, most of the Jordan River valley, and all of the Dead Sea coast. Areas A and B are divided into many ‘islands’ separated from one another by Israeli-controlled Area C. According to the Oslo Accords of 1993, Area C was supposed to transition to Palestinian control within five years. Instead, the Israeli government continues to fill Area C with settlements and to restrict Palestinian access to it.
So this is a detailed map of the settlements and of Areas A, B, and C. Dark red patches are Palestinian cities and villages, orange and tan patches are Areas A and B, and the rest of the territory is Area C. Dark blue patches are Israeli settlements while teal and pale blue areas are settlement municipal boundaries and jurisdictional areas. (Hebron, with its green and brown areas, is its own special case and will be discussed in a forthcoming blog post.) Source: B’Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories).
The settlements are usually built on hilltops (so they can keep an eye on everything in their area) near fertile land, aquifers, and/or sites that are holy to all three major monotheistic religions. Control of water is particularly important, as the groundwater is being taken out of the Holy Land faster than it’s being replaced. Israel has control over virtually all of it — some of the largest settlements built deepest into the West Bank are built over major aquifers — and they often take water out of the West Bank and sell it back to the Palestinians at low volumes and inflated prices. Palestinians find it nearly impossible to get a permit from the Israelis to build much-needed wells on their own land.
Thus it is a common sight to see Palestinians rationing drinking water in the summer while settlers top off their swimming pools and water their lawns. The settlement enterprise is, among other things, an attempt to make Israeli control over West Bank water permanent.
Amnesty International recently published a report about Israel’s denial of basic water rights to Palestinians. Read the BBC’s summary of it here.
This is a picture of the Wall Israel is building. The black lines are sections of the Wall already finished as of February 2007 while the red lines are sections that are approved and/or under construction.
Whenever the Wall’s route deviates from the Green Line (the border between the West Bank and Israel), it is being built on occupied Palestinian land and is illegal according to international law. Its illegality was confirmed by the International Court of Justice in 2004. All the blue dots and splotches are settlements, and the white areas are settlement areas behind the Wall that are totally controlled by Israel. Much of it Palestinian private property that was illegally expropriated for the settlements or for Israeli-only roads.
This map does not include the more than 500 internal checkpoints and roadblocks that further break up and isolate each part of the West Bank from the other — sometimes going so far as to make it impossible or illegal for people to leave their villages by car at all, forcing them to walk to a main road and try to find a taxi — but this gives you a small idea of what Palestinians go through.
Here’s a close-up of the Wall in the Qalqilia and Jayyous area. Jayyous is the village — the grey blotch — just under the yellow box that says “Nofei Zufin.” I have spent many happy days there. As you can perhaps make out, the Wall in this area isolates or destroys most of Jayyous’ land. All of Jayyous’ seven water wells are isolated by the Wall. A settlement called Zufin has already been built illegally on Jayyous’ land, and another settlement called Nofei Zufin is in the process of being built. Farmers find it increasingly impossible to get permission from Israel to work their land that falls on the other side of the Wall while settlements (the blue blotches and their light blue areas of planned expansion) continue to expand all over the West Bank. As you can see, the entire city of Qalqilia is surrounded by the Wall, which in this area is a 25-foot-tall concrete structure punctuated by sniper towers.
According to the UN Relief and Works Agency, “Jayyous and neighboring Falamyeh were well known for their intensively-irrigated agriculture which produced vegetables and citrus fruit, together with figs, apricots, loquats, mangoes and almonds. There are also thousands of olive trees… Four thousand trees were uprooted for the Barrier and 125 acres of land leveled. The Barrier isolates some 9,000 dunums [2,250 acres], representing between 75 to 90 percent of its fertile land. Also isolated are 120 greenhouses belonging to Jayyous and Falamyeh and six water wells. Jayyous now shares water with Azzun from a well located between the two villages, which covers less than 50 percent of its needs, with water rationed to two hours per day in summer.”
Above is a picture of the Wall around Qalqilia, from the inside. Note the sniper tower just above and to the right of the men in the cart. Israel’s justification for all of this is ‘security.’
But an article in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper stated on January 2, 2006, “The security fence is no longer mentioned as the major factor in preventing suicide bombings, mainly because the terrorists have found ways to bypass it. The fence does make it harder for them, but the flawed inspection procedures at its checkpoints, the gaps and uncompleted sections enable suicide bombers to enter Israel… The main reason for the sharp decline is the truce in the territories, the security service said… The fact that Hamas, in general, stopped engaging in terror activities changed the picture… Its focus on the political arena and the preparations for the Palestinian parliamentary elections have limited its active involvement in terror to a large extent.”
This was before the world refused to recognize the results of the democratic Palestinian elections of January 2006, with disastrous results. But the important point is, even the Israeli security services know in their hearts that there is no military solution to this conflict. You can’t ghettoize, arrest, shoot, and bomb Palestinians into submission forever. Any reasonable solution to this conflict has to be political, negotiated in good faith, and based on international law.
Aside from this, if anyone looks at these maps and doesn’t believe that at least one purpose of the Wall is to grab as much Palestinian land with as few Palestinians on it as possible, please leave a comment and explain. I would be very interested to hear your reasoning.
Above is a map of the Wall in East Jerusalem. This picture represents more pain and heartache than I can summarize in a paragraph, but I’ll explain as well as I can. The grey area is Israel (including Israeli West Jerusalem) while the white area is the occupied West Bank. The tan areas are Palestinian cities and villages (Ramallah in the north, Palestinian East Jerusalem in the middle, Bethlehem in the south). The purple areas are Israeli settlements, all built illegally on Palestinian land. Many of these are being expanded and new ones are being built. The red line is the planned route of the Wall.
Notice how the Wall weaves around to isolate as many Palestinian areas as possible from East Jerusalem while seizing as many settlements and as much land as possible. Bethlehem has been particularly devastated. Not only does the Wall surround Bethlehem and isolate most its land, turning it into a ghetto, the Wall and settlements also break the ancient link with its sister holy city Jerusalem. Notice also how many Palestinian communities are separated or cut off from each other — Shu’fat and Shu’fat Refugee Camp, Beit Hanina and Beit Hanina al Balad, East Jerusalem and Abu Dis, and on and on.
QALANDIA
Above is the checkpoint near Qalandia village between Ramallah and Jerusalem. Most of my Palestinian friends in Ramallah can’t get permits from the Israeli army to cross this checkpoint and visit Jerusalem, even if they were born there or went to high school there. Foreigners can breeze straight through. I never get used to this.
Below are three pictures of the Wall in East Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM WALL
A silent commentary on the historic crime of separating the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem:
WISE MAN COMIC
Tom Toles put it well. (Note the small text in the bottom right hand):
TOM TOLES COMIC
The map below shows the evolution of sovereignty over historic Palestine from 1946 to the present. The first panel shows approximately how much land was owned by Jewish residents in 1946. The second shows the UN partition plan, which proposed giving 55% of the land to Jewish sovereignty even though Jews owned about 7% of the land. The Arab world rejected this, but they were overpowered by well-armed and organized Zionist militias funded and aided by Europe. In 1948, the state of Israel was declared on the white area in the third panel.
In 1967, Israel also conquered the West Bank and Gaza, and the fourth panel shows Areas A and B as staked out under the Oslo Accords — the less than half of the West Bank and Gaza that falls under even limited Palestinian control. Many Israeli leaders in high government office claim much of Area C as Israeli territory and would prefer to force the Palestinians to live in cantons or ghettos largely confined to Areas A and B without meaningful sovereignty, and label this a “two-state solution.” The Palestinians will never allow it to happen, and neither should people of conscience anywhere in the world.
If you’re wondering what any of this has to do with you as an American (if you’re an American), Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid in the world. We give them over $3 billion a year — that’s $10 million every single day — of our tax dollars. This is what they do with it. The US government has also vetoed dozens of UN resolutions condemning Israel’s violations of international law. Americans more than anyone else have the power to put pressure on Israel to change its policies.
Unfortunately, the Israel lobby is one of the most powerful in Washington while Palestinians have virtually no presence on Capitol Hill. Very few Senators and Representatives are willing to pay the political price of crossing the Israel lobby based on principle alone. Therefore it’s up to us to learn more about this situation and put pressure on our representatives to end America’s support of Israel’s illegal policies.
For a more thorough historical and political context as well as many colorful, suspenseful, funny, tragic, and even a few romantic stories about life behind the Wall, check out my book Fast Times in Palestine, published in March 2013.
You can view the book’s Amazon page here.
33 comments
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October 14, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Herb Simons
Very instructive. I’ll pass it on to my friends and colleagues.
October 15, 2009 at 5:05 am
Grumpy Old Man
A devastating primer.
October 16, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Y
Horrific. I had no idea.
October 16, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Nick
Thank You!
October 18, 2009 at 8:05 am
فتاوى إسلامية
nice post.
However… color key lines within the blog.
Also, color lines that talk about colors in the maps.
These make the post much easier and quicker to read and digest.
October 21, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Tosin
i look forward to the day this conflict eases and ends.
October 30, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Tom Bry
Hello Pamela!
This is a fantastic assembly of maps you have gathered together. I am aware of them all, but this is really a great collection for anyone familiar with the Zionist land theft issues in the WB, to help others understand the true meaning of (this part) of the Palestinian suffering and struggle. I also really enjoyed your own informative descriptions of what the keys to the maps mean. They come from a place of actually having witnessed it. Once again, great info for the ley man to get a better understanding of true facts on the ground. I also truly envy you for being able to go and spend time with such rich wonderful people whose tie to the land is evident and REAL.
June 5, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Anne
The Palestinian loss of land map is unbelievable. I thought I knew a bit about it but it’s such a complex issue that I didn’t understand the scale of Israeli domination until now. Thank you
February 5, 2012 at 2:50 am
Stephen L Allen
I don’t know!!! This is not what i’ve been told & read all my life, but don’t want too say you’r wrong. Im going to read you’r book & the Bible & get back w/ you.
July 18, 2012 at 11:03 am
Ann
I don’t believe my lying eyes? This is the difficulty of dealing with homeschooled students or those educated with whitewashed history books. Even when the person has demostrated and researched proof, they immediately believe they are being lied to, because to admit that the people they’ve trusted their entire lives had an agenda to follow has been lying to them, they would rather be viewed as idiots.
January 31, 2015 at 6:33 pm
the9th
Another strong message here is this: Watch what they do, not what they say. I was stunned at how obvious the land theft is when you see those four maps–of what I and others have called The Incredible Shrinking Palestine.
I suppose we in the US shouldn’t be surprised–at least if we got a chance to see the continent North-South America & Canada in its pre-WhiteEuropeanInvasion days — before Columbus and his merry band of men wiped out from 8m to 15m Arawak Indigenous People.
I also saw recently a YouTube clip describing the feats/exploits of [Sir] Francis Drake (much later). Turns out this British Hero was a “privateer”–aka Pirate–flying under the Skull & Bones (like the Bush family), who raped, pillaged, burned and looted on land and on sea–under the imprimatur /protection of Q. Eliz. I–and she got her cut of the spoils. Which comprised the bulk of her “budget,” the piece said.
Some folks in the Cherokee Nation put together the North American map as placemats, so folks might have them to look at three times a day (for those who get three means a day). There was not one single spot on the map that was not “occupied” by one or other of the something like 1,100 separate nations. And it was also interesting to note that not only did the European Invasion take the Indians’ lives and land, they expropriated their names as well. Winnebago (I was driving another brand of RV at the time) stands out.
February 23, 2012 at 7:34 am
kyle Sulaiman
love ur work and ur book…..god bless u..do take care
April 23, 2012 at 4:25 am
Paul
Great page. Hope to read your book soon. 🙂 I also was wondering if you had a source for these maps.
April 30, 2012 at 1:57 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
Hi Paul,
Sure. The first four maps are just general geography and not controversial, the fifth (with the dark blue spots as settlements) comes from an Israeli human rights group called B’Tselem, the Wall maps are from the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department (and I think they are based on UN and Israeli government maps), and the map of Palestinian loss of land since 1946 is based on UN data and Israeli government data about Areas A, B, and C.
For more about Israel’s intention to settle and annex Area C, and thus leave Palestinians with cantons or ghettos in Areas A and B for a “state” (more like a prison), see this article:
http://www.newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2012/04/26/jeff-halper-interview-israel-palestine
May 6, 2012 at 2:35 am
Joshua
I’ve never quite had someone explain what they mean by Israeli or palestine. Are we talking about a government or are we just talking about the people. “Israeli settlements” sounds like just people from Israel moving… If that’s the case… it’s just immigration.. unless palestine people hate israelis so much this is just about nto wanting them as a neighbor. It couldn’t be that it’s acctually the government controling the land. The people who live in these settlement’s…. what country to they get their passports from?
May 6, 2012 at 1:16 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
Israel is a state with a government. Palestinians are a people whose land has been largely swallowed by the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 (which was accompanied by massacres and mass ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians). In 1967, Israel swallowed the last of Palestine’s land, the West Bank and Gaza. Israel militarily occupies these lands without giving Palestinians any rights of citizenship, in contravention of international law.
The settlers who are transferred to the West Bank and Gaza with the support of the Israeli government are not “just moving” there. Transferring civilians to occupied lands, and especially housing them on land stolen from its Palestinian owners, is illegal according to international law. The settlers have their own special roads, bus lines, security details (paid for by the state of Israel), schools, etc., and Palestinians are not allowed to reap the benefits, but instead are shunted to secondary roads subject to checkpoints and closures.
The settlers have Israeli passports and Israeli citizenship and voting rights in Israel, while the Palestinians around them have no state and no meaningful voting rights and no citizenship in Israel. They can “vote” for their Authority under occupation, but everyone knows that Israel is the one that actually controls the land — the borders, water, airspace, and every other meaningful aspect of sovereignty. And even their vote for the leaders-inside-their-prison can be overturned if Israel doesn’t like it (see: 2006).
If Israelis or Jews wanted to move to Palestine as immigrants, and obey the same rules as everyone else, there would be no problem. But when they horribly oppress and disenfranchise people in order to move illegally onto someone else’s stolen property… Houston, we have a problem.
November 18, 2012 at 8:50 am
David Cleaves
Thank you very much for a good explanation to a situation, i can safely say, most of us Americans have no idea about.
June 24, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Legolas Greenleaf
Great help for my History homework! Was so stuck until I found the maps! 🙂 thank you!
June 25, 2012 at 1:12 am
fasttimesinpalestine
Happy to be of help 🙂
July 2, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Erik N
This ugly truth is really dissapointing and rarely will be told in an American paper. My govt gives a lot more to Israel, than it’s own people. the truth is manipulated and trampled
November 16, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Aaron
I’m interested to know how you got involved in this debate?
November 16, 2012 at 7:04 pm
fasttimesinpalestine
You can read my book to find out about that. It will be released in March:
In the meantime, you can read Chapter One online — it explains most of it:
November 17, 2012 at 11:42 am
scostanzo
You are obviously biased, but hard to ignore. Thanks for your information. The photos are a real jaw-dropper. Most shocking is the extent of Jewish settlements and how they strategically block any future hope of a contiguous Palestine state–should that ever be allowed to occur.
November 19, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Adam
Thank you for writing this very informative and very truthful account of what is happening in Palestine and Israel. I’ve heard Benjamin Netanyahu mention several times in interviews that “Israel will not go back to pre-1967 lines.” This always made me wonder: well, then what’s left for the Palestinians? Its disgusting really. I’ve also always wondered how a group of people who have gone through hundreds of years being treated to disgusting conditions can inflict the same damage and pain on another group of people. It make no sense to me at all. Of course, there’s no doubt that many of the most powerful nations have turned a blind eye and let Israel carry on with these atrocities. I’m ashamed to admit that even my home Canada is complicit in this game. I can only pray for the freedom of Palestine.
November 21, 2012 at 12:31 am
Ikaaa
This is amazing, I can’t wait to read your full book soon. Keep telling us what media hides, May Allah bless u and May Allah help and save peoples in Palestine 🙂
February 18, 2013 at 9:24 am
Janet
Fantastic site with maps, facts, and so on. I think I know about this situation, but then I see a site like yours, and it brings tears to my eyes.
Thank you for your courage.
JD
May 6, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Cynthia
Well…as an first generation American Palestinian, I have to say that you have done well. THE TRUTH has been finally coming out about the inhumanities perpetuated on the Palestinians for over 60 years now. My inheritance of quite a bit of land is in the West Bank and I intend to collect reparations from ISRAEL AND THE UNITED STATES.
You are absolutely right about the monetary support we give to Israel…it is unprecedented in the history of the United States. Americans should know that we are considered The UNITED STATES OF ISRAEL!
August 28, 2014 at 6:32 pm
Damon
Cynthia,
I believe you certainly do deserve reparations but as much as I would love to see that happen I wouldn’t hold your breath. Especially waiting for reparations from Israel.
June 20, 2013 at 2:31 am
Hassan ali
If America want it may happen like the declaration of indipendence of south Sudan from Sudan and east Timor from Indonesia by the interference of America
Why America not forced to illegal Israel to give the right to palastine innocent people to live them in their own land
Why Jewish are selfish as they forgot these palastine people provide shelter to these jews when all European were killing them
I pray god to guide the America on good way to help the palastine people to form the saperate and peaceful palatine state with capital of jerusalem. Ameen
December 11, 2014 at 1:57 pm
zeribe
though I am a Christian from southeastern Nigeria, I don’t support what Israel is doing to Palestine
history had it that Israel was formed by the 12sons of Jacob,who travelled n settled in Egypt but came back in large number after some years to live together with the descendants of Esau and other relatives there in Palestine but after series of hostilities from the medopersian n Babylonian empires they got scattered allover the world
to cut the story short: not until 1948 that the state of Israel was formed following the Holocaust during the 2nd world war.
since then is real have been firing missiles killing innocent women n children in quest to claim territory that doesn’t belong to them.
they came all the way from Germany to persecute the Palestine for their experience in Europe
Pls if we are for the living God we should stop sponsoring n supporting the killing of souls created by God whether Jews,gentiles ,Christians, Moslems, Arabs, Indians,we re all humans for Gods sake.
March 30, 2015 at 3:04 pm
Dave Lincoln (@DL1Co10v26)
Nice collection! Do you have a 2-color map with the partitions, that could be clear on a bumper sticker? I’m trying to get an American awareness sticker going, something like: “No more US Check$ for Checkpoints. 1 Res. 242”
I need a very simple, stark graphic to represent apartheid as applied by the Israelis in conquered Palestinian territory.
August 12, 2015 at 10:55 am
John Sexton
Fast times is a great read.Not being in favour of islam in general your writing has changed my outlook on palestinean people and the loss of their land.I would like to visit the area in general.suggestions appreciated..john s. from nth qld.aust..
December 11, 2017 at 9:02 am
Jessica
Wow! Thank you for that breakdown!