By Ted Belman
I have been looking for a map of Jerusalem to show the various neighborhoods being discussed. I came upon this map of the fence location.
As I mentioned in another post, how can you divide Jerusalem and not build a wall through it. No one is talking about the breach of security it would entail.
I am also reminded of my article Focus on Jerusalem in which I quoted what Caroline Glick said about AIDRG’s plan to enlarge Jerusalem
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“The team checked what would happen if, rather than partitioning the city, Israel were to expand the boundaries of the city. They found that if Israel were to extend the borders of the capital to include the Adumim bloc, the Etzion bloc, the Adam bloc, the Givon bloc, Mevasseret Zion and its satellite neighborhoods, the Tekoa area, Abu Dis and Bir Naballah and incorporate all these communities’ Jewish and Arab residents into the city, Jerusalem’s demographic balance would remain the same. The enlarged city would have 704,000 or 68% Jewish residents and 335,000 or 32% Arab residents.
- “The enlarged capital would have plenty of land reserves on which to build new housing for both its Jewish and Arab residents. Retaining Israeli control over the areas around Jerusalem’s current boundaries would also protect Bethlehem’s status as a Christian city while Olmert’s plan, which places these areas under terrorist control, guarantees that Jesus’s birth city will become a Muslim majority city with all the religious and political consequences that such a religious transformation would involve for the Christian world. The study shows that the number of Arabs that would be incorporated into the city if it were to expand its borders is smaller than the number of Arabs incorporated into the city with its unification in 1967. And it goes without saying that an enlarged Jerusalem would be safer than a partitioned city with its removed sections under terrorist control. “
Now that we are thinking out of the box, I recently reminded myself of the Partition Plan of 1947 which created a very jagged border based solely on demographics. Why not follow the same principle now and include all but a few Israeli settlements no matter how jagged the border may be. That would solve the problem of uprooting the Israelis in Judea and Samaria.
Why must Israel accept the principal of returning 100% of the land and dividing Jerusalem. There are other principles more valid as the basis of settlement.
