Land for peace

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

The principle of Land for Peace was successfully used as the basis for Israel's peace treaty with Egypt in 1978, which included an Israeli retreat from the Sinai. The international community has approved of following the same principle for the West Bank and Gaza. This has however according to many been complicated by Israel's demand to keep occupied East Jerusalem and the errection of numerous settlements throughout the occupied territories. In the Camp David Agreements from 1978, the establishment of a Palestinian state is suggested; at this time however, Jordan was still officially claiming the West Bank, although informally it had already accepted the PLO's claim to sovereignty. Numerous statements by Israeli officials indicate that at least part 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 (subsequently signing a peace treaty with Israel with included only minor border adjustment); the principle however was chosen for Israel once more, for its negotiations with the PLO. The hand-over of some land in return for peaceful co-existence is a feature of most Proposals for a Palestinian state.