UN Resolution 242 after the Six Day War requires Israel to withdraw to the Green Line

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Or so some people claim…

Contrary to what is frequently claimed, UN Resolution 242—passed in 1967 after the Six Day War—does not require Israel to withdraw to the Green Line.

The drafters of the resolution were very careful with the wording – it deliberately does not call for with Israel to withdraw from all territories taken in the war – it simply says “territories,” meaning that withdrawal would not have to be complete.

It, further, calls for “Termination of all…states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.”

Until Israel receives this, there is no expectation within this resolution that she should withdraw at all.

What is more, it is implicit within the wording of the resolution that the Green Line would not provide sufficient depth for it to be a secure border.

There is an deliberate misunderstanding that is promoted, which represents the Green Line as being Israel’s “true” or “legitimate” border.  The fact is that this line was not a border at all – it was only an armistice line, from the end of the war in 1949.  The armistice agreement that set this line was very clear about the fact that it was temporary, with a final border to be set via negotiations.