future state

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.

The Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, see the march as a provocation.

"The essence of the plan was the clearing of hostile and potentially hostile forces out of the interior of the territory of the prospective Jewish State, establishing territorial continuity between the major concentrations of Jewish population and securing the future State's borders before, and in anticipation of" the invasion by Arab states, writes Benny Morris, another prominent Israeli historian, in "1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War."

Analysts say Wednesday’s announcements primarily point to fundamental disagreements among Western allies over whether recognizing a Palestinian state now — usually a prelude to establishing diplomatic ties — will spur or hinder a future state’s actual establishment.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.