Palestinian Authority is "ready for land swap"; 65% of settlers will stay

The Palestinian Authority is ready to exchange land with Israel in a deal which will mean that 65 per cent of the illegal settlers and their homes will stay “within Israel”, Haaretz has reported. The land swap will amount to 1.9 per cent of the occupied West Bank it is claimed. An agreement on such a swap is “tempting”, said one official.

According to the report, the PA negotiators have told their Israeli counterparts that Israel must withdraw from the West Bank within 3 years. They have also demanded a secure land crossing-link between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian control over border crossings, water resources and part of the Dead Sea.