Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat: Israeli Settlements Are Built on 1.1% of the West Bank

Hey, if you can't trust Saeb Erekat--the Palestinian Negotiator--who can you trust?

Israeli Settlements Are Built on 1.1% of the West Bank:"Erekat stated furthermore that despite Israel’s continual policy of “occupation and settlement building,” an aerial photograph provided by European sources shows that settlements have been built on approximately 1.1% of the West Bank, thus legitimizing the Palestinian demand for a withdrawal to borders based on the June 4, 1967 borders."

This comes from Haaretz--and leave it to Haaretz to leave this point to the last paragraph of the article, without comment.

So Evelyn Gordon asks an obvious question:
If Settlements Are Only 1.1 Percent of West Bank, How Are They an Obstacle to Peace?

And she has an answer:

Because admitting that settlements aren’t the main obstacle to peace would force it to confront an unpalatable truth: that the real obstacle to peace is Palestinian unwillingness to accept a Jewish state in any borders.

Yeah, but blaming Israel is easier.

Hat tip: DG

Technorati Tag: Israel and West Bank.