19. Maintain the Current Footprints of Settlement Blocs

Much of the expansion of the Jewish population in the West Bank has been in the large blocs west of the security barrier. While much attention is paid to the overall settler population, the real problem posed to establishing an eventual Palestinian state in the West Bank is not about the number of settlers but the footprint of settlements outside the blocs. The Israeli government should commit to building up rather than out and maintain the blocs’ “blue lines.” This will allow the population of settlement blocs that will be kept by Israel in any future peace deal to continue growing rather than be artificially constrained without taking up any more territory in the West Bank that can go toward a future Palestinian state.