The Syrian-Israeli Boundaries in International Law: The Significance of the Armistice Demarcation Line of 1949

Zero-sum equations have been the name of the game in the Middle East since the early Zionist settlements in the late 19th century. The classic Zionist motto, One dunum here, one dunum there has come to exemplify this logic for all the parties concerned, and the zero-sum logic continues to regulate the peace process to date: the dunum Israelis gain Arabs lose and viceversa, down to the ultimate square foot of disputed land. Over a century later, the published Draft Treaty between Syria and Israel (Establishment of Peace and Security within Recognized Boundaries ?, first disclosed by Haaretz, 13 January 2000), illustrates throughout the persistence of this logic.