ABSTRACT
Strictly in terms of Israeli security, two arguments underpin the proposition that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria constitute an asset. With the Jordan River providing vital strategic and defensive depth, the first argument points to the sheer impossibility of defending Israel’s heavily concentrated population along the narrow Mediterranean coastal strip without (a) direct and (b) effective control of the area to its east. The second and related argument rehearses the cornerstone of traditional security doctrine and views civilian West Bank communities as essential for maintaining this direct and effective control.
