Still Viable

The Guardian erroneously claims that Israeli construction in a 4.6 sq. mile area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim would cut the West Bank in two. Columnist Jonathan Freedland writes:

If he goes ahead and builds in the so-called E-1 corridor, linking Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, then he will cut the West Bank in two, north and south, rendering it unviable as a Palestinian state.

This staff-ed echoes the misinformation:

…plans to further extend Maale Admumim, for example, will divide the West Bank into two disconnected areas, undermining its viability as a Palestinian state.

The reality is that the Palestinians would still have territorial contiguity to the east of Maale Adumim. A helpful map published by our CAMERA colleagues last year dispels The Guardian’s claims. At its narrowest point, the channel of land available to the Palestinians would be 9 miles (15 km) wide, which happens to be t he same size as Israel’s “waistline” for the past 50 years.

UPDATE 3/30: A Sydney Morning Herald staff-ed makes the same error:

The withdrawal will keep about 10 per cent of the West Bank under Israeli occupation, including a belt across the middle between Jerusalem and the largest Israeli settlement, Maale Adumim, which will cut the Palestinian lands in two.