Green Line

The Green Line is the armistice demarcation line established after the first Arab-Israeli war. It broadly marked the territory controlled by Israel under the 1949 armistice arrangements, rather than a mutually agreed permanent border.

Origin and name

The line emerged from the 1949 General Armistice Agreements concluded after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Separate agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and the line acquired its name from the green marking used on negotiation maps.

• The agreements ended active hostilities but were not peace treaties.
• The armistice lines were expressly drawn without prejudicing future territorial settlements or final boundaries.

Territorial significance

The Green Line became the principal reference for distinguishing Israel's pre-1967 territory from territories captured by Israel during the June 1967 war. In the Israel-Palestine context, it separates Israel principally from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and also provides the historical reference for the boundary with the Gaza Strip.

• It is commonly described as the pre-1967 line because it marked the position before the 1967 conflict.
• A Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines generally refers to the Green Line, subject to any mutually agreed modifications.

Legal and diplomatic relevance

The Green Line is an armistice demarcation line, not itself a final internationally negotiated boundary. Nevertheless, it remains central to diplomacy and international legal discussion because Israeli settlements beyond it in the occupied Palestinian territory are distinguished from territory inside Israel.

• Governments and international bodies use the line when framing positions on settlements, territorial status and a negotiated two-state settlement.
• Crossing or altering the line does not by itself settle sovereignty, which remains subject to a political agreement.