Mid-East foes clash over land

Israel denies moving more troops into the territories

The Palestinian authority has condemned a statement by the Israeli attorney-general that a key UN resolution on exchanging land for peace does not apply to the Palestinian territories.

A senior Palestinian spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, described the statement on UN resolution 242 - which calls on Israel to withdraw from land it captured in June 1967 - as totally unacceptable and a violation of agreements.

"The way to peace is achieved by implementing resolution 242 that calls for Israeli withdrawal from all Palestinian lands occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem," he said.

Arafat: Determined to win back east Jerusalem

Mr Abu Rudeina said Israel should treat the Palestinians in the same way it treated Egypt and Jordan, which received land back from Israel under peace treaties in 1979 and 1994.

But the Israeli official, Elyakim Rubinstein, said the return of all captured territory to Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon did not set a precedent for the Palestinians.

Last month, Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon under another UN resolution, ending two decades of occupation.

Mr Rubinstein's statement said resolution 242 was not intended to apply to the Palestinian entity because at the time it did not exist.

It said the Palestinians were not mentioned in the resolution, except as refugees.

Peace date

Under interim peace deals, the Palestinians already control much of the Gaza Strip and about 40% of the West Bank.

Israel and the Palestinians, partners to a peace process due to end in a peace treaty by September, agree the resolution should serve as a basis for a final settlement but disagree on the interpretation.

Resolution 242 does not apply in any event to the Palestinian matter in the way it applied to countries of the region... with which there was a common border

Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein

Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six Day War of June 1967, and some 170,000 Jews now live in settlements scattered among three million Palestinians.

Until the 1967 Middle East conflict, the West Bank and east Jerusalem were ruled by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip by Egypt.

How resolution 242 is interpreted will affect the settlers' fate and the borders of a future Palestinian state.

The United Nations and the Palestinians both view the settlements as illegal.

Israel has said it will not return to the 1967 borders and relinquish east Jerusalem, but has said it will give up most of the West Bank and Gaza.

The Palestinians want to establish an independent state, with east Jerusalem as its capital.