Israel and the 1967 boundaries
31.12.69
MARK COLVIN: On Monday's program, I spoke to the Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.
During that interview, Mr Erekat repeatedly demanded that I ask the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu if - as a basis for peace negotiations - he would stop expanding settlements on to territory outside the 1967 boundaries?
The 1967 borders refers to the frontiers of Israel before the Six Day War, when Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt.*
In May, Barack Obama announced in a speech that "The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps".
We couldn't get prime minister Netanyahu, but the Israeli government did put forward someone to speak on his behalf.
Paul Hirschson is deputy spokesman at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He spoke to me a short time ago.
PAUL HIRSCHSON: What we call the 1967 boundaries are actually the 1949 Armistice Agreement ceasefire lines between Israel and the state of Jordan.
Source: ABC Online