English/Nat
Palestinian leaders attacked on Thursday a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dividing control of the West Bank.
Yasser Arafat said the Israeli plan, unveiled Wednesday, flies in the face of the Oslo peace agreement.
At the Aram Checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank - security is tight.
This checkpoint and the Alon Road is one section of the border between Israeli and Palestinian territory.
Currently the Palestinians have control over 40 per cent of the West Bank - Israel occupied this land during the 1967 Six Day War.
As formally agreed between Yasser Arafat and then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1993 - the two sides would negotiate over the so called "final status" of the region by 1999.
Palestinians want total control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to create a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On Wednesday - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to bypass the final status negotiations - presenting a plan to his cabinet on how the region should be divided.
The media has dubbed it the "The Alon Plus Plan" - comparing it with a proposal given to the Israeli government in 1968 by then Deputy Prime Minister Yigal Alon.
Under Netanyahu's blueprint - Israel would retain West Bank land surrounding Jerusalem, including the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim east of the city.
It would also annex the Jordan Valley and large settlement blocs, including Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem.
Israel would also seek to retain control over major West Bank roads and over water sources.
If implemented, the plan would leave the Palestinians with disconnected patches of land that would make it very difficult to establish a state.
But spokesman for Netanyahu, David Bar Illan, says the plan represents a major concession from Netanyahu's right wing Likud party.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"This Alon Plus plan represents a tremendous adjustment of expectations on the part of the Likud party - the dominant party in the ruling coalition today. Because for the first time in its history, it admits that there will be another entity between Jordan and the sea - something that it was not willing to admit before."
SUPER CAPTION: David Bar Illan, Netanyahu's spokesman
But for Palestinians - the plan is totally unacceptable.
They view Israel's control of parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal - part of the 1967 occupation that is thwarting their dream of a Palestinian State.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"For me as a Palestinian it is very difficult to understand this because we are occupied territory - all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and it must be Palestine there. And as a Palestinian we refute this thing - all of it."
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop
Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, says the plan goes against the 1993 Oslo agreement.
Under that agreement - control of disputed territories must be negotiated - not stipulated by any one side.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"This is completely against the peace process and against the agreements."
SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, President of Palestinian Authority
Netanyahu's plan comes more than two months after talks between the two sides broke down when Israel began constructing Jewish settlements in disputed East Jerusalem.
