the 1949 armistice lines among those States within former Palestinian territory are lawful (if not necessarily desirable), whether those modifications are...'insubstantial alterations required for mutual security' or more substantial alterations—such as recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem." In a footnote, he wrote: "It should be added that the armistice agreements of 1949 expressly preserved the territorial claims of all parties and did not purport to establish definitive boundaries between them." The question of whether, or to what extent, Israel should withdraw its population and forces to its side of the Green Line remains a crucial issue in some discussions surrounding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. There is a near-unanimous international consensus that Israel should withdraw to its side of the line. This has been expressed in the yearly UN General Assembly vote on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine. Although disputed by Israel, United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (UNSC 242) has declared the interpretation of international law regarding Palestinian Territory. The Palestinians were not party to the drawing of the Green Line and they rejected UNSC 242, saying that it did not call for an independent Palestinian state, and referred to them as refugees. Since 1976, most elements in the PLO have accepted the pre-June 1967 line as a basis for the establishment of a Palestinian state. In the early 1980s, American intellectual Noam Chomsky argued that Israeli claims that the Palestinian leadership rejected the international consensus calling for a Palestinian state, with borders along the Green Line, were not consistent with the documented record. In 2008 Al Jazeera and Haaretz both reported that elements in the Palestinian leadership, even inside Hamas, have called for a two-state settlement based on the pre-June 1967 borders (the Green Line). Although Hamas' official policy is committed to Israel's destruction, Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of the Palestinian unity government until June 2007, suggested that a long-term truce with Israel could be achieved if Israel withdrew from territory occupied in 1967. The majority of the Israeli public opposes reverting to pre-1967 borders. A 2011 study found that, because of security concerns, 77% of Israelis oppose returning to pre-1967 lines, even if it would lead to peace between Israel and neighboring Arab states. The Israeli West Bank barrier constructed in the early 21st century is, in parts, kilometres away from the Green Line and most lies within Palestinian territory. Physical and