A series of maps showing the disputed borders between Israeli and Palestinian land shows the separation that still exists between the two groups, a Palestinian speaker said.

Michael Tarazi works with the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Tarazi, who has a law degree from Harvard University, gives advice on legal and communications matters.

He spent the majority of his speech Wednesday outlining exactly why he felt negotiations with Israelis over the West Bank were failing.

Tarazi began by speaking about the Camp David negotiations in July 2000. He said that meeting was where some mythology started. He said some believe that in the 2000 meetings, Palestinians were offered everything, but hatred of Jews ultimately caused the negotiations to fail.

“That’s the black-and-white narrative,” Tarazi said. “Now let me show you what’s really going on.”

He then displayed a map of the West Bank, outlining what he said was often referred to as a ‘generous offer’ by the Israelis.

Tarazi said the audience should judge the map, as well as other maps he later showed, based on how Palestinians could survive in the outlined map, along with the independence they would receive and the choices they would be given. He then showed how each idea was violated in the offer.

He said the Israelis had broken up the area given to Palestinians by putting doorways, controlled by Israelis, among three separated areas. This was supposed to give Israelis power to control the movement of the Palestinians as well as their goods within their own country, he said. Later deals took control of farm land, he said, which forced Palestinians into small areas.

Some Israelis claimed the deal gave Palestinians 95 percent of the West Bank, Tarazi said. However, Tarazi said the only way he could find this number was by including the entire area of the Red Sea. “But 150 percent of the West Bank is not necessarily enough,” Tarazi said.

Tarazi said he judged the map based on the Palestinian’s true independence. They weren’t given the option of controlling their own borders, he said, which would allow the people to move in and out of the areas and import and export goods.

He said the Palestinians were not allowed to assemble their own army, and the deal left the airspace over the land, including cellular communication areas and satellite access, in Israeli control.

He said the deals the Israelis are offering are based on taking the most land while keeping the largest population of non-Jews in isolated areas.

“You have to see a map to see what you’re getting,” Tarazi said.