Mideast 101: Two peoples, one land

Editor's note: In our Mideast 101 series, CNN correspondents will take a look beyond the daily events at the forces that propel this seemingly interminable struggle in the Middle East.

(CNN) -- This deadly conflict has been going on for more than 50 years -- longer than the Cold War. What's it all about? Real estate. A very small piece of real estate.

Two peoples, one land. How much land?

The whole of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza is an area not much bigger than the state of New Hampshire. Yet nearly 10 million people live in Israel and the Palestinian territories, while slightly more than 1 million people live in the Granite State.

If you separate the territories Israel captured in 1967, Israel is even smaller than New Hampshire. The whole of the country is less than 300 miles from north to south.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Bill Schneider sizes up the state of Israel (April 9) Play video

At its widest, it's just 85 miles across. At its narrowest, Israel is about 8 miles wide -- a fact not lost on President Bush during his trip there last May.

"For a Texan, a first visit to Israel is an eye-opener," Bush said then. "At its narrowest point, it's only 8 miles from the Mediterranean to the old armistice line. That's less than from the top to the bottom of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport."

Within those pre-1967 borders, including Jerusalem, Jews make up 80 percent of the population. One fifth of Israel's citizens are Arabs.

The West Bank and Gaza are overwhelmingly Arab. Add them in, and Jews make up only a bare majority of the overall population.

Now, consider this.

The birthrate among Israeli Jews is 2.6 children per family. That's high by U.S. and European standards. For Israeli Arabs, the birthrate is more than four children. For Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza, the birth rate soars to an average of six children per family.

At that rate, Arabs will outnumber Jews in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza by 2020.

And that's one reason why many Israelis have come to favor a separate Palestinian state. Israel is a democracy, and if it has a majority Arab population, it cannot remain a Jewish state for long.