But it's not difficult to understand these statistics:

Ni'lin:
1948 (After establishment of Israel) – 57,000 dunums [228,000 acres]
1967 reduced to 33,000 dunums in 1967
2008 currently is 10,000 dunums
2009 7,500 [30,000 acres] dunums after the construction of the Wall

Doesn't take much to realise that Israel wants land, not peace.

Note: This land is very dry – not desert, but nearly so. Israel doesn't want the land, but the aquifers under it.

I don't want to downplay Israel's eagerness to control the aquifers, but anyone who's spent time on the West Bank, and specifically in the western part of the West Bank, near the Wall, in the villages that have put up the biggest resistance to it – Ni'lin, Bil'in, Budrus, Jayyous, etc. – can tell you that the land in question is anything but desert. In fact, it's some of the most fertile agricultural land in the whole region.

That's not to say the Israelis are after it so their farmers can grow more oranges and olives – these areas are within easy commuting distance of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, so the economic interest group with the biggest stake is developers who want to build settlements. But I think the strongest motive for the Israelis is actually not anything positive for themselves, but to drive out the Palestinians by making their lives impossible or at least unbearable.