Palestinians are highly attuned to the presence of the matrix, since they hit up against it every time they move, but they must comprehend it as an integrated system of control if they hope to dismantle it. An area the size of Tel Aviv divided into ten or twenty small points of control will rob the Palestinian state of its viability. It is not territory alone that is important, although contiguous territory is essential for a viable state. Eliminating the key nodes of control is no less crucial. The structure and workings of the matrix are extremely subtle, however, and knowing how to dismantle it requires careful analysis.
Some control points are obvious.
Moreover, the system of Israeli roads on the West Bank converges in Ma aleh Adumim. Even if the Palestinians gain control of the surrounding region, leaving only that one settlement fully preserves the matrix of control. Indeed, settlements are crucial to preserving the matrix not so much because of the land they occupy, but because of the control mechanisms that surround them. Other nodes of control are much less obvious, however. A narrow Israeli strip between Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, as well as other slivers like it all over the West Bank, similarly preserves the matrix of control.