(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - Three legal experts on a government-appointed advisory body have concluded that the 45-year-old settlement project, which has reunited the Jewish people to land resonating with Jewish history dating back thousands of years, cannot in any way be construed as an international crime. Backed up by their intimate knowledge of international law, they argue that the British Mandate, which was ratified by the League of Nations, called for the creation of "a national home for the Jewish people" in the territory west of the Jordan River, including Judea and Samaria. The 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine never replaced the British Mandate since it was rejected by both the Palestinian Arab Higher Committee and by the states of the Arab League. While in the wake of Israel's War of Independence, Jordan seized control of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and parts of Jerusalem, Jordan's sovereignty was never recognized by the international community. Thus, the territory enjoys a unique status in international law as land that has never been unequivocally set aside for a specific people by the international community. While these conclusions might not succeed in convincing Israel's detractors that settlements are legal, at least the plain truth has now been reiterated - for the record.
2012-07-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive