Daily Alert Archives

Video: Can the Palestinians Legally Declare Statehood Unilaterally?

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Dore Gold - The Palestinian Authority committed themselves in the 1995 Interim Agreement that neither side would take any step to change the status of the West Bank prior to the completion of permanent status negotiations. Unilateralism is not allowed by the Oslo Agreements themselves. If the Palestinian Authority violates Oslo, it doesn't violate a peripheral commitment, but violates a core commitment. They are essentially in material breach of the Oslo Agreements that were witnessed by the United States, the European Union, the Russians, the Norwegians, the Jordanians, and the Egyptians. And if they are in material breach of a core commitment, they are basically violating international law. That means they would be turning to the international community to give them rights by recognizing them as a state, rights that eminate from an illegal act. According to everybody who understands international law, that cannot stand. U.S. law in fact states that if an international entity arises out of an illegal act, it cannot be recognized. The Palestinians are aware of that and they are looking at international institutions to help them out.
2010-11-23 08:09:54
Full Article