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Disputed Territories

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - The U.S. State Department's recent condemnation of Israel unfortunately reiterates the erroneous view that "settlements are the core problem" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Worse, it contributes to the prolongation of the conflict by incorrectly invoking international law under the pretext of "evenhandedness" toward the parties involved. It is not evenhanded to blindly accept the Palestinian narrative, according to which not just the historic territories of Judea and Samaria (named the "West Bank" by Jordan) but all of Israel are "occupied territory." The Jordanian and Egyptian control over Judea, Samaria, and Gaza for 19 years following their failure to destroy Israel in 1949 was never recognized by the international community - although the Arab war of aggression did defeat the first attempt by the UN to create a two-state solution to the conflict. By international law, the designation of this area as "occupied" Arab or Palestinian lands is questionable and they are better defined as "disputed" territories. The State Department, referring to Israel's attempt to resolve the issue of one illegal outpost, declaring it "strongly condemns" the move. The escalation of U.S. terminology regarding Israel is striking, considering it also "strongly condemned" Syria's use of chemical weapons against civilians.
2016-10-11 00:00:00
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