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Israel: The Settlements Are Not Illegal

(Gatestone Institute) Dr. Michael Calvo - The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 13, 2007, by a 144-4 vote, recognized that indigenous people (also known as first people, aboriginal people or native people) have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired (Art. 26.1). The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights declared that "there is an international customary law norm which affirms the rights of indigenous peoples to their traditional lands." The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights affirmed that land rights of indigenous people are protected and that these rights are "general principles of law." According to international law, the Jews are the indigenous people of the lands referred to as Judea, Samaria, Palestine, Israel and the Holy Land, and therefore fulfill the criteria required by international law. The Jews are the ethnic group that was the original settler of Judea and Samaria 3,500 years ago. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923), British Mandate for Palestine (1922), San Remo Resolution (1920), and Treaty of Sevres (1920) recognized and re-established the historical indigenous rights of the Jews to their land. The Jewish people's right to settle in their historic homeland and to establish their state there is thus a legal right anchored in international law. Recent UN General Assembly resolutions stating that the settlement of Jews in Judea and Samaria is contrary to international law are no more than recommendations and have never led to amendments of existing binding treaties. UN Security Council resolutions stating that Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are illegal are not binding, since only resolutions taken under Chapter VII of the UN Charter are binding. Contending that Jewish communities in the West Bank are illegal and that declaring partial Israeli sovereignty is contrary to international law is a political, not a legal, position. Despite UN resolutions to the contrary, the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not inconsistent with international law. The writer, an expert in international law, was a member of the International Court of Arbitration representing Israel.
2020-05-22 00:00:00
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