T. Belman. Saying that settlements are legal is not the same as saying that we have the right to claim sovereignty but its a start.
The Foreign Ministry plans to distribute an official document which, for the first time, will present a legally-backed statement that Israeli communities beyond the Green Line are perfectly legal, and are not contradictory to international law, Arutz Sheva learned on Thursday.
The document, which is a legal opinion which will be distributed to all Israeli embassies around the world and be handed over to world leaders, states among other things that “attempts to present Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) as illegal and colonial ignore the complexity of the issue, the history of the country and the unique legal circumstances of the case.”
It says further that Israel has “valid property claims to Judea and Samaria”, due to the fact that the area “does not belong to any lawful sovereignty” and the fact that the area was never under the legitimate sovereignty of any state and was conquered as part of a “defensive war.” The document also claims that the allegations of colonialism are invalid due to “the Jewish connection of thousands of years to the area.”
The legal opinion also states that “the bilateral agreements between Israel and the Palestinians specifically state that settlements fall under exclusive Israeli authority until the materialization of peace negotiations into results, and do not prohibit settlement activity.”
The document further says that the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria were legally established, under all the legal rules, and it also refers to the uprooting of Gush Katif, saying the “Disengagement” was the result of a political decision, not an international legal obligation.
A similar position was expressed in the 2012 Levy Report, which proved Israel’s presence in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria is completely legal according to international law. Despite being commissioned by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the government has yet to adopt the report.
The latest paper is a position paper on the subject, which is being revised for the first time since 2001. Sources close to the prime minister did not confirm the document’s existence, but officials in the Foreign Ministry claimed that Netanyahu knows about the legal opinion and supports it.
The document comes following a recent decision by the European Union (EU) to label Israeli products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights as “settlement products”.
Earlier this week Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to reassess its involvement with EU institutions regarding the political process with the Palestinians, in the wake of the labeling decision.
Until the assessment is completed, Netanyahu ordered the suspension of all political contact with EU institutions and representatives on the issue. The Foreign Ministry clarified that Israel is still dealing with individual nations within Europe, including Germany, the UK and France, but not with EU institutions.
I imagine how much easier it had been for Bibi if he had not just thrown the Levy Report in the bottom drawer, but appeasement seems to be the national sport in Israel and he wanted to appease the lefties – so he skipped the LAW.
I cannot believe what I have just read, namely, that Judea and Samaria do not belong to any sovereignty.
Is the Foreign Ministry unaware of the San Remo agreement, vesting the Jewish Nation with sovereignty to all of Palestine.
Does it not know that after Churchill illegally severed 77% of Palestine to give to Abdullah of the Hejaz (in present day Saudi Arabia) it was promised that all the provisions of the Mandate for Palestine 1922 would still apply to all the land West of the Jordan re the up building of the Jewish a National Home, & , in fact T. E.Lawrence passed on a letter to Churchill from Abdullah which said that he relinquished all claims to territory on the West Bank of the river.
These agreements have never been abrogated, and are still binding in international law by virtue of estoppel & the principle of acquired rights, doctrines which are embedded in the laws of all western democracies.
To rely on the premise that the land belongs to Israel by virtue of conquest in a defensive war and because of the association of Jews to the land over thousands of years, even though true, is not a strong argument.
Quite unbelievable that this is the best the Israel government can do!
Judea and Samaria is part of Israel and has always been part of Israel . In 2020 there will be 1 million Israelis living in Judea and Sameria
Hey Ted–
Can you please post a pdf link to this document if it becomes publicly available?
Anyone else–may I respectfully ask why the Israeli government did not do this decades ago?
Thank you in advance!
The correct term is “resettlement”.
A few days ago we were informed that a Royal Seal issued by the then King of Judea, leading some three thousand years ago, was found near Temple Mount.
The Kingdom of Israel was an expanse to the North of the Judea Kingdom.
King Hezekiah Ahaz and the King of Israel did not need special clarifications regarding their and our Heritage.
Notable is the fact that nowhere in the maps is a p state. Nor a so called p people.
I believe it was a well based functional setting.
Just as the House of King David scions still well known now should be considered in place of the garbage rotating as government now.