are israeli settlements lagal abraham bell

Are Israel's settlements legal?

The majority of legal scholars hold the settlements to violate international law, while others have offered dissenting views supporting the Israeli position. The Israeli Supreme Court itself has never addressed the issue of the settlements' legality.

Are the Israeli settlements in the Sinai Peninsula legal?

The position of successive Israeli governments is that all authorized settlements are entirely legal and consistent with international law, despite Israel's armistice agreements all being with High Contracting Parties.

Is Israel's policy of settling in the occupied territory legal?

In 1978, the State Department Legal Adviser advised the Congress on his conclusion that Israel's government, the Israeli Government's program of establishing civilian settlements in the occupied territory is inconsistent with international law, and we see no change since then to affect that fundamental conclusion.' ( Kerry 2016)

Did the UN Security Council rebuke US on Israel settlements?

"UN Security Council members rebuke US on Israel settlements". Associated Press. Retrieved 9 December 2019. Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (PDF). International Court of Justice. 9 July 2004. Leverett, Flynt; Leverett, Hillary Mann (1 July 2009). "A Road Map to Nowhere". Foreign Policy.

What is the problem with Israeli settlements?

The settlements have a lot of security measures including Jewish-only roads and restrictions that split up Palestinian territory, often making it difficult for people to get to work, visit family or even go to the hospital when they are sick.

What is an Israeli settlement called?

Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Is Israel occupying Palestinian land illegally?

“For more than 40 years, the UN Security Council and General Assembly have stated in hundreds of resolutions that Israel's annexation of occupied territory is unlawful, its construction of hundreds of Jewish settlements are illegal, and its denial of Palestinian self-determination breaches international law,” he said.

Does Israel have a claim to their land?

The Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace, signed on 1993, led to the establishment of an agreed border between the two nations, and subsequently the state of Israel has no territorial claims in the parts of the historic Land of Israel lying east of the Jordan river.

Who were the first settlers in Israel?

3,000 to 2,500 B.C. — The city on the hills separating the fertile Mediterranean coastline of present-day Israel from the arid deserts of Arabia was first settled by pagan tribes in what was later known as the land of Canaan. The Bible says the last Canaanites to rule the city were the Jebusites.

How do Israeli settlements work?

According to the Israeli government, settlements are built on land not registered to Palestinians at the time of the 1967 war, unlike outposts, which are built on land that was registered to Palestinians (and are therefore illegal). Some outposts have been cleared while others were later legalized [source: Simons].

Why are Israeli settlements legal?

Israel has justified its civilian settlements by stating that a temporary use of land and buildings for various purposes appears permissible under a plea of military necessity and that the settlements fulfilled security needs.

Was Palestine a country before Israel?

Israel Becomes a State In May 1948, less than a year after the Partition Plan for Palestine was introduced, Britain withdrew from Palestine and Israel declared itself an independent state, implying a willingness to implement the Partition Plan.

What was Israel before 1948?

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire conquered the region, ruling it until the British conquered it in 1917. The region was ruled under the British Mandate for Palestine until 1948, when the Jewish State of Israel was proclaimed in part of the ancient land of Israel.

Is Israel a stolen land?

Israel has declared at least 26 percent of the West Bank as “state land”. Using a different interpretation of Ottoman, British and Jordanian laws, Israel stole public and private Palestinian land for settlements under the pretext of “state land”.

Why did the British give Palestine to Israel?

In 1917, in order to win Jewish support for Britain's First World War effort, the British Balfour Declaration promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

Who lived in Palestine first?

The earliest human remains in the region were found in Ubeidiya, some 3 km south of the Sea of Galilee, in the Jordan Rift Valley. The remains are dated to the Pleistocene, c. 1.5 million years ago. These are traces of the earliest migration of Homo erectus out of Africa.

How many settlements does Israel have?

Today they total around 400,000 and live in about 130 separate settlements (this doesn't include East Jerusalem, which we'll address in a moment). They have grown under every Israeli government over the past half-century despite consistent international opposition.

Why are there Israeli settlements in the West Bank?

Settlements are communities of Jews that have been moving to the West Bank since it came under Israeli occupation in 1967. Some of the settlers move there for religious reasons, some because they want to claim the West Bank territory as Israeli land, and some because the housing there tends to be cheap and subsidized.

What is Intifada?

Intifada is an Arabic word that literally means “shaking off”, and in the Palestinian context, it is understood to mean a civil uprising. The First Palestinian Intifada erupted in Gaza in December 1987, after four Palestinian were killed when an Israeli truck collided with two vans carrying Palestinian workers.

Why does Israel have settlements in the West Bank?

Israel has cited several reasons for retaining the West Bank within its ambit: a claim based on the notion of historic rights to this as a homeland as affirmed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917; security grounds, both internal and external; and the deep symbolic value for Jews of the area occupied.

Why is Judea and Samaria not annexed?

This has been reaffirmed in the U.N. Charter. Thus, there is no need for Israel to annex Judea and Samaria if it wants to apply Israeli law there —it already has that right because of the laws dating back to the British era.

Which country refused to recognize Jordan's hold on Jerusalem?

Jordan’s efforts to annex the West Bank in 1950 were not recognized by the international community, with the exception of the United Kingdom (which refused to recognize Jordan’s hold on eastern Jerusalem) and Pakistan. Likewise, Egypt never claimed to be the sovereign power in the Gaza Strip.

Is Judea occupied territory?

The U.S. statement reaffirms Israel’s position that the area is not “occupied territory.” The term “occupation” has a very precise meaning in international law. Judea and Samaria would have been considered occupied had Israel conquered the area from a sovereign entity, but Jordan, which controlled it between 1949 until 1967, was never considered a legitimate sovereign there.

Who was the president of the International Court of Justice after the Six Day War?

Among these experts was professor Stephen M. Schwebel, who later became the president of the International Court of Justice.

Did Pompeo's statement undermine the chances of peace?

Some have claimed that Pompeo’s statement has undermined the chances for peace. According to that rationale, speaking the truth regarding the status of Judea and Samaria precludes a peace deal. Must peace depend on a lie?

Who should be commended for their work towards a real peace, one based on the truth?

President Donald Trump, Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be commended for their work towards a real peace, one based on the truth.

Did Jordan and Egypt invade Palestine?

There is no disagreement that Jordan and Egypt launched an illegal invasion of Mandatory Palestine after the U.N. Partition Plan was rejected and Israel was founded. Under international law, countries can start a war only for self-defense, but the two countries’ invasion was an act of aggression.

What was Palestine's legal status?

The legal status of Palestine, which the Balfour Declaration (1917) earmarked as the future “national home for the Jewish people,” was determined by the League of Nations (1920), the San Remo agreements (1920) and the British Mandate, in addition to being approved by the US Congress (1922).

How many Israelis live in Judea?

Over half a million Israelis currently live in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. This is an irreversible fact. No Israeli government could feasibly ethnically cleanse hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from their homes, schools and businesses.

Did Israel have rights to Judea?

Israel was forced into a war of survival and captured its historical highlands, which were legally ownerless at the time. The land wasn’t taken from another nation that had legal rights to it. In fact, no other nation on earth has more right to Judea than the people of Judah, aka the Jews. Over half a million Israelis currently live in Judea, ...

Did Israel transfer people?

Israel didn’t forcefully transfer anybody. Approximately one tenth of Israel’s population currently resides in over 200 communities and neighborhoods across Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, out of personal choice. Furthermore, Israel has legal, moral and historical rights to the land.

Is Israel a solid state?

Even if one was to put ancient history aside, Israel’s legal claim is still as solid as the hills it inhabits. The State of Israel captured territory that did not belong to any other country and which was already designated for the establishment of the Jewish state.

Does Israel have an Islamic state in Judea?

As countries across the Middle East continue to crumble and Islamists move into every vacuum, the issue of where Israelis build in Judea and Samaria has become irrelevant. The reality is, Israel already has Islamic State on two of its borders and cannot afford to have them overtake Judea and Samaria in the same way that Hamas has taken over Gaza.

When did Israel legalize settlements?

During the 1970s, Israel's Supreme Court regularly ruled that the establishment of civilian settlements by military commanders was legal on the basis that they formed part of the territorial defense network and were considered temporary measures needed for military and security purposes.

When did the Israeli Supreme Court rule on settlements?

In 1978 and 1979 the Israeli Supreme court, prompted by the new government policies, ruled on two important cases that set out the requirements for Israeli settlement legality under international law.

What was the Israeli law in 1967?

Shortly after independence, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental principles of international law, accepted as binding by all civilized nations , were to be incorporated in the domestic legal system of Israel. In the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Theodor Meron, at the time the Israeli government's authority on the topic of international law and legal counsel to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, was asked to provide a memorandum regarding the status in international law of proposed settlement of the territories, which he subsequently addressed to the Foreign Minister Abba Eban on 14 September 1967. He concluded that short-term military settlements would be permissible, but that "civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention," adding that the prohibition on any such population transfer was categorical, and that "civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention ." It follows from the presence on files of these notes, Gershom Gorenberg argues, that the Prime Minister at the time, Levi Eshkol, knew that Israeli settlements in the territories Israel had just occupied would violate international laws and that by that time Eshkol had been actively engaged in exploring the possibility of settling the newly conquered region. Meron's unequivocal legal opinion was marked top secret and not made public.

What did Ronald Reagan say about the settlements?

Notwithstanding the Hansell opinion, the official US position had been that the settlements are "an obstacle to peace". In February 1981, Ronald Reagan announced that he didn't believe that Israeli settlements in the West Bank were illegal. He added that "the UN resolution leaves the West Bank open to all people, Arab and Israeli alike". Hoping to achieve a peace deal, he nevertheless asked Israel to freeze construction calling the settlements an "obstacle to peace". The permissive attitude taken by America accelerated the pace of Israel's settlement programme. Reagan's view on the settlements legality was not held by the State Department. The George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations did not publicly comment on the legality of Israeli settlements, but spoke publicly against them. Since the Clinton administration, the U.S. has continued to object to the settlements, calling them "obstacles to peace" and prejudicial to the outcome of final status talks. Although President Barack Obama and diplomatic officials in his administration have stated, "the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," in February 2011 the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have declared the settlements illegal. In December 2016, the U.S. abstained on a Security Council Resolution that declared that Israeli settlements are illegal and deemed their continuing construction a "flagrant violation" of international law. In abstaining, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power stated, "Today the Security Council reaffirmed its established consensus that the settlements have no legal validity. The United States has been sending a message that settlements must stop privately and publicly for nearly five decades." This position was United States policy and had been stated by Secretary of State John Kerry and by the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Obama administrations. In November 2019, the Trump administration expressly repudiated the Hansell opinion and stated that the United States considered the status of the settlements as being "not inconsistent with" international law. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said: "The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace." However, Pompeo added that "the United States Government is expressing no view on the legal status of any individual settlement."

What article of the Geneva Convention is against the settlements?

Hansell concluded that the settlements are "inconsistent with international law", and against Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Hansell Memorandum found that " [w]hile Israel may undertake, in the occupied territories, actions necessary to meet its military needs and to provide for orderly government during the occupation, for the reasons indicated above the establishment of the civilian settlements in those territories is inconsistent with international law."

Why did Israel take control of the West Bank?

It has been argued that Israel took control of the West Bank as a result of a defensive war. Former Israeli diplomat Dore Gold writes that:

Which country has always affirmed the de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention?

The International Committee of the Red Cross in a declaration of December 2001 stated that "the ICRC has always affirmed the de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the territories occupied since 1967 by the state of Israel , including East Jerusalem".

How the Russians Might Fight

In an interview on the Defense and Aerospace Daily Podcast, Bryan Clark discusses decision-centric warfare and successful deterrent strategy. ...

Transcript: Lessons from the Ukraine Crisis with Rep. Jason Crow

Following is the full transcript of the Hudson Institute event titled Lessons from the Ukraine Crisis with Rep. Jason Crow ...

Why the Indo-Pacific Region Is Warming to the Quad

When the Quad was reinstituted by Australia, the United States, Japan, and India in late 2017, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi "mocked it ()":https://...

What article of the Geneva Convention states that the Israeli settlements are inconsistent with international law?

Some of those asserting that Israeli settlements are inconsistent with international law contend that settlements violate Article 49 (6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention that states, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”. However, Morris Abram, who was one of the ...

Where did ISRAELIS walk?

ISRAELIS WALK with flags in the Bat Ayin settlement in Gush Etzion on the West Bank, last month.

What is the mandate of Palestine?

The Mandate of Palestine is an international legally binding document that was unanimously approved by all 51 members of the League of Nations in 1922. The Mandate worked toward implementing the Balfour Declaration’s objective of establishing a Jewish national home in the geographical area referred to as Palestine.

What happened after Jordan attacked Israel?

After Jordan attacked Israel on June 5, 1967, Israel managed to recapture the territory of the West Bank that it was allotted under the Mandate. Subsequently, Israel established Jewish communities in the West Bank, including in places that were destroyed during the 1948 war, such as Kfar Etzion.

What was the UN resolution that divided the land for a Jewish nation into two states?

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed Resolution 181 , which recommended the partition of the land allotted for a Jewish national homeland into two states: a Jewish state and an Arab state. However, like all UNGA resolutions, UN Resolution 181 was merely a non-binding recommendation that carried no force of law.

Why does Article 49 not apply to the West Bank?

Eugene Rostow, who was the former undersecretary of state for political affairs in the Johnson administration, co-author of UN Resolution 242, and former Yale Law School dean, commented that Article 49 does not apply to the Israeli West Bank settlements because, “the Jewish settlers in the West Bank are volunteers.

Which countries rejected the Israeli proposal?

Israel accepted the proposal and the Arab states rejected it.