Sovereignty sophistry
Regarding “Netanyahu’s annexation interest” (June 19), Herb Keinon may be right when he says only 27% of the Israeli public is behind annexation now, but he omitted to mention that it is because they do not want a Palestinian state to be part of the bargain.
But why does it have to be part and parcel of any deal? Every lawyer dealing in international law will tell you that all the land from “the river to the sea” legally belongs to Israel, even if our government repeatedly refers to it as disputed territory. It was decided at San Remo in 1920, accepted by the League of Nations in 1922 and ratified by the United Nations. (Refer to the June 18 Jerusalem Post article “International law, the Israeli government and annexation.”) US President Donald Trump produced the Deal of the Century offering the Palestinians a state, which they immediately declined. Even if Trump insists on a “Palestinian” state, why is Israel committed to accepting it? To quote prime minister Menachem Begin when US president Ronald Reagan threatened to terminate the US strategic cooperation agreement if Begin applied sovereignty to the Golan Heights and east Jerusalem, “Israel is neither a banana republic nor a vassal state.” The same applies today.
As an independent state, we have the right to apply Israeli law to any parts of Judea and Samaria, and all of it if we so wish, without a “by your leave” from the American president, and we do not have to create a new Arab state in the very heart of our own small country. The American president and the United States are our closest friends and allies. They will understand and accept it.
EDMUND JONAH Rishon Lezion
We all feel the pressure Israel is up against once again from the world, this time over “annexation.” Aside from all the time, energy and money this situation costs Israel, there are aspects causing the country considerable harm.
On one central aspect of this latest “crisis” many agree, but nobody is doing anything about it. That is the fact that Israel – its government and its media – are very largely responsible for all the hype, which could have been avoided at no cost and with minimal effort.
It took less than half an hour yesterday to collect about six excellent recent articles setting out the internationally legal status of the “West Bank” and proving unequivocally that there is no such thing as Israel “annexing” part of that territory, which is already under Israeli sovereignty. This is well known by all those who were interested enough to delve honestly into the legal situation. With a certain dishonesty, the legal status can be interpreted otherwise, but dealing with that is a separate subject.
At most, the present intention is to change the administration of part of this area from military law (instituted after Jordan invaded and was later driven out of the territory) back to civil law.
This should have been done without any hype whatever and almost without outsiders noticing. However, we Israelis have a reputation for being smart, so we had to shout out to the world that we are considering “annexing” the territory, thus initiating a wild frenzy of anti-Israel sentiment and widespread action against Israel.
The word “annexation” still appears large as life in the main headings at the top of the front pages of The Jerusalem Post, undermining Israel’s PR efforts.
CHARLES SMITH
Shoresh
Perhaps what the region needs is not a US plan and