Thursday, January 05, 2012

When did the West Bank become "occupied territory"?

at what point, exactly, did the West Bank become "occupied territory" rather than "disputed territory" under international law? After 1947 the annexation of Jordan wasn't recognized so Mandate Law was considered to prevail as far as the U.N. was concerned and in Mandate Law Jewish settlement was explicitly permitted (though from 1947-1967 the Jews were evicted). The post-SixDay War UNSC 242 doesn't appear to change this sovereignty scheme.

Yet by the time UNSC 446 was passed in 1979 the West Bank was considered "occupied territory" and subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention and Israeli settlements (Jewish settlements, that is) thus declared illegal. (UNSC 446 is not a Chapter VII resolution and thus is non-binding under int'l law so the change had to have happened before that.)

Monday, January 02, 2012

Would he say this to his fellow Arabs regarding Israel?



“Having grievances does not justify violence. There are bodies to look into those grievances -"

- Saudi Ministry of Interior spokesman Mansour Al-Turki link