Reunification of the Jewish Land is Legal!
by Maurice Hirsch
Israel has announced that it will apply Israeli civilian law to areas of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, (the area renamed “the West Bank” by Jordan after 1948), on or after July 1, 2020. Whereas this is seen by some as a hurried political decision, the more fundamental question is, does Israel have the right to do this under international law?
The answer to this question is a clear – Yes.
– The League of Nations allocated all of Israel, including these areas, for the purpose of establishing the Jewish National Home in 1922. No other internationally recognized instrument has superseded that decision.
– The Arab countries and most of the Arabs resident in British Mandate controlled Palestine, rejected the 1947 UN partition plan, so it has no relevance today under international law.
– No other country has a legal claim to that territory.
– No state border has ever separated Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley from the rest of Israel.
The application of Israeli law to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley should not be referred to as “Annexation”, since annexation is the acquisition of territory by one State “at the expense of another State”.
Accordingly, Israel has the right under international law to Israel apply its civilian law to these areas. (BOTTOM LINE: “It is our land” – no other justifications are needed! For many years I have been asking what international law Israel would violate by annexing Judea, Samaria and Gaza. I am still waiting for an answer!)
Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak
One of the biggest problems Jewish people have is the phenomenon of the existence of self-hating Jews. Most of the times, they are our worst enemies! Some people of other nations might dislike the politics of their governments, but they do not have such deep and pathological sense of self-hate, which drives them to the extent of betraying their own people and the future of the Jewish nation. Self-hating Jews are eagerly and pro-actively helping enemies of Israel! Another, even bigger problem is Jewish disunity. No other nation has it!
Ofek 16 Spy Satellite in Space
Israel launched the new Ofek 16 spy satellite into orbit from a launch pad at Palmachim airbase in central Israel. The “Ofek 16” is an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities. The State of Israel was the seventh country in the world to achieve full space capabilities and is one of only 13 countries in the world capable of launching satellites.
Arabs won’t Oppose Israeli Sovereignty
Most of the leaders in the Arab world recently sent messages to Israel, hinting that if Israel decides to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, they will not make a fuss. However, they themselves are indifferent to the issue, and will suffice with symbolic condemnation of the step. According to the leaders, only if there were to be violence which affected the stability of their rulership, would they act against Israeli sovereignty.
Black Lives Matter protests joined anti-Israel demonstrators in a nationwide “Day of Rage” on Wednesday that included calls for Israel’s destruction and claims that Israel murders children, an allusion to medieval anti-Semitic blood libels. (It is hard to resist from using hate for Jews to gain cheap popularity!)
The predominantly Arab Joint List party called on the European Union to suspend its ties with Israel unless it abandons its plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. The Joint List has reportedly sent similar letters to lawmakers around the world, including US Congressional Democrats and political parties in the UK. In 2018, MKs from the Joint List also turned to the EU and asked it to denounce Israel over the Nationality Law.
“Why I Support Israel”
This video clip must be watched – by all Jews, by BDS supporters, and any decent person, who might be indifferent to Israel or have created an uninformed opinion about Israel! Unfortunately, anti-Semites will never change their ugly attitude. (Presented by Stephen Joseph Harper, an economist and politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada.) Click here
Sovereignty does not Depend on Gantz
Netanyahu has said he wants to begin acting on the sovereignty plan as soon as this week in line with President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan. But in a meeting with his Blue and White party, Gantz said his top priority is helping the country cope with the health and economic crisis stemming from the corona virus. Netanyahu appeared to dismiss Gantz’s concerns, telling Likud members that he was working “discreetly” with the Americans. “The issue does not depend on Blue and White,” he said. Under their coalition deal, Netanyahu and Gantz hold mutual veto power over most government decisions. But the deal makes an exception for annexation, allowing Netanyahu to introduce a proposal to the Cabinet or to the full parliament even without Gantz’s approval. (Procrastination of reunification of Jewish land only helps enemies of Israel!)
Ramallah City’s Illegal Rubbish Dump
Ramallah municipality opened in the Benjamin Quarry for tons of household and industrial waste, with frequent garbage fires, and zero enforcement activity on the part of the Israeli government. (Fake Palestinians have no respect for the land they claim, because it is Jewish land!)
Quote of the Week:
“This plan is not a Trump plan, it’s a Netanyahu plan! Netanyahu pushed for it. He worked on it with the Administration for three years. I expect from Netanyahu, as we hoped a year ago when he was in Washington, that sovereignty could be applied as an immediate step, without recognizing a Palestinian state and without freezing construction… At the moment we know that everything is delayed… I hope he can stand firm in the face of Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi as well as the White House to see annexation through.” – MK Ayelet Shaked (Yamina)
Apply Sovereignty to the Jordan Valley!
Prof. Efraim Inbar
The Jordan Valley is of great security value to Israel. Most military experts agree that it constitutes Israel’s only defensible eastern border. The Jordan Valley is also Israel’s most important border because of its proximity to Israel’s heartland, the Jerusalem-Haifa-Ashdod triangle, where 70 percent of Israel’s population lives and where 80 percent of its economic infrastructure is situated. It is thus no surprise that many Israelis support the extension of Israeli law to the Jordan Valley.
The US “Peace to Prosperity” plan (what US President Donald Trump colloquially called “the deal of the century”) allows Israel to incorporate the Jordan Valley into its sovereign territory. The administration expected Israel to accept the peace plan after the formation of its national unity government and start implementing it.
It is quite inconceivable that Israel should say “no, thank you” to an American peace plan, particularly the best plan ever tabled by Washington from Israel’s perspective. It is simply imprudent to say no to a narcissistic president who may still be re-elected in November. It is unwise to discard US backing for strengthening Israel’s national security.
It should be noted that the incorporation of the Jordan Valley into Israel is not a far-right fantasy, but the implementation of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s preferred borders, as outlined in his last speech to the Knesset in 1995. His strategic outline for Israeli sovereignty also included areas around a united Jerusalem, which is the linchpin for securing the main road to the Jordan Valley.
The American peace plan also offers a historic opportunity to shatter the prevalent, stale paradigm for bringing peace between Israelis and Palestinians…
The current geopolitical equation also creates an opening for applying Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley. The Palestinians hardly interest moderate Arab states. Egypt is busy with more serious strategic challenges, such as the dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile and Turkey’s intervention in the Libyan civil war…
Similarly, Arab states need Israel to parry Iranian expansion across the Middle East, particularly at a time when the United States seems to be withdrawing from the region…
Israel should seize this moment to apply its law (sovereignty) to the Jordan Valley and to the environs of Jerusalem to guarantee Israeli security for generations. (The idea is right, but I do not agree with all of his conclusions!)
Read previous Editorials here.