Are They Legal?

San Remo: The Original ‘Deal of the Century’
By Yishai Fleisher
As we mark Israeli independence this year, let us cast off the contrived U.N. narrative in which Israel was born into the inevitability of two states.

How the Balfour Declaration Became Part of International Law
by Nicholas Rostow
And how it thereby helped to secure the legal foundations of the state of Israel.

Israel is the Legal Occupant of the West Bank, Says the Court of Appeal of Versailles, France
by Jean-Patrick Grumberg
The Court of Appeal of Versailles ruled that West bank settlements and occupation of Judea Samaria by Israel is unequivocally legal under international law

Obama Administration was Hypocritical on UN's Israeli Settlements Vote
by Mark Goldfeder
Goldfeder gives a brief overview of the history of the legal basis of the Jewish right to the land.

"Palestinian Self-Determination": Possible Futures for the Unallocated Territories of the Palestine Mandate, by Eugene V. Rostow
Paper written in 1980 on the background of the controversy over "Palestinian" rights, in the context of the American effort to carry out the Camp David Agreements and the Soviet Union's campaign to achieve dominance in Europe by enveloping it from the South.





Israeli Settlements and International Law
Attempts to present Jewish settlement in West Bank territory (ancient Judea and Samaria) as illegal and "colonial" in nature ignores the complexity of this issue, the history of the land, and the unique legal circumstances of this case.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Settlement Where International Law (Hebrew)
This lengthy paper by Talia Einhorn discusses various issues related to both the West Bank and Gaza as addressed by International Law.


Professor Eugene Kontorovich: The Legal Case for Israel



The Levy Commission to Examine the Status of Building in Judea and Samaria

This report takes on the issue of "Occupation" and Israeli sovereignty over Yehudah and Shomron (the West Bank head on, addressing the issues of International Law.


Below is the text of the actual Levy Report in Hebrew, followed by a link to an English translation of the actual legal arguments of the Levy Report (from Elder of Ziyon) and after that a translation of the conclusions and recommendations of the Report in English.


Here is the Hebrew text of the Levy Report (full page view here)





English Translation of the
Legal Arguments in the Levy Report


Elder of Ziyon

Since the Levy Report was released, there has been a lot of heat but little light about its legal reasonings, which were in Hebrew. The only part that was released in English were its conclusions and recommendations.

Here, for the first time, is an English translation of its legal arguments. Those who try to downplay the report must find reasons why these arguments are invalid, rather than the proof by assertion that they usually resort to.
Continue reading English Translation of the Legal Arguments in the Levy Report on the Elder of Ziyon blog.

Conclusions and Recommendations of the Levy Commission Report

(full page view here)




The Legal Right To Palestine

International lawyers Howard Grief and Jacques Gauthier, along with former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dore Gold review the history of the international legal precedents that demonstrate the legitimacy of the State of Israel in full accordance with International Law

 


Dr. Jacques Gauthier, "Whose Jerusalem Is It?" (see notes on this talk here)




Who Do The Territories Belong To?
The video, with English subtitles, is from The Yesha Council, which has put together other videos as well, in Hebrew.



A UN Resolution to Recognize a Palestinian State within the "1967 Borders" Would Be Illegal
A letter drafted by lawyers of the Legal Forum for Israel to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
JCPA, May 2011

Hebrew version of above letter is here

Quand l'occupant n'est pas celui que l'on veut bien croire...
Article in French about the above letter includes an interview with Prof. Eliav Shohatman on the Land of Israel's international law status
HaModia (French Edition), May 29, 2011

The Illegal-Settlements Myth
by David M. Phillips
Commentary, December 2009

Israeli settlements are more than legitimate 
In fact, the 1922 Mandate for Palestine encourages them.
By Eric Rozenman
LA Times, December 11, 2009

Preserving a legal inheritance: settlement rights in the "Occupied Palestinian Territories"
By Gerald M Adler
Law Society of Scotland, September 14, 2009

The International Law and The Arab-Israel Conflict
Extracts from "Israel and Palestine - Assault on the Law of Nations"
By Julius Stone
Editor: Ian Lacey
2003

International Law Regarding The Land of Israel and Jerusalem
More on the San Remo Conference
by Elliott A. Green
Midstream, February/March, 1999

San Remo's Mandate: Israel's 'Magna Carta'
The 1920 San Remo resolution answered a fundamental issue that still plagues the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks today: whether Israel has a right to the land.



See here for further clarification on the importance of San Remo and "The Mandate For Palestine"

Legal Rights and Title of Sovereignty of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel and Palestine under International Law
Howard Grief
NATIV Online, vol. 2, 2004

From "Occupied Territories" to "Disputed Territories"
The term "occupied territories" or "occupation" seems to apply only to Israel
By Dore Gold
Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs, January 16, 2002

Diplomatic and Legal Aspects of the Settlement Issue
Settlements are not illegal, and have neither the size, population, nor placement to deserve the attention they receive
By Jeffrey Helmreich
Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs, January 19, 2003

Articles By Eugene Rostow:
o "Historical Approach to the Issue of Legality of Jewish Settlement Activity"
o "Are the settlements legal? Resolved"
from Countering Bias and Misinformation mainly about the Arab-Israel conflict
by Maurice Ostroff

Inappropriate Use of the Fourth Geneva Convention
Did Israel really use "deportation" and "forced transfer" of its own population into "occupied territories"?
By Eli. E. Hertz
Myths and Facts, February 3, 2010

World Leaders Ignore International Law
Rewriting history by using loaded language such as 'Occupied Territories,' the Settlements as an 'Obstacle to Peace' and 'Not Legitimate'
Eli. E. Hertz
Myths and Facts, September 21, 2009