Spring Break
A Defense of Israel
Addie Lerner '11 and Jeff Mensch '11
Issue date: 9/30/09 Section: Opinion
Again, the context of such facts is important to consider. For example, during the intifada, the media was outraged that ambulances from the Palestinian territories carrying patients in critical condition were stopped and searched at checkpoints. What some reports failed to note is that a number of these searches caught terrorists who were hiding in such ambulances, intending to carry out suicide bombings. Now, as terrorist activity from the West Bank appears to have died down, and Fatah has declared a commitment to negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu ordered a removal of many checkpoints in the West Bank, which has already seemed to be helping the West Bank's economy as evidenced by the 7% growth in GDP this past year. Israel established checkpoints in response to terrorism from the Palestinian territories, not because Israel blindly attempted to make life difficult for Palestinians. Rather, Israel simply took such steps to protect the security and lives of its own citizens.
But what about those settlements, which the checkpoints and security fence also protect? Aren't they illegal? This is actually a complicated question. The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is bound as a member of the UN, explicitly bans the acquisition of territory by force between member nations. However, the status of the West Bank before 1967 was disputed, as it was occupied by Jordan, which annexed it illegally (it was initially to be part of the Palestinian state formed by the 1947 Partition Plan, rejected by all Arab parties). Consequently, there was no state that could rightfully claim it as part of its territory, though Israel did have a prima facie claim due to its legal status within the Mandate area. The border was not legally fixed at the Green Line and there has not been a case in history when the exact border was determined due to the location of forces at the time of an armistice. This, combined with the fact that Israel acquired the West Bank through a defensive war, would mean that Israel was neither violating the letter nor the spirit of this clause.
But what about those settlements, which the checkpoints and security fence also protect? Aren't they illegal? This is actually a complicated question. The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is bound as a member of the UN, explicitly bans the acquisition of territory by force between member nations. However, the status of the West Bank before 1967 was disputed, as it was occupied by Jordan, which annexed it illegally (it was initially to be part of the Palestinian state formed by the 1947 Partition Plan, rejected by all Arab parties). Consequently, there was no state that could rightfully claim it as part of its territory, though Israel did have a prima facie claim due to its legal status within the Mandate area. The border was not legally fixed at the Green Line and there has not been a case in history when the exact border was determined due to the location of forces at the time of an armistice. This, combined with the fact that Israel acquired the West Bank through a defensive war, would mean that Israel was neither violating the letter nor the spirit of this clause.
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