A visit to the Western Wall by the advance team preparing U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Israel next week ended with a diplomatic incident when the Americans demanded that the Israeli team accompanying them leave the area, saying the Israelis had no business being there as the Western Wall was "in the West Bank" and Trump's visit to the holy site was a private one. Not only was this undiplomatic conduct, this went against American and international laws. There are four instances in U.S. law that contradict what the officials in Trump's advance team said: First, the 1922 Lodge-Fish joint resolution endorsing the establishment of the Jewish homeland in then-British Palestine, signed by U.S. President Warren G. Harding. Second, the 1924 Anglo-American Treaty on Palestine, which incorporated the text of the British Mandate for Palestine that had been ratified by the League of Nations. The tenets of this treaty have been part of international law ever since, and according to international law, a nation's ratification of a treaty makes its content part of its legal code. The British Mandate clearly defines the Jewish people's exclusive right to sovereignty over the land of Israel, which they would be able to realize when the mandate elapses. It further states that while the civil and religious rights of all the territory's residents must be preserved, the political right to self-determination in Palestine is granted solely to the Jewish people. Third, the United States adopted the United Nations Charter as part of its domestic law, as required from every U.N. member. Fourth, the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act constitutes recognition of Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem. The president may sign a waiver every six months postponing the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but the fact the U.S. has this law on its books shows it recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital. David Ben-Gurion's decision to define Jerusalem as Israel's capital went against the opinion of many countries, which to this day refuse to acknowledge Israel's sovereignty over the city. This lack of recognition is derived from U.N. Resolution 181, which determined that an international body -- not the Jewish people -- should be named as the city's sovereign. But according to international law, the General Assembly's Nov. 29, 1947 vote on the matter is invalid because at the time, in contradicted Article 80 of the U.N.'s Charter, which states that as long as a mandate approve by the League of Nations is in effect -- and British Palestine fell into that category at the time -- the rights of any people or community subject to said mandate could not be altered in any way. Therefore, the 1947 vote infringed on the Jewish people's right to sovereignty over the land of Israel when the British Mandate was still in effect. In other words, the vote contradicted Article 80 and is therefore invalid. Dr. Jacques Gauthier, a Canadian lawyer who specializes in international law and human rights, received his doctorate from the Institute of International Public Law at the University of Geneva, writing his dissertation on the issue of sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem. He concluded that the Jews alone have the right to sovereignty over the Old City, including the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. The fact that an institution that cannot be suspected of being pro-Israeli accepted his thesis suggests that his conclusions are valid. American officials would be wise to do a reality check before making statements that contradict international law. The Israeli government should make sure they are aware of their error and demand that such mistakes never happen again.
Jerusalem, the capital by law
Load more...