Palestine in the UN

The legal consequences of the Palestinians’ UN application are perhaps debatable. But its adoption by the UN General Assembly on Friday will definitely constitute a significant step towards the establishment of a new fundamentalist Islamic state under international law on Israel’s doorstep.

Countries which are planning to vote for the resolution (eg. France) or abstain (eg. Australia), are making a big mistake..

In our view, this application is in fundamental conflict with the U.N. Charter. Instead of promoting international peace and security, there are five very strong reasons why it will probably lead to an escalation of the conflict, and even threaten the continuing existence of the state of Israel – the only truly democratic nation in the Middle East.

1. Mutual respect must be a necessary precondition to recognizing a Palestinian state. The PLO is behind this application. The PLO, Hamas and Fatah have all consistently refused to recognize Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state. The PLO Charter demonstrates that their goal remains not to live in peace with Israel but to destroy Jewish nationhood. It is unacceptable to recognize a state based on such principles.

2. The application refers to a state of Palestine based on the pre-1967 lines – ie. the 1949 Armistice Lines. Recognition will play into the hand of terrorists. The PLO no longer has control over the activities of Hamas and other organizations in Gaza, and its control in the West Bank is tenuous. Hamas and its terrorist allies will have increased freedom to attack the Jewish people from close range, threatening the lives of many Jews and Israel´s very existence.

3. Recognition of a unilaterally declared Palestinian State on the basis of the 1949 Armistice Lines violates the rights already granted under international law in 1922 to the Jewish people under the Mandate for Palestine with respect to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank"). Those rights have never been negated.

4. Recognizing a Palestinian State based on the so-called pre-1967 borders would conflict with U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, and completely undermine the Oslo agreements. The Oslo agreements are based on Resolution 242 which recognizes the right of Israel to negotiate, with the pre-1967 lines providing a basis for those negotiations but not a final solution. Acceptance of the PLO’s proposal will potentially mean the end of the peace process as envisaged in Oslo.

5. The Old City of Jerusalem must not become the capital of a judenrein Islamic state. Jerusalem must remain open for people of all faiths. History proves that only Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem can guarantee that the Old City and the Holy Places will be protected.

The Palestinian people deserve better. They are the victims of a corrupt leadership which is more obsessed with destroying Israel than building Palestinian nationhood based on the rule of law and respect for human rights.

We urge all the democratic and peace-loving nations of the world to vote against this resolution.

Andrew Tucker
European Coalition for Israel www.ec4i.org
Christians for Israel International www.c4israel.org

THE 1949 ARMISTICE LINES

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