It was as predictable as the cycles of the moon. An Israeli politician comments of their intent to expand the regions under Israeli sovereignty and the European Union and United Nations spent the next few days denouncing Israel complaining that such a move would end any hope of establishing the two-state solution. When Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas extend their perverse sovereignty over areas of land and claim their rights to further lands, it never appears to be any form of a problem for the European Union and United Nations or posing any threat to the two-state solution. Only Israeli applying sovereignty is troublesome. One might wonder why the completely opposite reactions to Israeli and Arab application of sovereignty by the European Union and United Nations. The reality is very easy to discern their reasoning and problems only with any act of applying sovereignty even when it is to lands placed under strict and total Israeli control by the Oslo Accords. The European Union and United Nations only have problems when Israel acts is due to their continuing desire to bring down the Jewish State by any means necessary. These actions were initially performed by the individual European powers. They never desire being so obvious as to place their disdain for the Jewish State in actual treaty, but they will decry their every former actions which allowed for the formation of Israel.
The British opened up after the San Remo Conference and Mandate System were put in place tasking Britain to use their Mandate for the formation of a Jewish homeland. Despite this basic and simple task became impossible for the British to establish. Nope. First, they had to keep their promise to the Arab King Faisal to provide each of his sons a nation to rule. They gave one Iraq and now faced how to provide the second son a nation. Their solution was to gift him 78% of their Mandate lands presumably reserved for the Jewish homelands. But this did not bother anyone in the world and the Jews, with little actual power, had little choice but to agree to permit the theft. The Jordan River was the chosen divide with the Arabs taking the vast majority of the lands east of the river while the Jews were relegated to the 22% of the lands which lie west of the Jordan River. When Israel was founded they were invaded by six Arab armies along with compliments of militias and other forces. The invading countries were Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq with the end of the fighting finding Egypt illegally occupying the Gaza Strip and Jordan illegally occupying the regions of Judea and Samaria which was too Jewish sounding so they referred to the region as the West Bank. Jordan annexed this region and provided citizenship to the Arabs residing within. This annexation was even refused recognition by the rest of the Arab world with merely two nations recognizing their move, Pakistan and, unsurprisingly, Britain. The remaining truth by which reality will eventually be decided, despite the machinations of the European Union and United Nations along with all too many of their member states, is that the Jordan River is the eastern border of Israel and there was never any reality by which an Arab nation could be forced into the same area. For this truth, even the PLO can be used to prove the lack of reality to the Palestinian claims.
The original PLO charter from 1964, from their founding, laid claim to all of Israel and made no claims for either Judea and Samaria or Gaza as they were controlled by Arab countries at that time. After the Six Day War in 1967, the PLO changed their charter now claiming Gaza along with Judea and Samaria while never iterating any refutation of their claim to all of Israel. When one listens carefully to Mahmoud Abbas, his claims is most often demanding that the Arabs be granted their rightful control to 22% of the British Mandate. This is their means of camouflaging their claiming all of Israel as this is most often believed by Western powers to mean Judea, Samaria and Gaza when the reality is, they are claiming everything, the 22% west of the Jordan River. Nobody ever corrects this claim stating that it would be harmful to the two-state solution as it fulfills their desire to be rid of Israel. Only when Israel rightfully extends her sovereignty to lands which even by the illegal claims of the Arabs are presumably not permitted claim to the lands, the Jordan Valley being one such example, does the usual suspects, the European Union and United Nations and numerous related nations, decry such a move. Always taking the side of those who would destroy the Jewish State of Israel is an international version of anti-Semitism. This is proven when one realizes that there was far less protest when Russia extended their claims in the Georgia region and again when they stole the Crimea from the Ukraine. These same forces are silent over much of the civil wars in Syria and Yemen nor are their complaints about the lawlessness in Somalia, only Israel is denounced for the slightest legal move or any action which can be sullied by recriminations which often hold little if any water. Israel would be completely within their right to annex all of what is Judea and Samaria and provide the Arabs residing their the right to self determination in their areas and be denied political rights such as voting in national elections. Israel, under the Mandate System, was obliged to do nothing which harmed social, religious, economic and other rights but could reserve political rights on the national level to only Jews if such were decided. The Arabs residing under the Palestinian Authority are not Israeli citizens and the best they can hope for is to be granted resident alien status under which they could be granted Jordanian citizenship or any other nation willing to grant them such privilege. This is the reality under International Law as asserted by an Egyptian Judge, Justice El Araby, from the ICJ and who sat in judgement as part of the panel which heard the case from the United Nations General Assembly in 2003 on the legality of the security barrier erected by Israel. The Honorable Justice El Araby warned the UNGA and others that filing further challenges of the legal claims to these lands ran some risks, as he stated,
“The international legal status of the Palestinian Territory (paras. 70-71 of the Advisory Opinion), in my view, merits more comprehensive treatment. A historical survey is relevant to the question posed by the General Assembly, for it serves as the background to understanding the legal status of the Palestinian Territory on the one hand and underlines the special and continuing responsibility of the General Assembly on the other. This may appear as academic, without relevance to the present events. The present is however determined by the accumulation of past events and no reasonable and fair concern for the future can possibly disregard a firm grasp of past events. In particular, when on more than one occasion, the rule of law was consistently side-stepped. The point of departure, or one can say in legal jargon, the critical date, is the League of Nations Mandate which was entrusted to Great Britain.”
The world, on the other hand, has no problem ignoring the laws, treaties and agreements they are sworn to uphold when it comes to Israel. The only place that the opponents of Israel know they have no footing is in the International Court Systems where the rule of law, and not the rule of public and political opinion, rises to rule supreme over all other considerations. This is the reason that one will never see any of the enemies of Israel running to these courts in order to bring their machinations for the destruction of Israel to fruition. What escapes us is why Israel does not avail herself of settling this warfare against her to these very same courts and claim what is rightfully hers. Yes, that might be taking a risk, but one mitigated by the actual agreements and laws including Article 60 of the United Nations Charter which makes them responsible for enforcement of the League of Nations Mandate System and the bringing it into reality as presented. This would mean that the eastern border of Israel is the Jordan River and the Arabs could continue to live where they are as long as they followed Israeli law. They could be granted the right of self-determination in their communities but would not need be granted voting rights in national Israeli elections. This solution, which is completely backed by the legal requirements for Israel according to all international agreements, conventions, treaties and the Mandate itself, would satisfy the legal requirements and also address the presumed population problem of incorporating these Arabs into Israel and meeting the requirements addressing their rights. But please do not just take my word, you can also find these facts here. The reality is completely in the favor of Israel and the Arab claims resemble a bottomless bucket when the rule of law is applied. That is the entire reality and it really is that simple which will be proven someday, may it not be far in the future. In the meantime, just sit back and enjoy the fully expected caterwauling from the European Union, United Nations and the accompanying chorus of the usual suspects.
Beyond the Cusp