Knesset approves declaratory measure to apply Israeli sovereignty to West Bank

Yahoo

6 days ago

According to Israeli law, the current status of the territories it captured from Jordan in the Six-Day War, save for east Jerusalem, is that of a 'temporary belligerent occupation.'
Following a long debate in the plenum, the Knesset approved a declaratory resolution on Wednesday in support of 'applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.'
The vote passed by a large margin, 71-13, with six votes coming from the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party and four from United Torah Judaism, despite the latter having left the coalition and government on July 14.
Opposition parties Yesh Atid and Blue and White did not participate in the vote, and the Democrats, Ra'am, and Hadash-Ta'al voted against the resolution.
The vote was categorized as a 'debate on a topic that the Knesset decided to place on the agenda' without any operational or legislative consequences.
Proposed by Knesset Land of Israel caucus leaders MKs Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), Dan Illouz (Likud), and Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit), the resolution states as follows:
'The Knesset affirms that the State of Israel has a natural, historical, and legal right to the entirety of the Land of Israel – the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.'
'The Knesset calls upon the cabinet of Israel to act promptly to extend Israeli sovereignty, including law, jurisdiction, and administration, over all areas of Jewish communities, in all its forms, in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. This action will strengthen the State of Israel and its security, and will safeguard the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland.'
'On behalf of the Jewish people living in Zion, we call upon our friends around the world to stand with the desire to return to Zion and the vision of the prophets, and to support the State of Israel in exercising its natural, historical, and legal right to the Land of Israel and in implementing Israel's sovereignty.'
According to the resolution's preamble, 'Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley are an inseparable part of the Land of Israel – the historical, cultural, and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people. Centuries and millennia before the establishment of the State of Israel, the patriarchs, prophets, and founders of the Jewish nation lived and acted in these regions. Cities such as Hebron, Shechem (Nablus), Shiloh, and Beit El are not merely historic sites – they are living symbols of the continuous Jewish presence in the Holy Land.'
The preface continued, 'Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria is an integral part of fulfilling Zionism and the national vision of the Jewish people returning to their ancestral homeland. The October 7, 2023, massacre demonstrated that the establishment of a Palestinian state poses an existential threat to Israel, its citizens, and the stability of the entire region.'
'On July 18, 2024, the Knesset declared its opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River, stating that such a state would endanger the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and undermine regional stability. This resolution effectively removed the concept of a Palestinian state from the agenda,' the preamble concluded.
In his speech presenting the resolution, Rothman alluded to the July 2024 resolution.
'A year ago, my colleagues and I, as members of the Knesset Land of Israel caucus, had the privilege of advancing a historic resolution in this house – a resolution by which the Knesset firmly rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea,' Rothman said.
'For many painful years, both the State of Israel and the international community were misled by 'the PLO's Staged Plan' for the destruction of Israel and the Zionist enterprise. From the days of the Oslo Accords, through the 2005 Disengagement from the Gaza Strip, and via various diplomatic initiatives, the notion of establishing a terrorist state in the heart of our land loomed dangerously,' he added.
'But the people of Israel awoke. And you, my fellow members of this honorable house, stood together and declared before the Angel of Destruction: Enough! No more! We removed the idea of a Palestinian state from the national and global agenda through a principled, clear, and resolute declaration by the Knesset,' Rothman said.
The MK refuted the claim that the vote was meaningless since it was merely declaratory.
'Indeed, a Knesset resolution does not itself implement sovereignty,' he said. 'According to Israeli law, only the government, using an executive order, or the Knesset via formal legislation, can extend Israeli law, jurisdiction, and administration to parts of the Land of Israel.'
'But even as a declaration, this resolution carries immense meaning. It expresses our unbreakable bond with the Land of Israel, the cradle of Jewish civilization. It reflects the national aspiration to realize the return to Zion. It calls upon the Israeli government to act without delay, by its authority, to transform vision into reality,' Rothman said.
'It also calls upon Israel's friends worldwide to stand behind the moral, legal, historical, religious, and cultural right of the Jewish people – and its nation-state – to the entire Land of Israel, and to support the demand that the Jewish people be sovereign in their homeland,' he continued.
In his speech during the opening of the debate, Illouz said in English, 'Today, for the first time ever, the Knesset is officially expressing its support for applying sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Judea and Samaria are not bargaining chips; they are the very heart of our ancestral homeland, the very places where our ancestors walked.'
'Sovereignty is not merely a political stance; it represents victory, identity, and lasting security in the Middle East,' he said. 'Across the world, nations respect those who stand firmly for their values. I call for sovereignty now with pride, with resolve, and without hesitation.'
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said in a statement at the start of the debate, 'The coalition's attempt to inflate a procedural motion – an event with no legal significance– is a pathetic and ridiculous effort to divert attention from the political reality that tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will dismiss the chairperson of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee amid a war, simply because he refused to promote draft evasion.'
'It won't help them. The disgrace is theirs to bear,' he said.
According to Israeli law, the current status of the territories it captured from Jordan in the Six Day War, save for east Jerusalem, is that of a 'temporary belligerent occupation,' and the legal governor of the territories is the IDF Central Command's commanding officer.
During the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s, the territories were split into three different designations – Area A, chiefly Palestinian towns and cities that are under full security and civilian control of the PA; Area B, which is under Israel's security control but the Palestinians' civil control; and Area C, which is under Israeli security and civilian control.
Half a million Israeli settlers live in the West Bank
Israel's approximately 500,000 settlers reside primarily in Area C. Israel views the majority of its settlements as legal under domestic law, built on state land and according to legally viable government decisions.
A majority of international organizations view the settlements as a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which outlaws settling civilians in conquered territory.
Israel has said in its defense that Israeli citizens were neither deported nor transferred to the territories, and that the territory is not occupied since there had been no internationally recognized legal sovereign there prior. In 2024, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory opinion that Israel's presence in the West Bank was no longer temporary and therefore unlawful under international law.
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