The comment below from Patrica on Whale Oil Beef Hooked deserves more sunlight. (Edited)
Why the UN stickybeaks are wrong and have no right to act against Israel in the matter of the West Bank settlements
The West Bank is sovereign Israeli territory by right of conquest and conceded by Jordan, its previous owner, in order to end the 6 day war in 1967.
Palestine has never been a country, rather it refers to a region controlled by various empires. Between 1516 and 1917 it was part of the Ottoman Empire and from 1922 to 1948 the area was ruled by the British under a League of Nations mandate.
In 1947 the British declared that they were going to terminate their mandate over the region and the United Nations came up with a plan to split the area into two territories, one for the Jews and the other for the Palestinians. The Jews then declared the state of Israel and the neighbouring Arab nations of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt (with token contributions from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen) immediately invaded with the declared aim of the destruction of the Jewish state.
In the 18 months which followed the Israelis withstood the initial onslaught, then drove the Arabs out of most of the region, the exception being the Gaza strip, held by Egypt, and the West Bank which was taken by Jordan. It should be noted that the Palestinian’s Arab neighbours TOOK all the land they could for themselves; they did NOT create a state for the Palestinian’s. The UN did NOT wave its hands in the air and shout that Palestine should be returned to the Palestinians. With friends like those of the Palestinians’………
In 1967 the 6 day war resulted in the conquest of the West Bank territory by Israel and as part of the resulting peace treaty with Jordan, Jordan ceded that territory to Israel. Israel also took the Sinai Peninsular from Egypt and the Golan heights from Syria. Again, the UN did NOT jump up and down about the return of Palestine to the Palestinians!
After another decade or so of tension and conflict Israel negotiated peace with Egypt and Egypt has withdrawn its stated aim to destroy Israel. Israel has returned the Sinai Peninsular to Egypt and there has been a marked decrease in tension between the two nations, demonstrating Israel’s willingness to live harmoniously in the region if only its neighbours will withdraw the threat of destruction.
The same cannot be said for the Golan Heights which were regularly used to shell Israel until the Israelis took them in 1967. With no such recognition of Israel’s right to exist being forthcoming Israel has sensibly retained possession of the Heights.
In the West Bank and Gaza Strip Israel has taken significant steps towards allowing autonomous rule by the Palestinian Arabs, however this in the face of continued terrorist actions and repeated calls for Israel’s destruction; the willingness of Israel to allow the creation of an antagonistic state on its doorstep is understandably low.
There is no country of Palestine to return to the Palestinians and all borders that exist today do so by right of conquest or negotiation by the Israelis with their neighbours. This modern phenomenon of demanding that a conquering nation return the land it has won to the previous owners was not in play when the West Bank was taken and it was taken from Jordan, who had previously annexed it from the Palestinians, also by right of conquest. The West Bank is Israeli territory and the UN has no business dictating what they can and cannot build there. There is no breach of International law because Israel is not acting outside of its borders. All this has done is provide the Palestinians with a feeling of justification for more terrorist acts and the Israelis with confirmation that they need to suppress their Arab citizens if the state is to survive. Has it enhanced the prospects of peace in the region? I don’t think so.
The Palestinians within the borders of Israel are not a nation. They are disgruntled citizens who must learn to live peacefully with the Jews if they want to remain living in that land or relocate to a country whose government they prefer. Peaceful protest against discriminatory laws would be acceptable from people who were not crying “destroy Israel and kill the Jews”; as it is the Jews of Israel have good reason to fear removing their foot from the Palestinian throat.
