Kerry Condemns Jewish Settlements in Israel’s Heartland “I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.” (Ezekiel 37:22) As the Palestinians threatened to leave the peace talks because of Israel’s ongoing construction in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria (West Bank), US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Israel last week in order to “find a way forward.” It was his seventh visit to Israel since February. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hugs Yitzhak Rabins daughter Dalia after laying a wreath at the site where the former Israeli Prime Minister was assassinated in 1995. Before meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told Kerry he was concerned about the progress of the talks, Kerry stopped at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to lay a wreath at the spot where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. His visit marked the 18th anniversary of the killing. While at Rabin Square, he commented on the peace negotiations, saying, “I promise Israelis that America will stand by the side of Israel every step of the way.” (Israel HaYom) The next day, however, after a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Kerry announced: “The position of the United States of America on the settlements is that we consider now and have always considered the settlements to be illegitimate.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem at the outset of a meeting focused on the Middle East peace process. Please click here to stand with Gods Word and send a message of support and comfort to the Jewish People Despite the US position, according to Alan Baker, an Israeli expert in international law and former ambassador to Canada, Israeli settlements are neither illegitimate nor illegal under international law. To clarify the issue, he highlights the following 10 points (jcpa): 1.The 1907 Hague Rules on Land Warfare and the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) are not applicable to the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) territory because Jordan controlled the West Bank prior to 1967. Jordan was never considered sovereign over the territory. Furthermore, since Israel took control of the area in 1967, Jordan has renounced any claim to it. 2. As administering power, Israel chose to implement the humanitarian provisions of the Geneva Convention to protect the rights of the local population, as well as Israel’s right to develop land not privately owned. Although Hebron is the site of the oldest Jewish community in the world, it was captured and occupied by the Jordanian Arab Legion following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The Jewish community was re-established there in 1967, when Israel won the West Bank after the surrounding Arab nations once again began to amass forces against Israel. 3.Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the mass transfer of populations, does not apply to Israelis choosing to move to Judea and Samaria (West Bank).
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 00:08:08 +0000
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