Israel stakes claim while Trump takes aim

Israel has not been slow in coming forward to make two highly significant announcements affecting the future allocation of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), as President Trump fails to meet his own self-imposed deadline of 4 March for providing his solution.

At a joint press conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu held at the White House on 4 February, President Trump was asked:

Mr. President, do you support Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria areas, which many believe is the biblical homeland of the Jewish people?

Trump replied:

“Well, we're discussing that with many of your representatives. You're represented very well, and people do like the idea, but we haven't taken a position on it yet. But we will be — we'll be making an announcement probably on that very specific topic over the next four weeks.”

Trump’s announcement has not yet been made. One can speculate as to the reasons why, but one cannot doubt that the following two announcements made by Israel since Trump’s deadline expired point to Israel’s intention to declare sovereignty in part, if not all, of Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

1. Israel's security cabinet approved a plan on 25 March to separate 13 Jewish neighbourhoods in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) from their existing mother-settlements, turning each of them into 13 independent settlements.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared:

“We continue to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologizing, we raise the flag, build and settle. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk had reported on 18 March:

“Israel’s settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, and violated Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”

Türk was barking up the wrong tree. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision is an advisory opinion only, has no binding effect and is legally flawed. The legal right of the Jewish people to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is grounded in Articles 6 and 25 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and enshrined in Article 80 of the 1945 United Nations Charter – matters not considered by the ICJ.