"[I am] satisfied with part of the country, but on the basis of the assumption that after we build up a strong force following the establishment of the state, we will abolish the partition of the country and we will expand to the whole Land of Israel." - Ben-Gurion, National Founder of the State of Israel, Quote from a meeting of the Jewish Agency executive in June 1938
After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the United Nations Adopted Resolution 242 which called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories back to pre-1967 lines. This resolution was adopted on 22nd November 1967 and later on, in 1974, another resolution was adopted which called for the recognition of the Rights of Palestine. Unfortunately, the subsequent legal evolution of the two-state solution has centered on the 1967 lines which maliciously, whether willfully or not, ignored a previous annexation by Israel in 1948.
On 29th November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181(II) which called for the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into an Arab State and Jewish State, with Jerusalem to be administered by an International Committee. The Jewish population of Palestine accepted the proposal with much celebration. The Jewish Agency for Palestine, later dubbed the Jewish Agency for Israel, also accepted the plan thus providing recognition to the nascent Arab State within the British Mandate. What followed was the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 which witnessed the newly formed state of Israel not only retained its own Mandated Territory but also occupied nearly 70% of the nascent Arab state and creation of over 750,000 Palestinians as refugees.
The Ben-Gurion Doctrine, the unmitigated military response and targeting of civilian infrastructure as a deterrence against any future aggression is one example of this malicious activity. A more glaring example is Israel’s open desire since its inception to annex all of Palestine with both the founding fathers and the Zionist leaders repeatedly stating that the Mandated Jewish State was a base from which the nation was to strengthen itself and then expand further to its perceived borders.
The war ended with Israel signing Armistice agreements with Lebanon, Egypt, Transjordan and Syria establishing the “Green Line” also known as the pre-1967 Borders. In these agreements, both sides agree that this line is not an international boundary, but a ceasefire line and is not to be construed as a political or territorial boundary till the settlement of the Palestinian question. Despite this legal acceptance, the world not only ignored the Israeli annexation but often supported Israeli movements to change the Green Line itself which was repeatedly witnessed in the 1950s and finally culminated in the annexations that were witnessed in the 1967 War.
As the State of Israel repeatedly contravened International Law and the world deformed said law to justify the actions of Israel, the State itself has been vocal about its desire to act against the principles of International Law. The Ben-Gurion Doctrine, the unmitigated military response and targeting of civilian infrastructure as a deterrence against any future aggression is one example of this malicious activity. A more glaring example is Israel’s open desire since its inception to annex all of Palestine with both the founding fathers and the Zionist leaders repeatedly stating that the Mandated Jewish State was a base from which the nation was to strengthen itself and then expand further to its perceived borders. It has continued that policy under the silent blessing of the Civilized World. The Two State Solution is the compromised culmination of this blessing since it looks to fortify the creation of two states within the pre-1967 borders rather than the borders of the Mandate within the UN Partition Plan legitimizing occupation and annexation of foreign territories.
The Solution itself looks to establish a peaceful resolution yet it ignores the fact that Israel had created an entire nation of Refugees and then they occupied and settled into vast territories of Palestine to fulfil their declared expansion plans. The silence of the Two State Solution in addressing these illegalities not only weakened International Law, but the International Community has looked to ease the Paranoia of the Israeli State by deforming International Law to suit its desire.
It is clear that the Two State Solution on the Green Line is flawed and an insult to the Palestinian struggle along with a red flag for the nations of the world regarding International Law.
The Two State solution legitimizes illegal annexations and forced displacement of indigenous populations. By adopting this resolution to the conflict, the world community is sending a message that as long as there is power disparity with perceived grievances, a state can occupy and annex lands of other nations and can then force said nations to accept peace proposals. The “Land for Peace” principle not only emboldened Israel to further expand into Palestinian territory and create settler communities, but also showed the world that the International Community is open to land barter in exchange for peace and if we pursue the current conflicts around the world, nations have adopted similar principles. The most notable example is the Russo-Ukrainian war which the Western world feels is an unjust war, yet Russia seeks a similar compromise for Ukraine that has been offered to the Palestinians by the International Community.
It is clear that the Two State Solution on the Green Line is flawed and an insult to the Palestinian struggle along with a red flag for the nations of the world regarding International Law. Israel has been in illegal occupation of Palestinian Lands since 1948 and this is the correct application of International Law which was also certified by the International Court of Justice when its opinion was sought regarding Resolution 181(II) wherein the court adjudged that not only did the Palestinian people held the right to self-determination but the exercise of such a right entitles them to their own state as envisaged in Resolution 181(II).
There is nothing within established International Law that legitimizes the occupation and annexation of lands by Israel yet the International community has continued to not only support Israel’s illegal actions under the excuse of paranoia but have pressed down to silence the legitimate voices of the Palestinian nation even to the extent that they are being forced by the international community to accept a solution that is an inherent deformation of International Law. As Israel systematically displaces over a million people and commits genocide in a foreign land, the world, dumbfounded is asking what can be done to stop this madness. What can and should be done is that International Law must be reestablished and the illegality by Israel must be corrected by the international community. Israel must be told that they have to return to their borders allotted within the Mandate and all settlers must be removed with the displaced Palestinians being allowed back to their land.
Israel has always announced openly its expansionist policy. Its founding fathers are on record stating in 1938, David Ben-Gurion stated
“after we become a strong force, as a result of the creation of a state, we shall abolish partition and expand into the whole of Palestine.”
The international community did everything in their power to legalize this policy by the Israeli state. It is time to correct this error and cease the deformation of International Law. It is time the international community unites and perhaps through this, sends a message to all nations looking to annex lands under pretexts of grievances, paranoia or historical rights that annexation and occupation of lands will no longer be tolerated.