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<div id="container" class="container font-size5 content-width3"><font
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<div id="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr" style="text-align:
left;">December 7,2017<br>
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<p>President Trumps statement last night represents a
continuation, or potentially culmination, of the
Israeli policy of creating ‘facts on the ground’.
From the American government, it is an official
stamp of approval for the settlement enterprise,
considering that East Jerusalem is occupied
territory, and a green light for continuing
disregard of international law. This brief factsheet
will present the legal status of Jerusalem, and a
brief analysis of what this declaration means for
the future.</p>
<p><em>Historical Overview </em></p>
<p>As part of the partition plan of 1947, Resolution
181(II) of the UN General Assembly (GA), Jerusalem
was to be an internationally administered zone which
did not technically belong to the Palestinian state
or the Zionist state. It was to be a shared cultural
space, <em>corpus separatum</em>, representing its
importance to three Abrhamic religions and
internationally.</p>
<p>Following the Zionist occupation of West Jerusalem,
and the Jordanian administration of East Jerusalem,
steps were quickly taken to assert control over each
of the newly taken areas. For the Zionist area,
plans were made to move their capital to the part of
Jerusalem occupied in 1948. Such plans were finally
realized in 1950 with a resolution passed by the
Occupation Parliament (the Knesset) on 23 January
1950.</p>
<p>Following the war of 1967, the occupation
authorities extended the municipality boundaries to
East Jerusalem, and to land from an additional 28
villages. This resulted in an additional 7000
hectares of land coming under Jerusalem municipality
and, therefore, direct Israeli legislative control
amounting to <em>de facto </em>annexation. This
brought tens of thousands of Palestinians under
direct legislative control.</p>
<p>On 30 July 1980, the Occupation Parliament passed
'The Jerusalem law'. This law changed little in
terms of facts on the ground but formalized the
annexation of Jerusalem by including its mention in
the Israeli basic law. Much like this law, America’s
recognition changes very little in regards to actual
control over the city.</p>
<p><em>The Law</em></p>
<p>There are two interlocking aspects of international
law defining the status of Jerusalem. This is
international humanitarian law (IHL), and
international practice and norms, as represented in
UN General Assembly (GA), Security Council (SC)
resolutions, and state policy.</p>
<p>As part of GA Resolution 181(II), Jerusalem was to
be governed by a trustee council for the UN. There
was to be the appointment of a governor, and the
establishment of a legislative council. This
international regime never eventuated due to the
Jordanian administration and Israeli occupation of
the city.</p>
<p>That said, the inability to implement this regime
did not result in an international acquiescence in
regard to Jerusalem. The lack of recognition of
Jerusalem as a unified capital by the majority of
states, and their unwillingness to locate their
embassies in the city, constituted international
practice and norms surrounding its status. This
practice, coupled with the <em>opinion juris</em>
of the International Court of Justice on the
Apartheid Wall, provides a basis for the foundation
of a international norm in regard to Jerusalem.</p>
<p>As part of the Israeli occupation, the occupied
territory came under the regulation of the Fourth
Geneva Convention. As an internationally recognized
occupied territory, it is prohibited to annex East
Jerusalem under Article 2(4) of the UN charter.
Additionally, the extension of legislative control
to an occupied territory is prohibited under Article
43 of the Hague Convention, which has the status of
international customary law, and Article 64 of the
Fourth Geneva Convention. In the case of Jerusalem,
the occupying force has used its legislative
competence to formalize further policies of forcible
transfer of a protected population. Such actions are
grave violations of international humanitarian law,
and constitute war crimes.</p>
<p><em>Trump’s Declaration</em></p>
<p>Trump’s statement regarding recognition, and the
movement of the US Embassy does not change the
status of Jerusalem. Despite the US’ power, the
change of practice of one state is not sufficient to
undermine a norm of international law, and is surely
not sufficient to negate international humanitarian
law.</p>
<p>Thus, the only ramifications of the declaration are
political. It represents the true end of any hope of
a Palestinian state with territorial continuity, or
East Jerusalem as its capital. Most importantly, it
is a message. It, combined with Trump’s continued
commitment to the ‘peace process’, is meant to
communicate to the Palestinian Authority, and
people, that the will of the strong is all that
matters.</p>
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<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
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