| « Previous: Changes in the Arab World? | Next: Say ‘No’ to an Imposed Two-State Solution » |
Eugene Rostow and UN Resolution 242
23 November 2008Eugene Rostow is the former US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs.? He played a leading role in drafting Resolution 242, which many cite as the basis for Israel/Arab peace agreements.? Mr. Rostow, before he died, always claimed that Resolution 242 is still binding, and that this resolution gives the Jews the full right to live within the West Bank and Gaza:
…the Jews have the same right to settle there as they have to settle in Haifa. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip were never parts of Jordan, and Jordan’s attempt to annex the West Bank was not generally recognized and has now been abandoned. The two parcels of land are parts of the Mandate that have not yet been allocated to Jordan, to Israel, or to any other state, and are a legitimate subject for discussion.
The international community has thrown around the expression “international law” and “Palestinian rights” in discussing the issue of Israeli settlement, but few have actually looked at the law and the opinions of the lawmaker, upon which these statements are based.? It is clear that the drafters of Resolution 242 were not banning Israeli settlement in the West Bank and Gaza.? Anybody who argues this fact hasn’t read the laws or surveyed the opinions upon which the resolutions were made.
