1st Edition
The Legal Case for Palestine A Critical Assessment
This book critically analyzes the Palestinian legal arguments against Israeli occupation and in favor of Palestinian statehood.
For the past two decades, Palestinians have chosen to pursue their claims against the Israeli occupation through litigation at the international courts. It is therefore appropriate, the author contends, to analyze the merits of the Palestinian legal claims separately from their political claims. To do so, the book comprises five parts:
- Part I addresses the role of international law in the conflict, as well as Palestinian legal framing and lawfare.
- Part II recounts the relevant legal history, including the crucial legal implications of the Oslo Accords.
- Part III analyzes Palestinian legal claims regarding the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
- Part IV assesses the Palestinian legal case for statehood.
- Part V analyzes Palestinian legal claims regarding Jerusalem.
Ultimately, it is argued that the Palestinian legal case is weak and that the two-state solution continues to represent the most viable long-term political outcome to the conflict. Moreover, the author suggests that Palestinian leaders have repeatedly opted for conflict perpetuation through lawfare and violence, rather than conflict resolution through negotiation.
Providing fresh insights into the claims and counterclaims of Palestinian legitimacy, the book will appeal broadly to anyone interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and international law.
Introduction Part I: International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 1. International Law: Aspiration vs. Reality 2. Palestinian Legal Framing and Narrative 3. Palestinian Lawfare Part II: Relevant Legal History 4. The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, 1915-1916 5. The Palestine Mandate, 1922 6. Palestinians Deny the Existence of Palestine, 1920s-1930s 7. Palestinians Reject the Two-State Solution, 1937 8. Palestinians Reject the One-State Solution, 1939 9. Palestinians Again Reject the Two-State Solution, 1947 10. The “All-Palestine Government,” 1948 11. The Forgotten Occupation of the West Bank – Jordan, 1948-1967 12. The Forgotten Occupation of the Gaza Strip – Egypt, 1948-1967 13. The Original PLO Charter, May 1964 14. The Oslo Accords, 1993-1995 Part III: Assessing the Palestinian Legal Case: The West Bank and the Gaza Strip 15. Is Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank Illegal? 16. Are Israeli Settlements in the West Bank Illegal? 17. Is the Gaza Strip “Occupied”? Part IV: Assessing the Palestinian Legal Case: Statehood 18. Are the Palestinians Legally Entitled to Statehood? 19. Is Palestine Already a “State”? Part V: Assessing the Palestinian Legal Case: Jerusalem 20. Who Owns Jerusalem? Conclusion
Biography
Steven E. Zipperstein is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the UCLA Center for Middle East Development and an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Zipperstein is also a Visiting Professor at Tel Aviv University Law School. Zipperstein is the author of Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948 (Routledge, 2022) and Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Trials of Palestine (Routledge, 2020).
