Clarification on those ‘illegal outposts’

The issue of so-called “illegal” Jewish settlement outposts in Judea and Samaria is often in the news, and can present a difficulty for Israel advocates when confronted by detractors of the Jewish state.

It is, therefore, important for Israel’s friends abroad to educate themselves on this topic so as to be able to effectively argue Israel’s case even opposite those who have no interest in the Bible and the legitimacy it lends the Jewish people in settling the land.

Jameel over at the Muqata has posted an excellent FAQ regarding the status and history of these outposts, providing more than enough ammunition for those who find themselves defending Israel’s right to build in its biblical heartland.

The most important part of the FAQ is the point dealing with whether or not the outposts are illegal under Israeli law:

The government-commissioned Sasson report admitted that “from the beginning of the nineties…governmental bodies and public authorities…played a central role in establishing the outposts“. In other words, the outposts were without any doubt sanctioned by governmental authorities.

There may not have been an official public government decision to establish many of these outposts, but the fact remains that the Defense Ministry, army and all other relevant parts of the government sanctioned and aided the building of these tiny communities. How else would roads and infrastructure have reached most of the outposts?

Of course, Israel’s foreign detractors will say that the outposts, and indeed all the settlements, violate international law, and are therefore “illegal.” But this is a dubious position, to say the least.

International law states that a nation may not occupy a portion of another nation and build settlements on that land. However, the “West Bank” was never a recognized part of another nation.

The UN offered the Arabs of the West Bank their own state in 1948. They turned down the offer and went to war with Israel instead. It is important to note that Resolution 181 was not a legally binding resolution - in other words it did not establish an Arab state in the West Bank, it merely suggested that the Jews and Arabs west of the Jordan River divide the land between them.

Jordan then occupied the West Bank from 1948-1967, though that occupation was deemed illegal by the international community. It was under this status - as a disputed non-sovereign territory - that the West Bank came under Israeli control during the Six Day War.

Because no nation had ever exercised legitimate sovereign control over the West Bank, Israel’s settlements were not built on occupied foreign territory. Furthermore, there were Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria prior to 1948, and those settlements were granted legitimacy by the international community in the Mandate for Palestine bestowed on Great Britain in 1920.

In fact, the only legally binding piece of international law dealing with control of Judea and Samaria - the 1920 San Remo Conference declaration - unequivocally deeds that land to the Jews.

Than any Jewish presence in the West Bank is “illegal” is a modern myth invented by the Arabs as part of their concocted “Palestinian cause” and willingly propagated by the mainstream media.

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