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Palestinian State Is Wishful Thinking

(Washington Times) Jordan Sekulow and Brett Joshpe - The Palestinians are planning to defy their international obligations and international law by unilaterally declaring independence at the UN. The legal effect of that declaration will be nil. According to international legal precedent, statehood is a function of whether an entity possesses the qualities that the world associates with independent, sovereign states. In essence, a state comes into existence by being able to stand on its own as a separate, independent political body. First, the Palestinians lack both a defined territory and a defined population. In the West Bank, areas are designated A, B and C, with the Palestinians exercising virtually no control in Area C and limited control in A and B. Second, their government consists of an internationally recognized terrorist group - Hamas - and the Palestinian Authority (PA), whose authority is only recognized through the Oslo Accord agreements with Israel. Just as importantly, the Palestinians lack the stability of a state. Of the PA's $4 billion annual budget, more than $500 million comes directly from the U.S. European countries also provide hundreds of millions of dollars, and nearly half of the remaining budget requires Israeli assistance. Jordan Sekulow is the executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice. Brett Joshpe is a lawyer with the ACLJ in New York City.
2011-09-23 00:00:00
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