Article 80 consigns UN conjectural State of Palestine to shredder
A lot of hot air and righteous indignation will be on show at the United Nations General Assembly commencing on 22 September during a session to be jointly chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
A resolution will be passed by a large majority calling for the recognition of what US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio has dubbed the “conjectural State of Palestine”.
Rubio’s use of the word “conjectural “ was carefully chosen- identifying what any such State of Palestine would be: “A state based on an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information”
It will not be a state that complies with the requirements of international law as set out in the 1933 Montevideo Convention: Already possessing a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
If the General Assembly stipulates that this non-existing State of Palestine be located in any territory located west of the Jordan River – it will be acting in flagrant violation of international law: Articles 6 and 25 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the United Nations Charter.
Furthermore any such resolution would not be worth the paper it is written on since it exceeded the power of the General Assembly to pass any resolutions that sought to extinguish the right vested in the Jewish people under article 80 of the UN Charter: The right to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in the area of former Palestine situated between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea authorised by the Mandate for Palestine.
In legal jargon: Any such resolution would be ultra vires the power of the General Assembly to make since it would violate article 80 of the UN Charter.
Finally any such resolution would be made in the face of Israel’s unconditional rejection in the Knesset of such a State by 69 votes to 8 on 18 July 2024:
“The Knesset of Israel firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan. The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel will pose an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and destabilise the region.
It will only be a matter of a short time until Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terror base, working in coordination with the Iranian-led axis to eliminate the State of Israel. Promoting the idea of a Palestinian state at this time will be a reward for terrorism and will only encourage Hamas and its supporters to see this as a victory, thanks to the massacre of October 7, 2023, and a prelude to the takeover of jihadist Islam in the Middle East.”
Given this overwhelming vote – no future Knesset comprising 120 members would vote in any other way.
The United Nations has acted with extreme hostility toward one of its member States – Israel – since 1975 when the General Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian (CEIRPP), and requested it to recommend a programme of
implementation to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights to self- determination without external interference, national independence and sovereignty; and to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced.
50 years later these objectives remain unrealised since making them happen clearly denies the legal rights vested in the Jewish people under article 80 of the UN Charter.
An alternative solution to a State of Palestine located between Israel and Jordan is proffered in the above cartoon.
Facts always beat conjecture.
Author’s note: Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”
David Singer is an Australian lawyer and political analyst.
