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Brussels, 22 August, 2011 - A unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state would not only violate important principles in international law, it would in fact put an end to the Oslo Interim Agreement. It would be disregarding one if its most central commitments, namely, not to change the status of the West Bank pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiation.
This is one of the messages of a new short documentary produced by European Coalition for Israel which is being released today, Monday 22 August, one month before a planned Palestinian statehood bid at the UN in New York. The release of the video marks the final phase of an international information campaign to raise awareness of the legal foundations of the modern state of Israel and of the fatal consequences of dividing Jerusalem.
- ’Any lasting peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians needs to be based on historical facts and International Law,’ says campaign director Tomas Sandell of ECI, who also underlines that peace can only be achieved through bilateral negotiations and not through a unilateral declaration.
The film explains how the legitimacy of the modern state of Israel is not based on the UN Partition Plan of 1947 but on legal acts and commitments made by the international community long before the Second World War, starting with the San Remo Conference of April, 1920. At this conference, organized by the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers, the right of the Jewish state to be re-constituted was incorporated into International Law, thus acknowledging that the Jewish state had pre-existing rights. These commitments were later taken over by the UN in Article 80 of the Charter of the United Nations and thus make it relevant to this day.
- ’If we fail to understand and respect these facts, we are undermining the true foundation for peace’, concludes Sandell.
In the 15 minute film, prominent legal scholars and diplomats like Jacques Gauthier, Howard Grief and Dore Gold present the legal foundation for the modern state of Israel. They argue that a return to the 1948-1967 armistice lines would not only jeopardise the UN pledge for secure borders for the Jewish state, but would also re-divide Jerusalem and place the Old City under Palestinian rule.
The film argues that the only way to secure a ”shared city” between Jews and Arabs is to keep Jerusalem united and under Jewish sovereignty, hence ensuring that the Old City stays open to people of all faiths. The history of the last 44 years proves that the different faith communities can only co-exist under Jewish sovereignty, whereas Arab control would once again restrict religious freedom and jeopardise the future of the Jewish holy sites.
The film will be presented in selected TV-channels throughout the world and will also be distributed through social media and the website www.GivePeaceAChance.info In addition to this there will also be private screenings in a number of national capitals and parliaments.
