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PROMINENCE OF STATEHOOD IN PALESTINE’S PREDICAMENT
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PROMINENCE OF STATEHOOD IN
PALESTINE’S PREDICAMENT
AUTHORED BY - MANJARI KARTHIK
NARAYANAN
ABSTRACT
The State of Palestine is a territory
located in the levant in western Asia bordering Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and
Egypt. Presently it is being occupied by the state of Israel, a Jewish
ethnostate established by Zionists in 1948. The susceptibility of Palestine to
the constant stream of attacks from Zionist groups striving to occupy the
territory could be amounted to the lack of recognition of the State’s
sovereignty. What is sovereignty? Is sovereignty an outcome or a byproduct of
recognizing a state’s autonomy in the form of its statehood? Or is statehood an
outcome of a territory’s recognized sovereignty? It is vehemently believed that
the recognition of Palestine’s statehood would be the conduit that seals and
establishes Palestine’s autonomy and curtails the colonisers from encroaching
upon Palestine’s territory and threatening its political independence. However, there is always the question of
whether that is plausible in the most astute sense. Nonetheless, if recognition
of Palestine’s statehood can prevail as a stepping stone to attainment of
decolonization, then such a feat seems to be of utmost significance. This
article will analyze the Legal status of Palestine, or its lack thereof; in
order to substantiate the consequences that the lack of recognition would
entail in the International legal spectrum. The major points of discussion here
is whether Palestine qualifies the requirements for statehood and the present
legal status of Palestine.
INTRODUCTION:
For a state to be constituted, there
are certain prescribed stipulations that must be met. A state requires a
definitive territory, subjects or the population and a governing body.
Additionally, a state also requires sovereignty that entails a sense of
autonomy and finally, recognition. The requirement of recognition in order for
a State to be constituted is debatable. However, in the International legal
perspective, garnering recognition from International Bodies and other States
would prove beneficial in terms of international relations and aid. The
practice of conferring recognition of a country’s Statehood by other State is a
form of acceptance of such State into the international community. When it
comes to international trade and matters of granting aid to other nations, only
those States that are recognized to have their own Statehood are involved and
included. Recognition bestowed by other States is one of the foundational
requirements to build trade and/or diplomatic relations which will not only
prove beneficial but is also a basic requisite in the present state of affairs.
In the current era of globalized
economies that freely practice inter-country trade, it is close to impossible
for most economies to be self-sufficient without opening up its door for
international trade and relations. In order to sustain in the present manner of
economic affairs, globally speaking, every country has to contribute to and
participate in international trade. Without recognition from other States, it
is highly inconceivable for a State to participate in international trade.
The recognition of States is a
rudimentary form of international legal order. The acknowledgement of the said
State’s sovereignty and international acceptance is deemed as recognition. The
recognition of a State is integral in determining the international rights and
obligations vested upon the State that has gleaned such recognition.
Until 1948, Palestine used to denote
the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The
Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires have ruled Palestine
in its history. Following the World War I, Palestine was under the
administration of the United Kingdom as per a Mandate, which was received in
1922 from the League of Nations. The recent history of Palestine began when the
British Mandate was terminated, followed by the Partition of Palestine and the
creation of Israel, and the ensuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[1]
In 1947, the United Nations
recommended a Partition Plan for Palestine and the resolution contained
Britain’s planned termination of the British Mandate for Palestine. The
resolution also contained a recommendation of the partition of Palestine into
two states; one being a Jewish state and one being an Arab state, along with
the Jerusalem-Bethlehem area that was deemed to be protected and administered
by the United Nations.
The plan included a well prescribed
description of the recommended boundaries of the two separate states. It also
provided plans for an economic union between the two proposed states and for
the protection of religious and minority rights. The resolution also contained
the withdrawal of British forces and termination of the Mandate by August 1948
followed by the incorporation of the new independent states by October 1948.
However, a look into the history of
Palestine would show that the territory that was prescribed and recommended,
was never entirely bequeathed and administered under the sovereignty of
Palestine. Ever since the beginning, there have only ever been conflicts with
respect to the ownership of the aforementioned territories.
The proximity of discussions on
Statehood and Palestine’s liberation might precipitate the question of what one
has to do with the other, especially when one seemingly fails to understand the
level of significance Statehood and recognition can have on the autonomy of the
state as a whole and its citizens. A State, in its essence, is a formal mode of
organizing a group of people or territory categorized based on their
juxtaposition or similar anthropological behaviour or characteristics or any
other criteria that would allow a sense of uniformity or relativity. Such a
methodic manner of organization would then facilitate the formation of a
governing body that can bring a semblance of order into the such a set-up. When
factors that are required to constitute a particular society into a state
align, such a formation allows the creation of an organization that is not only
acknowledged, but also protected from being disbursed and disturbed. The
cardinal notion behind wanting Statehood is the derivative semblance of
protection that a particular organized society or group of people get. There is
sense of belongingness that comes along with prescribed rights and duties that
these individuals are bound to on a personal and a collective level.
With all the dialogue surrounding
Palestine’s predicament mostly pertaining to the recognition of its Statehood
being a stepping stone to decolonization, it is quite elementary for one to
presume that the attainment of this so-called recognition of Palestine’s
Statehood will absolve Palestine of its quandary. Theoretically, Statehood
bestows autonomy and sovereignty, therefore the recognition of Palestine’s
Statehood is that one final requisite that will eventually grant Palestine its
autonomy and sovereignty and by withholding such recognition, Palestine is
being deprived of the same. But the most pragmatic of perceptions to this whole
conundrum would lead one to the conclusion that, irrespective of such a
recognition being bestowed upon Palestine by other States, autonomy and
sovereignty are not things that are easily attainable and are implementable.
Having said that, the question of
whether acknowledging that Palestine is a state with sovereignty and autonomy
would be the first step towards its liberation since such an acknowledgement
entails the conclusion that Palestine’s sovereignty cannot be threatened by
another state and if another state happens to threaten the same, Palestine can
retaliate and have other states rush to its aid, still lingers.
REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEHOOD
Before we dwell into the
effectiveness of autonomy and sovereignty as theoretically being the major
contributors to the impending decolonization, it is imperative to understand
the criteria that must first be fulfilled to attain Statehood and whether
Palestine even has a semblance of such characteristics. As per the Montevideo
Convention, “The state as a person of international law should possess the
following qualifications: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c)
government; and d) capacity to enter into relations with other states. It is a
well-established principle that, in the international legal perspective,
recognition of a State can be defined as, the acknowledgment or acceptance of a
State as an international personality by the existing States of the
international community. For a State to be constituted and recognized, it must
have a defined territory and a population, it must be politically organized and
must exert a semblance of autonomy or independence.
DOES PALESTINE FULFILL THE CRITERIA
FOR STATEHOOD?
Palestine has been in a constant
state of despair, even since the war in 1967 after which Israeli forces
occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and
East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. The U.N. Security
Council proposed a resolution which warranted the withdrawal of Israel “from
territories occupied” in 1967. The resolution prescribed the right of “every
state in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free
from threats or acts of force.”[2]
In 1974, the Palestine Liberation
Organization was granted observer status in the UN, as the representative of
the Palestinian Arabs. A resolution was adopted on 22 November 1974, wherein, the
PLO was invited to participate in its sessions in the capacity of
observer. UN had also backed a
longstanding peaceful resolution to the conflict and reaffirmed the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of self-determination,
sovereignty and national independence.
Since 1987 when a Palestinian
uprising or intifada rose in West Bank, Gaza and Israel leading to protests and
conflicts, there has been constant unrest for years. The Oslo accords were
signed Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to set out a peace
process. In spite of all such efforts undertaken, to this date, there has been
a constant state of unrest.[3]
This constant reign of terror and
violence has vehemently affected the status of Palestine in the International
legal sphere and also its capacity to fulfill the requirements of statehood. An
important consideration here is whether Palestine has met the criteria for
statehood as per the Montevideo convention. Existence of a motivation to be
constituted into a state is an imperative requirement. Palestine had time and time again displayed
this determination through various means including the 1988 Declaration of
Independence made by the PLO which stated that “The Palestinian National
Council proclaims the establishment of the state of Palestine on our
Palestinian territory with its capital Jerusalem.”[4]
DEFINED TERRITORY:
The first criterion for requirement
is the existence of a defined territory. Although most of Palestine’s territory
are either contested with Israel or under its occupation, it is undebatable
that Palestine has established borders, and a majority of the international
community, including the UN and the EU, recognize the “Green Lines” as the
legitimate partition between Palestinian and Israeli territory, with Palestine
containing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
The International community had
called for the negotiations between Israel and Palestine regarding border
issues to be with regard to pre-1967 borders and the resolution passed by the
Security council called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory
occupied by it during the 6-day war.
A State does not have an obligation
to have declared borders which is substantiated by Israel not having fixed and
determined borders yet still being considered a State. There are other states
with this kind of territorial disputes without such a factor affecting its
existence as states and even if Israel continues to maintain forces at the
borders and to build settlements and encroach into Palestinian territory,
Palestine has a defined territory within the meaning of the Montevideo
Convention.
PERMANENT POPULATION:
Second criterion is the presence of a
population or subjects. It cannot be denied that Palestinians are a nation
since they have since times immemorial have resided within its territory
sharing culture, identity and norms. In the international spectrum, the mandate
recognized the existence of a population of Palestinians, and their purpose to
secure the right to self-determination. The presence of a Palestinian community
has been recognized even after the pronouncement of Israel as a separate state.
Even after Israel had claimed that
the Palestinians were not a people for the purpose of the population
requirement of statehood, since it was lacking continuity of Palestinian
national identity through the decades. Israel propounded the notion that
Palestinians were just Arabs.
Although most Palestinians are mostly
concentrated as refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, there are still a
considerable amount of people that live in the Gaza strip and the West Bank
whether under Israeli occupation or not. To conclude, Palestinian authorities
exert control over a permanent population even if most of the Palestinians are
displaced due to the ongoing fight for control from Zionists.
GOVERNMENT:
The third criterion required for
statehood is an existence of an effective government. In spite of the internal
political conflicts that rose within the Palestinian National Authority, under
Abbas it has established governmental functions close to those of a state
government and that there has been an improvement in the democratic process.
The question of whether the
Palestinian government exercises sufficient authority over its territories is
still persistent. The PA only controls parts of Palestine and in the West Bank,
it is only partial as Israel possesses almost the 60%. Certain areas of
governmental authority such as external and border security are not under the PA’s
control, and remain under Israel. International law, however, does not state
that an entity must be competent and must exert control over every aspect in
order to satisfy the government criterion, therefore, the limitation on its
responsibilities does not defeat the requirement of effective government.
The PA exerts control over most
important governmental services, such as a judiciary and a police force,
legislative and executive authority including education, tourism, culture,
social welfare, taxation and so on.
CAPACITY TO ENTER INTO RELATION WITH
OTHER STATES:
States and international
organizations when interacting with the Palestinian government, sometimes refer
to PA and others to PLO. However, both PA and PLO maintain a functioning
network of diplomatic relations and also take part various international
organizations with status of an observer to associate or affiliate.
Palestine has been bilateral
recognized by137 states and recently some European governments have begun to
formally recognize it. Palestine also houses established embassies, missions
and general delegations in many countries, which could be deemed as an
indication of its ability to enter into relations with other states.
Thus, Palestine more or less meets
the basic requirements to be constituted as a State even if certain criteria
are ambiguous and require reformation. Palestine’s claim for statehood is
justified since Palestine had made efforts to maintain its independence and
initially it was Israel that tampered with its physical territory.
LEGAL STATUS OF PALESTINE:
The legal status of Palestine is as
ambiguous as its control over the physical territory. Israel asserts that
Palestine’s legal status is sui generis, since it claimed that the occupation
had duly ended and that the population was not ready for self-governance and
situation in Palestine must be maintained until Palestine had amassed enough
population to attain a status through self-determination.
The projection of the legal status of
Palestinian territories as sui generis could be deemed to be political. Since
the acceptance by Israel that it was an “occupant,” would constrict them from
permanent seizure or settlement by force. The Israeli Government had conspired
a legal reasoning to legitimize territorially expansive policies.
The concept of sui generis territory
could be deemed to a place like Antarctica but not in the case of territory
that was militarily occupied due to armed conflict, like the Gaza strip and the
West Bank. The claim that the occupation of Gaza ended in 2005, and that its
status is now sui generis is not withstanding. The actual end of an occupation
requires the end of a conflict and the establishment of sovereignty through
self-determination. For Palestine to attain the status of sui generis
territory, the occupation must end following the culmination of the ongoing
conflict and the affording of right of self-determination which would then
allow the recognition of sovereignty.
WHY IS STATEHOOD SIGNIFICANT?
In the
International community, sovereign states are the main entities, among whom
interactions occur. Therefore, through the operation of international law,
states have inherent rights and obligations which are not easily defined, but a
state typically can choose its form of government, make laws that promote its
interests, provide services to its population, exercise jurisdiction over its
territory, have equal legal standing with other states, and use self-defence
against armed attacks. The obligations that are conferred upon the states along
with these rights include, refraining from interfering with the sovereignty of
another state, respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, settling
disputes with other states by peaceful means, and performing obligations
imposed by treaties and other sources of international law.[5]
Colonisation
is defined as the act of taking control of a country or a territory that is not
one’s own, especially using force.[6]
An ample amount of countries have been colonised throughout history by
countries and were tormented for years under the colonisers’ regime. It is
secret that the process of decolonisation, albeit backed by several years of
protests and retaliations from the colonies, ended with the coloniser
countries, restoring the colony’s sovereignty by vacating the territory and
handing over the political administration back to the colony. India is a major
example of a country that had endured such a situation. However, the question of
whether the justification offered to the constant outbursts of protests by
Palestinians in order to restore their autonomy is that, decolonisation can
only occur when such a colony defies the encroachment of the coloniser to the
point where such an extermination is the only available option, still lingers.
Nonetheless, if Palestine’s statehood is unequivocally recognised, then the
people of Palestine need not toil to the point of destruction, in order to
uphold their right of self-determination.
CONCLUSION:
On June 19 2023,
hundreds of Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian villages. On July 3
2023, Israel launched its biggest operation in the West Bank in over two
decades, by staging an air and ground attack with 1,000 soldiers backed by
drone strikes against a refugee camp inside Jenin. It was reported that, the
forces were targeting a militant “command center”. It was reported that that
the Israel Defense Forces said they would continue indefinitely. It was also
reported that at least eight people have been killed and 80 injured, according
to the Palestinian Health Ministry.[7]
To this date, Palestine
has been in contant peril from the stream of attacks from Israeli forces and
settlers have encroached and occupies the territories belonging to Palestine,
leaving them nowhere to go. For a
population such as the Palestinians who have been under occupation and constant
state of danger to their livelihoods, international law is exceptionally
important due to the absence national law-based alternative to assert their
autonomy and the right of self-determination. International law provides the
rights that are available to them as human beings.
Palestinians may or may not attain
statehood and recognition, however, until the occupation continues, and until
there is peace and sovereignty and self-determination, the events that occur in
Gaza and in the West Bank are matters of international law, and are of
international concern. The understanding of international law is a way of
demonstrating respect for the humanitarian norms and human rights.
Understanding and applying international law is an initiation to make the law
matter to the lives of those who need it most, and to the lives of those who
disregard and violate it.
[1] Kirk Bailey (2021) World History For
Dummies et al. (2021) A brief history of
Palestine, dummies. Available at:
https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/history/world/a-brief-history-of-palestine-186279/
(Accessed: 04 September 2023).
[2] HISTORY.COM EDITORS (ed.) (2018) Six-Day
War, History.com. Available at:
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/six-day-war (Accessed: 01 September
2023).
[3] Murphy, B., Taylor, A. and Westfall, S.
(2023) The Israeli-palestinian conflict: A Chronology, The Washington
Post. Available at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/13/israel-palestinians-timeline-conflict/
(Accessed: 02 September 2023).
[4] Palestinian declaration of independence - 15 November
1988 (historical text) (1988) palquest. Available at:
https://www.palquest.org/en/historictext/9673/palestinian-declaration-independence
(Accessed: 01 September 2023).
[5] Use of force under International
Law (2023) Justia. Available at:
https://www.justia.com/international-law/use-of-force-under-international-law/
(Accessed: 02 September 2023).
[6]
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/colonization
[7] Murphy, B., Taylor, A. and Westfall, S.
(2023) The Israeli-palestinian conflict: A Chronology, The Washington
Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/13/israel-palestinians-timeline-conflict/
(Accessed: 02 September 2023).
Article Information
PROMINENCE OF STATEHOOD IN PALESTINE’S PREDICAMENT
Authors: MANJARI KARTHIK NARAYANAN
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/09/06
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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