Renewed opposition to Israeli settlements

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Renewed Opposition To Israeli Settlements
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Renewed Opposition To Israeli Settlements
Issue-Introduction
Israeli settlements in the west bank is one of the major crises which the Israeli government is facing at present. The issue could be termed multi-dimensional as a number of parties both local and international are involved in the issue. In December 2014, the Supreme Court of Israel had ruled that the settlements in the west bank are unauthorized and illegal. The outpost Amona established in 1995 sits on the private property of nearby Palestinian villagers. The Supreme Court ordered to demolish all the buildings in the Amona within a time period of 2 years. This was in pursuance of the previous Supreme Court rulings where it held that the international laws were made a part of the Israel’s constitution as the laws were binding on all civilized nations (Byung-Woon Lyou, 2015). This was further strengthened by the subsequent cases when the Supreme Court ruled that the Hague IV Convention is a perquisite for the Israeli government to consider all kinds of building and town planning (Voyiakis, 2010). The Sharon government constituted the Sasson commission to investigate the issue of illegal settlements. The Sasson commission also termed the west bank settlement in violation of the Supreme Court orders and international laws. In 2003, the government of Israel accepted to remove these posts for peace initiatives however the promise had not yet been fulfilled.

The major problem is that the Israeli Government has been instructed to remove the illegal settlements by Supreme Court while it is facing major opposition from pro-settlements parties to discontinue any removal efforts. The Obama Administration also strongly condemned any policy of the government to settle the west bank residents to other settled areas as this according to their view is the initiation of a new settlement process. The government of Israel on the other hand has clarified that it plans to expand the current existing settlements and it has no intention to create new settlement areas. AnalysisThe Israeli government at present is facing pressure from three different sides. At one side is the verdict of the Supreme Court to abolish the illegal settlements of the west bank and Amona (Goldberg, 2016). The government is bound to fulfil the orders of the Supreme Court by the specified deadline. One possible option for the government at present is to ask for an extension in the deadline however the government has already utilized this option and the Supreme Court has denied the plea and has rejected the possibility of an extension to the deadline. Another pressure is from the opposition parties where they are strongly opposing any kind of resettlement of the existing illegal settlers. Their demand is in complete contrast to the Supreme Court verdict in which government is legally bound to follow the orders of the Supreme Court. For the current administration, a constitutional act leads to a political disaster while a politically popular move could create constitutional problems for the government (Immell, 2011). The present administration had devised a feasible solution of the problem by offering to settle the existing settlers in already settled areas. The option could possibly had been exercised, however the situation has further worsened with the involvement of the United States that too does not support the idea of resettlement of illegal settlers in already settled areas ("Israel’s settlement drive is becoming irreversible, diplomats fear", 2016). If the government does not consider the sentiments of the international community specifically the United States, it might possibly dent Israel’s international standing and may lose United States’ support in other matters such as military and financial support. Recommendations
The administration should follow the rule of the law in all the circumstances. The verdict of the Supreme Court is not only according to the rules of the justice but according to the international laws as well. The government should therefore make all necessary efforts to ensure that the rule of the law prevails over all other things. The next step is with respect to negotiation with the international community. The emergence of Donald Trump, as the new president of the United States has created great opportunity for the current Israeli administration to renegotiate all the matters with respect to west bank settlements. President elect Trump in his previous statements has already elaborated that he does not see the west bank issue as an obstacle to peace. This creates great opportunity for the government to enter into new negotiations with the U.S administration and arrive at a decision which is acceptable to both the parties. This way the administration can resolve its issues with the international community. The last possible problem is the opposition of the parties with respect to resettlement of the illegal settlers. In this regard, at first the opposing parties are making unconstitutional demands which the government is not obliged to follow. The Israeli administration can take constitutional steps against such parties. This way, the administration would be able to deal with the opposition in a constitutional way. Another option is to fulfil the orders of the Supreme Court unconditionally however the government should strictly deal with any kind of opposition without going beyond its constitutional powers. The consequences of such an option might not be desirable however the government needs to consider the fact that to prevail the rule of law is its major responsibility.

References
Byung-Woon Lyou,. (2015). Local Customary International Law or Particular Customary Law. Journalofhongiklawreview, 16(2), 105-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.16960/jhlr.16.2.201506.105
Goldberg, J. (2016). Why the Fight Over Israeli Settlements Is Reaching a Boiling Point. The Forward. Retrieved 30 November 2016, from http://forward.com/opinion/351843/why-the-fight-over-israeli-settlements-is-reaching-a-boiling-point/
Immell, M. (2011). Israel (1st ed.). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
Israel’s settlement drive is becoming irreversible, diplomats fear. (2016). Reuters. Retrieved 30 November 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-settlements-idUSKCN0YM1MY
Voyiakis, E. (2010). Customary International Law and the Place of Normative Considerations. The American Journal Of Jurisprudence, 55(1), 163-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajj/55.1.163