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The Trump Regime Considers the West Bank, Gaza and Syria’s Golan Israeli Territory

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The Trump Regime Considers the West Bank, Gaza, and Syria’s Golan Israeli Territory

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.orgHome – Stephen Lendman)

The West Bank and Gaza are illegally occupied Palestinian territories. There’s nothing “disputed” about them. 

Expanding Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land flagrantly violate Fourth Geneva’s Article 49, stating:

“Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”

“The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross affirmed Fourth Geneva, saying “international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory.”

Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, International Court of Justice rulings, and High Contracting Parties to Fourth Geneva affirmed its legitimacy as binding international law.

Fourth Geneva’s Article 53 states: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited…”

Since 1967, Israel illegally demolished over 46,000 Palestinian houses, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) – their residents displaced for exclusive Jewish development and use.

The Trump regime’s latest State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices refers to the West Bank, Gaza, and Syria’s Golan as “Israeli-controlled,” no longer calling these territories “occupied” or under “occupation” as of last year’s report

In December 2017, Trump regime Zionist ideologue envoy to Israel David Friedman got the State Department to stop calling these territories occupied, falsely saying “settlements are part of Israel.”

The State Department’s report said “(o)n December 6 (2017), the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It is the position of the United States that the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final status negotiations between the parties.”

Like the US, Israel doesn’t negotiate. It demands, Palestinians consistently denied their fundamental rights. Washington one-sidedly supports the Jewish state, partnering in its high crimes.

The State Department report lied, claiming “the most significant human rights issues included terrorist attacks (by Palestinians) (sic) targeting civilians and politically and religiously motivated killings by nonstate groups and individuals…” 

Israeli high crimes were largely ignored, notably flagrant human and civil rights violations, killings and targeted assassinations, mass imprisoning Palestinians for political reasons, blockading Gaza for the same reason, torture, land theft, displacement of owners and residents – along with overall apartheid viciousness.

State Department spokesman Michael Kozak lied, claiming US “policy on the status of the territories has not changed. We retitled the Human Rights Report to refer to the commonly used geographic names (sic) of the area the report covers.

Last year, Trump’s State Department stopped calling the West Bank, Gaza, and Syrian Golan “occupied.” Current language refers to them as “Israeli-controlled.”

Pre-Trump State Department reports called the West Bank, Gaza, and Syrian Golan “occupied.” Trump and Zionist ideologues infesting his regime are more one-sided for Israel than their predecessors.

Visiting Golan with Netanyahu on Monday, neocon hardliner Lindsey Graham said “I will start an effort to recognize the Golan as part of the State of Israel now and forever,” adding: 

“Israel occupied this territory by fighting for its survival (sic). This territory was taken by military force because it was used as a launching point to attack the State of Israel” – a bald-faced Big Lie.

In June 1967, Israel illegally seized Golan and Egypt’s Sinai during its preemptive Six Day War of aggression – the latter territory returned to its rightful owner, the former kept.

The world community and UN recognize Golan as Syrian territory. Israel illegally maintains control. The same goes for stolen West Bank and East Jerusalem land – belonging to the Palestinians, not the Jewish state.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home – Stephen Lendman). Contact at [email protected].

 

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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