An Israeli's Response to the Question of Settlements

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This letter was written to the Jerusalem Post by Moshe Aumann, on the Question of Settlements in Israel. Mr Aumann is an experienced Diplomat, retired.

Sir, - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC's) M. Pierre Wettach (letter to the editor, Aug. 11) cites the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, prohibiting "the transfer of [parts of] the civilian population of the occupying power into the occupied territory," as grounds for labeling Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank") illegal. These settlements, he avers, are "a form of population transfer into occupied territory."

The term "occupied territory" implies the existence of a legitimate sovereign state whose territory is being occupied. In this instance, since Jordan's claim to sovereignty in this territory from 1949 till 1967 was never internationally recognized (except by two countries, Britain and Pakistan), the only legitimate previous sovereign power that one can refer to in this area is Britain, in accordance with the Mandate given to it in 1922 by the League of Nations. Under the terms of that Mandate, Britain was charged, among other things, with encouraging "close settlement by Jews on the land." Jordan's invasion in 1948 did not alter that provision – which, incidentally, remains valid also under Article 80 of the UN Charter.

According to Prof. Eugene Rostow, "Israel has an unassailable legal right to establish settlements in the West Bank. The West Bank is part of the British Mandate in Palestine which included Israel and Jordan as well as certain other territories not yet generally recognized as belonging to either country. While Jewish settlement east of the Jordan River was suspended in 1922, such settlements remained legal in the West Bank."

The 1949 Geneva Convention thus is not applicable to Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria today. In addition to that, however, it manifestly does not fit the circumstances of the current situation, which does not and never did involve the transfer of civilians but, on the contrary, reflects a situation where civilians took the initiative in settling these territories, receiving government approval and support only at a later stage.

MOSHE AUMANN

Minister (Ret.), Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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