Rose Ann M.

Ticatic Critique Article (January)

ISRAEL'S PATH TO ANNEXATION IS LINED WITH LEGAL THORNS

By Joseph Krauss

January 31, 2020

Krauss, J. (2020). Israel's Path to Annexation is Lined with Legal Thorns. Retrieved from
https://apnews.com/3e09e088a79a3b94937b3772b9607cda

Summary of the Article

The parties involved in this issue was Israeli committee, US officials specifically
President Donald trump and his administration who brings signal to proceed into the annexation.
The problem raised was the forbid of international law towards the annexation of war won
territory, inside Israel which has not had a permanent government in more than a year. Israel
argues to implement the extension of Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, they added
that it has the right to extend the sovereignty over the territories through a simple cabinet vote, a
position backed by Trump administration. The issue crops up when US officials have a joint
Israeli-US committee awaits until the permanent government after March 2 elections- the third in
less than a year. Most of the international community rejects the interpretation regarding the
annexation because it has a negative aura and it is illegal to annex the territory. Thus, annexation
would be widely seen as violation to international law. The issue resolves through the action
made by the International Criminal Court, according to court "last year it was prepared to open a
probe into alleged war crimes committed in the occupied territories pending om ruling
jurisdiction". ICC added that they are not authorized to prosecute annexation as crime but Chief
Factou Bensouda said " Israeli may have violated international laws against transferring civilians
to occupied territory- Jewish settlements. Even though Israeli is not a member of the court and
does not recognize its jurisdiction, Israeli officials could be subject to international arrest
warrants if indicted.

The international law concept that was mentioned in the article was ANNEXATION of
war won territory. It is a formal act whereby a state proclaims its sovereignty over territory
outside its domain. In the case of Israeli there is a subsequent recognition of annexation as it
maybe explicit or implied. Annexation based on the illegal use of force is condemned in United
Rose Ann M. Ticatic Critique Article (January)

Nations Charter. International law forbids the extension of Israel territory because there was an
unbiased plan of Trump to give the Palestinians limited self-rule in Gaza parts of the West Bank
and sparsely populated areas of Israel with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which much of
the international community views as illegal.

The terms that was new to me and seems unfamiliar was annexation which means a
formal act whereby states proclaim its sovereignty over territory outside its domain. Unlike
cession, whereby territory is given or sold through treaty. Annexation is a unilateral act made
effective by actual possession and legitimized on general recognition. It is frequently preceded
by conquest and military occupation of the conquered territory. Israeli annexation was not a
single case towards the expansion of territory. There is a German annexation of Austria in 1938,
Italian annexation of Ethiopia in 1936 and the likes. The formalities of annexation are not
defined by international law whether it be done by one authorities or another within a state is a
master on constitutional law. Next unfamiliar term would be probe to alleged war crimes. This
means discovering an act of serious violation of the laws of war that give rise to individual
criminal responsibility. Additionally, the states could exercise universal jurisdiction over such
crimes. It only means that the ICC has an immediate preliminary action just in case the cased
will reach its peak. However, the ICC is not really responsible into the top important issue about
annexation of Israel, but the Israeli would have violated some humanitarian rights concerning the
provision of international law that is why objectively this solution uphold.

After the evaluation of the article entitled Israel's Path to Annexation is Lined with Legal
Thorns, it clearly manifest that Trump administration create a deep hole without considering a
legal process of international law by giving a false hope to Israeli regarding the expansion of
their territory. The said cased enlighten me that international law have its own concept when it
comes in resolving international issues specifically issues in boards. I learned that it is a long due
process when a problem like these arises because there still a limitation of law that needs to be
considered. There is a law that maybe explicit or implied that depends on a specific issue that is
being crop up. This topic is really interesting for an IR student like me because it tackles
territories and boundaries and how it should be occupied based on legal process. This case added
thrill in studying and exploring public international law because it allows someone to think
differently specially in a circumstantial situation.
Rose Ann M. Ticatic Critique Article (January)

References

https://www.britannica.com/topic/annexation

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crime