Is the Occupation of the West Bank Morally Justified?

[Toddsterpatriot]

So there was a transfer of title to Israel?

Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank (in Arabic: قرار فك الارتباط), in which Jordan surrendered the claim to sovereignty over the West Bank, took place on 31 July 1988.[50] On 31 July 1988, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank (with the exception of guardianship over the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem), and recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."[51][52]

Jordanian annexation of the West Bank - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

 

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Military action must be targeted towards addressing a specific situation and carry a reasonable hope of success in its efforts.

If the goal of the initial West Bank occupation was to repel the Jordanian military force, the end result shows that Israel certainly met the criteria of reasonable hope of success.

However, there does not seem to be hope of success in the ongoing occupation of the West Bank. If success is determined by keeping Israel safe, it is doubtful that years of antagonizing Palestinians has led to safety for either group. Israel succeeded in defending itself in 1967, but has created an ongoing situation that is antithetical to its own self-defense and has no hope of success.

 

[Indeependent]

I guess that justifies the continued occupation in your mind as being moral.

Absolutely...In fact, I think you should personally visit the American friendly nations of Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Turkey to inform them of my opinion.
But name me as your Life Insurance beneficiary before you go.

 

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Militaries must respond with proportional force commensurate to the force of aggression against them.

Israel could have defended its territory and pushed back the Jordanian forces without also taking control over the entire West Bank. However, it is also reasonable that the Israeli military would want to push the Jordanian army back as far as they could, to completely secure their sovereign territory from further attack. Thus, Israel’s 1967 actions receive the benefit of the doubt for the criteria of proportional force.

Once the war was over, however, the use of force inherent to the continued occupation was disproportionate to the level of ongoing threat. Even if the occupation provides some security to Israel, it comes at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of three million Palestinians living in the West Bank. There must be a different way for Israel to defend its own boundaries without forcing occupation upon its neighbors. By causing disproportionate harm to the Palestinians living under Israel’s control, the ongoing occupation is not a valid instance of proportional force.

 

[Indeependent]

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

The Lord is merciful which is why He puts up with you.

 

[Indeependent]

Militaries must respond with proportional force commensurate to the force of aggression against them.

Israel could have defended its territory and pushed back the Jordanian forces without also taking control over the entire West Bank. However, it is also reasonable that the Israeli military would want to push the Jordanian army back as far as they could, to completely secure their sovereign territory from further attack. Thus, Israel’s 1967 actions receive the benefit of the doubt for the criteria of proportional force.

Once the war was over, however, the use of force inherent to the continued occupation was disproportionate to the level of ongoing threat. Even if the occupation provides some security to Israel, it comes at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of three million Palestinians living in the West Bank. There must be a different way for Israel to defend its own boundaries without forcing occupation upon its neighbors. By causing disproportionate harm to the Palestinians living under Israel’s control, the ongoing occupation is not a valid instance of proportional force.

I'm bored.

 

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Military forces must employ just means by following proper war conduct.

The Israeli army used just means in the initial military operation of 1967. The only quarrel in this regard would be from Palestinians who were unnecessarily displaced during this time period. While displacement often happens during war, it’s possible that the Israeli army took extra liberties to displace locals during its initial advancements in the West Bank.

The ongoing occupation has displayed a disregard for just means, especially in the continued displacement of Palestinians from their homes. The Israeli Defense Force has been known to quell protests with lethal arms and overbearing military force, as well as kill and detain at will. These infringe upon the important principle of non-combatant immunity. Military force is supposed to do its best to spare civilians from harm, but the occupation targets civilians first instead. The separation walls and innumerable constrictive checkpoints are other examples of harming civilian life. None of this constitutes just means in the ongoing post-1967 occupation.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

The OP is still waiting for that moral argument for Israel occupying the Palestine Territory.

We can assume Israel fought the 1967 War with upstanding intentions of safeguarding its immediate and continued survival. However, evidence suggests that some Israeli commanders operated with the additional motive of land conquest. For example, reports suggest that military leaders asked the U.S. to delay the U.N. ceasefire until they had time to finish conquering the entire West Bank. This action belies an opportunism that puts the question of right intention in doubt.

This doubt grows when we consider how Israel has managed the Occupied Palestine Territory in the years since the war. The immediate annexation of East Jerusalem, including the Old City, reveals a prior intention of gaining and keeping this territory if given the opportunity to do so. The retention of the entire West Bank and the full military control of its borders speaks to similar motives. Most of all, the proliferation and protection of Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank reveal great intentions of land conquest. Whether or not this was the initial plan of the Israeli military, it has been the long-term reality. The land that Palestinians are allowed to live on is being reduced into ever smaller parcels while the Israeli military and settlement presence grows. Thus, the long-term occupation of the West Bank does not meet the standard of right intention.

The OP is still waiting for that moral argument for Israel occupying the Palestine Territory.

And that's your mistake.

 

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Let's face it, there really is no moral justification for the occupation or Palestine.

 

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Not even one attempt was made to justify it.

 

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Conclusion
According to this seven-fold analysis, the initial wartime occupation of the West Bank in 1967 satisfies the criteria of the Just War Theory, while the ongoing occupation does not. And even the initial occupation is made morally suspect by the unjust intention of land conquest present at the time. Over fifty years of military occupation, administrative control, and settlement proliferation in the West Bank suggest that this intention of conquest has come to fruition.

The occupation of the West Bank should have ended shortly after 1967. The continued occupation does not satisfy the criteria of the Just War Theory, and is therefore not morally justified.

Charles Skold is graduating in 2019 with a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School. He’s from Freeport, Maine, and received a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University in 2011. You can find him on Twitter at: @CharlesSkold.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Militaries must respond with proportional force commensurate to the force of aggression against them.

Israel could have defended its territory and pushed back the Jordanian forces without also taking control over the entire West Bank. However, it is also reasonable that the Israeli military would want to push the Jordanian army back as far as they could, to completely secure their sovereign territory from further attack. Thus, Israel’s 1967 actions receive the benefit of the doubt for the criteria of proportional force.

Once the war was over, however, the use of force inherent to the continued occupation was disproportionate to the level of ongoing threat. Even if the occupation provides some security to Israel, it comes at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of three million Palestinians living in the West Bank. There must be a different way for Israel to defend its own boundaries without forcing occupation upon its neighbors. By causing disproportionate harm to the Palestinians living under Israel’s control, the ongoing occupation is not a valid instance of proportional force.

Militaries must respond with proportional force commensurate to the force of aggression against them.

Israel kicked Arab ass.....again.

There must be a different way for Israel to defend its own boundaries without forcing occupation upon its neighbors.

Maybe their neighbors should try peace?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Let's face it, there really is no moral justification for the occupation or Palestine.

The "Palestinians" should have all moved to Jordan in 1967.

 

[irosie91]

SIX-DAY WAR ERUPTS
On June 5, 1967, the Israel Defense Forces initiated Operation Focus, a coordinated aerial attack on Egypt. That morning, some 200 aircraft took off from Israel and swooped west over the Mediterranean before converging on Egypt from the north.

After catching the Egyptians by surprise, they assaulted 18 different airfields and eliminated roughly 90 percent of the Egyptian air force as it sat on the ground. Israel then expanded the range of its attack and decimated the air forces of Jordan, Syria and Iraq.

By the end of the day on June 5, Israeli pilots had won full control of the skies over the Middle East.

Israel all but secured victory by establishing air superiority, but fierce fighting continued for several more days. The ground war in Egypt began on June 5. In concert with the air strikes, Israeli tanks and infantry stormed across the border and into the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian forces put up a spirited resistance, but later fell into disarray after Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer ordered a general retreat. Over the next several days, Israeli forces pursued the routed Egyptians across the Sinai, inflicting severe casualties.

A second front in the Six-Day War opened on June 5, when Jordan – reacting to false reports of an Egyptian victory – began shelling Israeli positions in Jerusalem. Israel responded with a devastating counterattack on East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

On June 7, Israeli troops captured the Old City of Jerusalem and celebrated by praying at the Western Wall.

SIX-DAY WAR ERUPTS
On June 5, 1967, the Israel Defense Forces initiated Operation Focus, a coordinated aerial attack on Egypt. That morning, some 200 aircraft took off from Israel and swooped west over the Mediterranean before converging on Egypt from the north.

After catching the Egyptians by surprise, they assaulted 18 different airfields and eliminated roughly 90 percent of the Egyptian air force as it sat on the ground. Israel then expanded the range of its attack and decimated the air forces of Jordan, Syria and Iraq.

By the end of the day on June 5, Israeli pilots had won full control of the skies over the Middle East.

Israel all but secured victory by establishing air superiority, but fierce fighting continued for several more days. The ground war in Egypt began on June 5. In concert with the air strikes, Israeli tanks and infantry stormed across the border and into the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian forces put up a spirited resistance, but later fell into disarray after Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer ordered a general retreat. Over the next several days, Israeli forces pursued the routed Egyptians across the Sinai, inflicting severe casualties.

A second front in the Six-Day War opened on June 5, when Jordan – reacting to false reports of an Egyptian victory – began shelling Israeli positions in Jerusalem. Israel responded with a devastating counterattack on East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

On June 7, Israeli troops captured the Old City of Jerusalem and celebrated by praying at the Western Wall.

^^^^^^ MOST IDIOTIC POST OF THE 21st
CENTURY
"After catching the Egyptians by surprise"
and now for a touch of reality---by mid-MAY
the UN was in EMERGENCY SESSION to deal
with CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST---Egypt
shut down the straits of Tiran and massed its
Russian trained and armed army which
included Russian Military men on the border
with Israel and had threatened DAILY
COMPLETE ANNHILATION of "all da jooos"
(dingbat forgot----the UN remained in daily EMERGENCY
SESSION for weeks -----until June 5 the egyptian
ambassador GRINNED ---then---he stopped smiling---
then---he wept. Nasser threatened resignation----
until he dropped dead of a heart attack

 

[ding]

^^^^^^ MOST IDIOTIC POST OF THE 21st
CENTURY
"After catching the Egyptians by surprise"
and now for a touch of reality---by mid-MAY
the UN was in EMERGENCY SESSION to deal
with CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST---Egypt
shut down the straits of Tiran and massed its
Russian trained and armed army which
included Russian Military men on the border
with Israel and had threatened DAILY
COMPLETE ANNHILATION of "all da jooos"
(dingbat forgot----the UN remained in daily EMERGENCY
SESSION for weeks -----until June 5 the egyptian
ambassador GRINNED ---then---he stopped smiling---
then---he wept. Nasser threatened resignation----
until he dropped dead of a heart attack

No. I am fully aware of the history. Clearly you didn't read what was written.

The initial wartime occupation of the West Bank in 1967 satisfies the criteria of the Just War Theory, the ongoing occupation does not.

You don't like that conclusion but those are the facts.

 

[irosie91]

SIX-DAY WAR ERUPTS
On June 5, 1967, the Israel Defense Forces initiated Operation Focus, a coordinated aerial attack on Egypt. That morning, some 200 aircraft took off from Israel and swooped west over the Mediterranean before converging on Egypt from the north.

After catching the Egyptians by surprise, they assaulted 18 different airfields and eliminated roughly 90 percent of the Egyptian air force as it sat on the ground. Israel then expanded the range of its attack and decimated the air forces of Jordan, Syria and Iraq.

By the end of the day on June 5, Israeli pilots had won full control of the skies over the Middle East.

Israel all but secured victory by establishing air superiority, but fierce fighting continued for several more days. The ground war in Egypt began on June 5. In concert with the air strikes, Israeli tanks and infantry stormed across the border and into the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian forces put up a spirited resistance, but later fell into disarray after Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer ordered a general retreat. Over the next several days, Israeli forces pursued the routed Egyptians across the Sinai, inflicting severe casualties.

A second front in the Six-Day War opened on June 5, when Jordan – reacting to false reports of an Egyptian victory – began shelling Israeli positions in Jerusalem. Israel responded with a devastating counterattack on East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

On June 7, Israeli troops captured the Old City of Jerusalem and celebrated by praying at the Western Wall.

you got a CITATION for that ^^^ perversion of history------ie---name the mosque or Imam

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

No. I am fully aware of the history. Clearly you didn't read what was written.

The initial wartime occupation of the West Bank in 1967 satisfies the criteria of the Just War Theory, the ongoing occupation does not.

You don't like that conclusion but those are the facts.

Arabs lost. No do overs. That's the fact.
If "Palestinians" want a country of their own, they should try peace.
Quickly, they're running out of time/land.

 

[ding]

you got a CITATION for that ^^^ perversion of history------ie---name the mosque or Imam

Six-Day War

The Six-Day War was a brief but bloody conflict fought in June 1967 between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The brief war ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire, but it significantly altered the map of the Mideast and gave rise to lingering geopolitical friction.

www.history.com

Who knew that history.com perverted history

 

[ding]

Arabs lost. No do overs. That's the fact.
If "Palestinians" want a country of their own, they should try peace.
Quickly, they're running out of time/land.

That's a great moral argument you have there.

You must be from the alt right.