Israel's claim to Jerusalem

Throughout the history of the world, no nation or Empire ever claimed Jerusalem as its national capital with the exception of the Nation of Israel.  Though the region continually changed hands between various Empires over the next 1900 years, no group of people tried at any point to declare a sovereign nation in this region with Jerusalem as its capital, and at no point did it serve as the capital of any of the Islamic Empire.  When the nation of Jordan took over the West Bank along with East Jerusalem in 1949, they never proclaimed East Jerusalem to be the capital, nor did the PLO when they first formed in 1964.  In truth, the PLO originally formed as an umbrella organization for numerous Palestinian Terrorist groups with the aim of fighting to eliminate Israel in the effort to create a unified Arab state.  In fact, Article 24 of the original PLO charter stated that the PLO claimed no sovereignty over the West Bank, Gaza, or East Jerusalem.  

Despite the fact that Jordan illegally annexed East Jerusalem and the PLO never originally claimed it, the nation of Israel did not take over the city until after they were unjustly attacked by the nation of Jordan.  For years, Egyptian dictator Nasser pledged to annihilate Israel.  In 1967, Nasser ordered his Navy to illegally blockade Israel, and together with the Syrians, massed over 400,000 troops on the borders.  By May of 1967, these armies were preparing to invade.   With an invasion now imminent, Israel had no choice but to launch a preemptive strike against the Arab forces, an act that the United Nations deemed legal in the event that a nation knows that a hostile attack is coming. However, Israel did not attack  Jordan and even asked King Hussein to stay out of the conflict.  Unfortunately, King Hussein chose to join the war and began bombing and shelling Israeli forces in the West Bank, forcing Israel to counter-attack and take the East Jerusalem and the West Bank in a defensive action.

When the War ended, the United Nations passed Resolution 242 which laid blame of the war onto the Arab nations.  Thought Resolution 242 demanded that Israel withdraw from some of the occupied territories, but it also stated that the nation of Israel was entitled to “secure & defensible borders.”  There was no provision that called for Israel to withdraw from all of the territory occupied after the 1967 war, nor was it ordered to relinquish Jerusalem.  So what to do with Jerusalem?  There are but three options.  Re-divide the city, place it under international control, or keep the city united under Israeli administration.  

       Sadly, the Arabs cannot be trusted to administer Jerusalem.  They have broken every treaty concerning the city.  After the 1948 War of Independence, Article VIII of the Armistice Agreement of 1949 provided free access to the Holy Sites for all people on both sides.  From 1949-1967, Jordan did not honor the agreement and banned all Israelis from the Holy sites.  Not even for Israeli Christians and Muslims were granted permission to visit them.  Christians living in Jordan were forbidden to purchase real estate in East Jerusalem.  Dozens of Synagogues were destroyed, ancient Jewish Cemeteries destroyed, and the Western Wall became a dump site.  Even during the 2nd Intifada, we witnessed terrorist attacks on the Tomb of David, numerous Christian Churches (Including the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem), and a rising persecution of the Christian minority under the Palestinian Authority.  

      The International Community also cannot be trusted to keep the peace.  The UN proved woefully incapable of protecting Jerusalem when they initially tried to make it an international city in 1947.  The UN likewise failed to stop Nasser's acts of aggression in 1967 and failed to protect the civilian populace in numerous conflicts such as the Bosnian War and the Rwanda Genocide.  However, under Israeli jurisdiction, the Holy Sites have enjoyed more protection now than ever before.  We have seen greater freedom of worship in the region than we have in centuries.  Israel not only agreed to relinquish the Temple Mount to Muslim control for the sake of peace, but they even agreed to let the 13 gunmen who attacked the Church of Nativity be released to Europe in order to save the church from destruction.  

      The only logical options is for Israel to remain in control of the city of Jerusalem.  The International Community is incapable of providing the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the populace, and the Arab nations have proven that they cannot be trusted with this task.  Throughout the Arab world, we have witnessed the destruction of Holy Sites at the hands of terrorists.  From the destruction of the Statues of Buddha at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the attacks on Coptic Churches by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and the destruction of Shiite Mosques at the hands of Wahhabis.  History likewise shows us that making concessions to these groups never appeases them, but only encourages more attacks.  The Israeli withdraw from Lebanon & Gaza is living proof.  When Israel moved out, the terrorist groups Hamas & Hezbollah moved in.  For Israel to relinquish any area of Jerusalem would only serve to further encourage these terrorist groups.  Thus, for the sake of the peace, Jerusalem must remain united under Israeli control.  

Sources:

“Chapter VII: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace. Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression.” United Nations Charter. June 26th, 1945.  Accessed from http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-vii/.

Dershowitz, Alan.  The Case for Israel.  Hoboken, NJ: John Riley & Sons Inc., 2003

Gold, Dore. The Fight for Jerusalem. Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing Inc., 2007.

Katz, Samuel.  Battleground: Fact & Fantasy in Palestine.  New York: GRM Associates Inc., 2002

“Palestinian Liberation Organization: The Original Palestine National Charter.”  Jewish Virtual Library.  2016. Accessed from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/cove1.html.