History forgotten?

Israel did not seize the west bank in 1967 from the Palestinians; it captured it from the Jordanians in a war of self-defense. Jordan had illegally occupied the area, as well as half of Jerusalem, ever since the 1949 armistice agreement that ended Israel’s War of Independence. Jews, it should also be noted, were guaranteed the right to settle in the west bank by the League of Nations.

To assert the Jewish state’s rights is not the same thing as saying Israel should never retreat from an inch of the west bank. The borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state can only be determined through negotiations between the parties. But the Palestinians’ charge that the land was stolen from them by Israel is false.

Get The Jewish Standard Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up