Israel Matzav

Just the start?

This is the first live post since the holiday ended, and I want to remind you all that I am online because in Israel we only have one day of holiday, and not two like in the rest of the World.

The Syrian newspaper Tishreen is reporting that the 'Naqsa day' attempts to breach Syria's borders with Israel are 'just the start' of efforts that will include bringing hundreds of thousands of Syrians to attempt to breach the border with the 'Zionist entity.'

According to the article, Israel should be ready for more than 600,000 refugees to march across the border, ostensibly to return to their homes in the Golan. "The Palestinian refugees who gathered at the border were part of a mass march of progress for the right of return," the article said.

...

Another article in the same paper claimed that Israel should know that mass marches are approaching, and does not have grounds for deterrence. "Israel can not even use the pretext of self-defense, for what it calls its borders," the article says.

Actually, under international law, Israel can defend its borders, even if they are not recognized as such by the 'international community.'

The question is whether a state can forcibly protect land that it peacefully possesses even if it lacks sovereignty over the land. The answer is yes. The classic recent example is the Ethiopian-Eritrean war of 1998. According to the arbitral rulings, the chief disputed territory (Badme) was sovereign territory of Eritrea, but it was possessed by Ethiopia both before and after the war. Eritrea initiated hostilities to recover Badme. The arbitrator ruled that Eritrea had violated international law by using force against the Ethiopia in the territory because Ethiopia was in peaceful possession of the territory before the war, even though Ethiopia never had sovereignty.

There is a cease-fire agreement between Syria and Israel from 1974 and it establishes the lines where Israel and Syria have control.

Labels: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Golan Heights, Majdal Shams, Syria, Syrian-Israeli 1974 cease fire agreement

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:18 PM