49 Fall 2025 208. Id., art. 8 ¶ (2)(B)(ii), 9 ¶ 2. 209. Supra note 73, art. I. 210. Id., preamble. 211. Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, art. XXXI ¶ 7 (Sep. 28, 1995), https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/General/the-israeli-palestinian-interim-agreement. Art. XXXI ¶6 further acknowledges that each side maintained claims to the territory concerned: “… Neither Party shall be deemed, by virtue of having entered into this Agreement, to have renounced or waived any of its existing rights, claims or positions.” 212. Id. art. XXXI ¶ 5; Supra note 73, art. V ¶ 3. pertaining to the West Bank, such as the issues of borders, refugees and the Muslim Holy Shrines in Jerusalem.208 Thus, the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty left sovereignty over the West Bank in abeyance and the status of the territory undetermined pending future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. 12. The “Oslo Accords” – Israel and the Palestinians agree to resolve their competing claims to the West Bank through bilateral negotiations In 1993, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to settle their dispute – including their competing claims in the West Bank – through bilateral negotiations leading to the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and to a just and lasting peace.209 In the Preamble of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, the parties agreed: “[I]t is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict, recognize their mutual legitimate and political rights, and strive to live in peaceful coexistence and mutual dignity and security and achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement and historic reconciliation through the agreed political process.”210 [emphases added.] The 1995 Interim Agreement set out detailed arrangements that would govern a transitional period prior to the completion of the permanent status negotiations. Such arrangements included the division of powers and responsibilities in the West Bank between Israeli authorities and Palestinian self-governing authorities. During the transitional period, the parties committed not to take any actions that would change the status of the West Bank: “Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations.”211 Among the issues that the parties left for permanent status negotiations are the issues of borders, Jerusalem, settlements, security arrangements, and foreign relations.212 All of these issues have direct bearing on the question
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=