West Bank sovereignty is legal, right-wing legal group tells Netanyahu
The Samaria Regional Council on Thursday released a poll to show that there was majority support for the move among Jewish Israelis.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Kohelet Policy Forum, Jerusalem, January 8, 2020.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The application of sovereignty to portions of the West Bank is legal, a right-wing legal think tank told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as they presented him with a paper to bolster that argument on the international stage.“We explained why applying Israeli law is legal internationally, does not prejudice any of its sovereign rights through Judea and Samaria. It is declaring that Jews in this area will not be held in a regulatory limbo because of Palestinian intransigence,” said Professor Eugene Kontorovich, Director of International Law at the Kohelet Policy Forum.Members of the Kohelet Policy Forum handed Netanyahu a new research paper they have produced this month on the topic, just as the Prime Minister prepares to defend Israeli annexation of portions of the West Bank to the international community.The Samaria Regional Council on Thursday released a poll to show that there was majority support for the move among Jewish Israelis, based on a Maagar Mohot poll of 511 people, with a 4.4% margin of error.It showed 25% of the respondents opposed sovereignty and 51% supported it, with 24% stating that they were not sure. That number went up, however, when the percentages were recalibrated such that they eliminated those who were unsure. Based on that measure there was 67% support and 33% opposition.When looking at support for annexation among the political parties, the move had 90% support in Yamina, 64% support in the Likud, 14% support in Labor-Meretz, 30% in Blue and Whit and 62% in Yisrael Beytenu.When asked about support for Palestinian statehood, 80% of Likud participants in the poll are opposed. The number was slightly higher for the Yamina Party, 83%. Among Yisrael Beytenu voters 54% were opposed. That number dropped to 28% in Blue and White and 14% in Labor Meretz.Out of all the participants there was 27% support for Palestinian statehood, 56% opposition and 17% said they didn’t know. But when calibrated to exclude those who didn’t know, the answers were showed 33% support and 67% opposition.
