-Caveat Lector- LAW condemns US Congress moves on Jerusalem Tuesday October 1 2002
LAW today condemned the State Department Authorization Act (H.R. 1646), which recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital. On September 30, US President George Bush signed the State Department Authorization Act (H.R.1646), which recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The bill (H.R. 1646) goes further than all previous bills Congress has on Jerusalem. The bill changes the status of Jerusalem by a series of provisions, which demand that the American consulate in East Jerusalem (serving mostly Palestinians and directly answerable to the US State Department) go under the American Embassy in Tel Aviv; in effect, creating a dejure branch of the American Embassy in Jerusalem, under the direction of America's Ambassador to Israel. The bill further demands that all US government maps and official documents identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, while also giving American citizens born in Jerusalem the right to demand that their U.S. government-issued documents, such as passports and birth certificates, identify Israel as their birthplace. The bill also allocates $100 million in additional security funds to Israel for arms purchases. However, today (October 1, 2002) after signing the bill, US President Bush rejected efforts to begin measures moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, with the State Department spokesperson, Richard Boucher noting, "Our view on Jerusalem is unchanged. Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be negotiated between the parties.'' US President Bush views the parts of legislation on Jerusalem, known as Section 214 as non-binding. The resolution, Bush said, ".if construed as mandatory rather than advisory, impermissibly interfere with the president's constitutional authority to formulate the position of the United States, speak for the nation in international affairs, and determine the terms on which recognition is given to foreign states." In 1995, US Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, requiring the US Embassy move to Jerusalem by 31 May 1999. However, the bill included a national security waiver, and presidents have postponed the move every six months since the law was enacted. The status of Jerusalem under international law and reiterated by successive UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions is clear. Jerusalem is considered corpus separatus, a separate body. Israel's rule over West Jerusalem is not recognized, while East Jerusalem, annexed to Israel in 1967, is considered Occupied Territory, subject to administration as dictated by international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention. In respect of international law, most countries keep their embassies in Tel Aviv. LAW strongly condemns recent moves by the US Congress to unilaterally decide the fate of Jerusalem without due respect to the wishes of the occupied population, the Palestinian people, who are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Conventiion. The US Congress has acted without due respect or responsibility towards international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, and without due respect, furthermore, to the United Nations Security Council. Moreover, LAW sees the actions of the US Congress as attempting to influence and sabotage final status negotiations on Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinian people, against the interests of peace. Numerous UN Security Council resolutions have reaffirmed the applicabiilty of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the terrotiries occupied by Israel in 1967, including Jerusalem. Moreover, LAW condemns the blindness of the US State Department, which has signed legislation allowing for another $100 million in US tax payer money to be given to Israel as additional security funds for arms purchases. Since the beginning of this intifada two years ago, Israel has clearly engaged in gross violations of human rights, killing and maiming Palestinian civillians (protected people under the Fourth Geneva Convention), particularly children. US law prohibits the president from providing military aid to any country "which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights." 22 U.S.C. 2304(a). As the US State Department determined in February 2001, Israel has committed and continues to commit each of the acts that the law defines as "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights," including "torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person." The US Arms Export Control Act, Sec. 4., notes "Defense articles and defense services shall be sold or leased by the United States Government under this Act to friendly countries solely for internal security, or legitimate self-defense." _________________________ LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT). LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, PO Box 20873, Jerusalem, tel. +972-2-5833530, fax. +972-2- 5833317, [EMAIL PROTECTED], www.lawsociety.org <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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