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Judicious justice

Jun 11,2015 - Last updated at Jun 11,2015

When the US Supreme Court struck down on Monday a law that would allow US citizens born in Jerusalem to list Israel as the country of birth in their passports, it also struck down the Israeli ambition to occupy and annex the city, in defiance of international law and UN resolutions.

The holy city, held sacred by the three monotheistic religions, is a sensitive issue, one Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who ruled in favour of striking down the law, called a “delicate subject”.

Israel calls Jerusalem its capital; few other countries accept that, maintaining their capitals in Tel Aviv.

Palestinians consider occupied East Jerusalem the capital of their future state, which has made the holy city a point of contention in the Middle East for decades.

The important ruling on the separation of powers in the US government was reached by a 6-3 vote.

The rationale, said Judge Kennedy, is that while the US Congress, which enacted the law in 2002, has a role to play in foreign policy, it cannot make decision on recognising foreign government, which is the president’s “exclusive power”.

President Barack Obama’s administration, whose relations with Israel have been strained lately, said that if the law had been enforced, it would have caused “irreversible damage” to America’s ability to influence the region’s peace process.

“Congress cannot command the president to contradict an earlier recognition determination in the issuance of passports,” said Kennedy.

Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem is so old that it now takes for granted its illegal occupation, hoping that it will be forgotten with time, becoming another “fact on the ground” with which the world has to put up just because Israel wants it so.

The ruling was hailed by Palestinians. President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said “this is an important decision which accords with international resolutions and the resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly. This is a clear message that Israel occupies East Jerusalem as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip”.

 

But it is not a victory for the Palestinians alone. It is also a victory for international law and justice, which rejects the Israeli actions on Jerusalem ever since its occupation in the 1967, and more and more censure Israel for its deeds in Palestine.

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