Al Majdal

The ICJ advisory opinion, one of the most important legal opinions on the question of Palestine and international peace and security in the region since the United Nations assumed responsibility for the future of the country in 1947, presents a clear alternative to the status quo � i.e., the Oslo process, the international Road Map, the Sharon disengagement plan, and, the April 2004 US letter of assurance to Israel. International law provides the foundation for this alternative. The legal opinion rendered by the ICJ lays out the �driving rules� or universal standards for resolving the conflict.

What will happen if Israel carries out its plan to ‘disengage’ from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank? Will the disengagement plan advance a politically-negotiated solution to the conflict? Can Israel really separate from the Palestinians? These questions are posed in Al Majdal’s most recent editorial. While the Sharon government claims that Israel will no longer be responsible or be seen as occupying Gaza after disengagement, a review of the plan leads to the opposite conclusion. The occupation will continue. The prospect of a Palestinian state appears even more distant.