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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons An unnecessary opinion
By Abdel-Alim Mohamed *
There is nothing new in the contention that Israel's practices in occupied Arab land contravene international law. What is new is the decision to hold a referendum within Israel over the agreements it has signed with Syria and the PA concerning withdrawal from the Golan Heights and issues related to the interim phase on the Palestinian track.
If this referendum is held, Israel will establish itself as the first and only colonial nation to use a democratic process in a manner deliberately intended to back its contravention of the principles regulating decolonisation.
With the founding of the UN, the international community promulgated the laws and principles that were to govern the historic transition to the post-colonial period. Referendums during this period were used to gauge the support of occupied peoples for full independence. Diverse political forces were allowed to express their views, intimidation was outlawed and impartial international committees supervised the proceedings. Never, however, were the peoples of the occupying powers themselves asked for their opinion.
For Israel to hold a referendum over the evacuation of the territories it occupies is a travesty of all rules, principles and practices that have governed the end of colonial occupation. It should be the Syrian inhabitants of the Golan Heights and the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem -- not the Israelis -- who should determine the fate of their occupied territories. Evidently, however, Israel appears bent on concocting special laws that apply to itself alone.
The perverse referendum Israel plans to hold is not a domestic concern. By conducting it, Israel will once again display its unique capacity to ridicule the international community, and to subvert the moral underpinnings of international law.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is senior researcher at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies and editor of its publication, Israeli Affairs.
