The Legal Case for Palestine: A Critical Assessment

This book critically analyzes the Palestinian legal arguments against Israeli occupation and in favor of Palestinian statehood.

For the past two decades, Palestinians have chosen to pursue their claims against the Israeli occupation through litigation at the international courts. It is therefore appropriate, the author contends, to analyze the merits of the Palestinian legal claims separately from their political claims. To do so, the book comprises five parts:

• Part I addresses the role of international law in the conflict as well as Palestinian legal framing and lawfare.
• Part II recounts the relevant legal history, including the crucial legal implications of the Oslo Accords.
• Part III analyzes Palestinian legal claims regarding the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
• Part IV assesses the Palestinian legal case for statehood.
• Part V analyzes Palestinian legal claims regarding Jerusalem.

Ultimately, it is argued that the Palestinian legal case is weak even though the two-state solution continues to represent the most viable long-term political outcome to the conflict. Moreover, the author suggests that Palestinian leaders have repeatedly opted for conflict perpetuation through lawfare and violence, rather than conflict resolution through negotiation.

Providing fresh insights into the claims and counterclaims of Palestinian legal arguments, the book will appeal broadly to anyone interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and international law.

Steven E. Zipperstein is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the UCLA Center for Middle East Development and an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Zipperstein is also a Visiting Professor at Tel Aviv University Law School. Zipperstein is the author of Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948 (Routledge, 2022) and Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Trials of Palestine (Routledge, 2020).