Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Stealth Technique #7: Shariah in US Courts

The Guarantee Clause

Robert M. Petrusak

[Editor's note: New Gingrich has called for a Federal ban on Sharia law in America.]
Theocracy is inherently oppressive and contrary to America's core values. It regards God as the sovereign and source of law. It therefore places the coercive power of the state--including interpretation and enforcement of law--in the hands of believers. It excludes non-believers from the body politic and brings them suffering. In total contrast, the Declaration of Independence regards God not as a source of coercive power, but as a guarantor of inalienable rights including liberty and equality. The Declaration states that government derives its sovereign authority or "just powers" not from God, but "from the consent of the governed."
This concept of popular sovereignty is reflected not only in the preamble of the Constitution, but also in the "Guarantee Clause" of Article IV, Section 4 which obligates the federal government to preserve a republican form of government in every state. The Constitution also precludes theocracy through the First Amendment's ban on laws respecting establishments of religion or prohibiting "free exercise" of religious beliefs.
Political Islam or "Islamism" is theocratic. It may be defined as a belief that Islam should control society and politics, not simply personal religious life. Accordingly to the eminent scholar Bernard Lewis, the ideal Islamic polity recognizes God as sole sovereign and law-giver and assigns believers the task of spreading His revelation until the entire world accepts it. This is to be achieved by extending the authority and membership of the community that follows God's law, the Shariah, which deals with the acquisition and exercise of power and the duties of ruler and subject. [1] Accordingly, Shariah is not simply a prescription for exercising personal belief through activity such as prayer and diet. It is a system of laws that affects the conduct of both believers and non- believers in Islamic theocracies. More ominously, expansion of the community that regards God as sovereign suggests contraction and disempowerment of the community which does not.
Political Islam therefore challenges the United States Constitution, particularly its embrace of liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty. There is concern that this challenge includes not only violent terrorism but an ideological struggle against non-Islamic courts and legal systems and the principle that the people, not God, are the source of political and legal authority .There is similarly concern that Islamists seek to establish "functionally Islamic governments" in every nation [2] and that toward this end, they will create divisive alternative communities by insinuating Islamic rules of conduct for the temporal world into courts and other institutions. There is even concern that Islamism will limit traditional free speech through application of its restrictions on defamation of religion or blasphemy. [3]
Such concerns have resulted in "anti-shariah legislation" in various states and subsequent court battles over whether such laws violate the constitutional rights of Muslims. However, such concerns raise issues of national importance because efforts to make public institutions Shariah-compliant may violate not only the First Amendment's provisions on religion or free speech but also the Fourteenth Amendment and Article VI of the Constitution. The former guarantees due process and equal protection; the latter proclaims the supremacy of federal statutes, treaties and constitutional provisions. Moreover, Article IV, Section 4 creates an affirmative federal obligation to guarantee a non-theocratic, "Republican Form of Government" in every state.
The very essence of republican government is the belief that sovereignty rests with the people. [4]. Our Constitution is derived exclusively from the people and alterable only by them through elected representatives. Similarly, elected representatives and elected or duly-appointed judges, not religious leaders, enact and interpret our statutory law. [5] These principles of popular sovereignty support the Article IV guarantee of republican government and are related to the concept of equality. Thus, the guarantee clause would be invoked in the struggle against slavery and in the post-Civil War struggle to include freed slaves in the body politic. [6] In this regard, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection evolved from our concept of republican government, [7] and a state that denies this fundamental right similarly violates Article IV, Section 4. The introduction into American courts, of laws or legal principles derived from a sovereign God or religious texts cannot be tolerated and the federal government has a clear responsibility to keep theocracy out of state courts and other public institutions.
The guarantee clause of Article IV was authored by James Madison to protect our Republic from the disintegration which would begin if even one state were to become an enclave of anti-republican government.[8] While Madison feared the tyranny of unchecked popular majorities, he also believed that individual states could revert to monarchal rule.[9] His concern that establishment of anti-republican principles in one state could eventually threaten the entire nation remains highly relevant in a contemporary world troubled by Islamists seeking implementation of Shariah. In fact, the monarchy which Madison feared was based on the divine right of kings and would have brought religious principles into any provincial monarchist regime. Not surprisingly, Madison was also the primary contributor to the First Amendment's prohibition of an establishment of religion. [10] This amendment and other provisions of the Bill of Rights were not initially applied against the states.[11] However, after the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment, the First Amendment's "establishment clause" would eventually become a means of protecting equality from religious sentiment in state governments and their local subdivisions.[12] This preserved the republican form of such governments.
Efforts to bring specific laws or obligations derived from religious authority into secular government are neither new nor inconsequential.[13] However, authority to define and prohibit anti-republican violations lies primarily with Congress, not the judiciary.[14] After the 1841-42 Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, the Supreme Court held that the enforcement of the guarantee clause raised political questions not justiciable by the courts.[15] Accordingly, a dearth of judicial decisions finding establishments of religion in violation of the guarantee clause does not prevent Congress from concluding that introduction of religious law undermines republican government. To the contrary, the Supreme Court's position that enforcement of the guarantee clause is a political rather than a judicial decision, obviously places responsibility on Congress to protect the various freedoms associated with our democracy. Such freedoms unquestionably include the right to be free from religious authority that could limit free speech or free exercise of a different faith, or similarly determine the rights of parties in court.
Congress has authority under the guarantee clause to curb the growth of any ideological system that would subvert or destroy representative government. [16] As defined above, Political Islam constitutes such a system and promotion of an alternate legal system based on religious law will eventually divide this nation into separate communities. Evidence of Islamist intentions to subvert our society from within and support a theocracy or "global Islamic state," was introduced in federal court in a relatively recent terrorism-funding trial .and Islamic extremists have conducted subversive and terrorist activity on American soil.[17] As a friendly loan shark is abetted by the violence of local mobsters, non-violent political activists can benefit from violent terrorism as the intimidating tactics of the latter make the seeming moderation of the former more palatable. In other words, "without the climate of intimidation created by the terrorists, the non-terrorists would be ignored, not appeased."[18]
There is concern that the ultimate objective of an Islamic state or nation may be pursued through infiltration of existing state and federal institutions to create shadow governments. [19] Establishment of such alternative authorities could be extremely divisive particularly if they serve communities that follow an alternative legal system. In this regard, at least one state regards the formation of "any government" outside of existing lawful authority as a form of treason. [20]
State courts will only exacerbate the divisive tendencies of religion if they allow religious laws or legal interpretations to determine rights of certain parties such as Muslim husbands accused of spousal rape. [21] The creation however gradual, of alternative legal standards based on religion similarly violates the Fourteenth Amendment as well as Article IV, Section 4.
The United States needs a Congressional resolution declaring all theocracy to be contrary to the various principles of republican government set forth in the United States Constitution. The resolution would similarly declare that religious authority is a constitutionally prohibited basis for legislation, for the interpretation of law and for the adoption of any official rule or policy in all legislatures, courts and agencies of government. Far from being a radical departure from core values, such a resolution would give effect to what the founders intended in Article IV, Section 4. It would maintain our character as a cohesive nation undivided by theocratic communities which could attain significant influence in certain states or regions. Criticism that such a resolution could restrict judicial use of the natural law principles that built the Anglo-American common law would be meritless. The principle of popular sovereignty represents a new era of positive law based on representative government. Such law is derived from secular needs for criminal codes, commercial codes and the many other statutes that govern our society.
Apologists for Shariah and Islamism will undoubtedly wave the banner of religious freedom and denounce such congressional action as "Islamophobic" and contrary to America's core values. However, it is surely not "Islamophobic" to oppose all theocracy particularly since our nation has an equally strong tradition of preserving the secularism of our public life. The Supreme Court upheld this tradition in the latter nineteenth century when a member of the Mormon faith claimed that a divinely-ordained obligation to practice polygamy exempted him from criminal responsibility.[22] In holding that religious beliefs may not trump the application of our criminal law, the Court effectively upheld the supremacy of our Constitution and prevented religious communities from becoming enclaves of national disintegration.
The constitutional principles which prevented Mormon polygamy in the nineteenth century apply equally to Islamist Sharia in the twenty-first. These principles hold that while Congress or state legislatures lack power over religious opinion or belief, they remain free to prohibit practice of religious beliefs which violate social duties or subvert good order.[23] In other words, religious beliefs are beyond the reach of government until they are converted into activity --including conspiracy, criminal solicitation and other inchoate offenses-- which violate society's laws, regulations or policies.
A belief that a global state under religious law should replace the United States Constitution can remain a protected exercise of religion until it becomes action, agreement, or solicitation of action to destroy our Republic. Similarly, religious authority or obligation may not constitutionally override the laws created by representative government or influence judicial interpretations of such law. As theocracy contradicts the core values of America's founding, the insinuation of Shariah similarly subverts republican government. Accordingly, the time for national action through Congressional initiative not available to the courts is long overdue.
__________________________________________________________________
The author served as a deputy district attorney, police administrator and assistant state attorney general in Colorado. Since retiring, he received a master's degree
in American History from George Mason University, with emphasis on American foreign policy in the Middle East.
1. Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror, pp 7-8
2. McCarthy, Andrew C., The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America, p. 145, passim
3. Hagmann, Douglas J., "Obama advancing Islamic Sharia Law Prohibiting Criticism of Islam,"
http://homelandsecurityus.com/archives/3532
4. Toren, Jonathan; "Protecting Republican Government from Itself, The Guarantee Clause of Article IV, Section 4," 2 New York University Journal of Law and Liberty 371, 372, 387-90; Amar, Akhil Reed, "The Central Meaning of Republican Government, Popular Sovereignty, Majority Rule and the Denominator Problem," 65 U. Colo. L. Rev. 749, 755-764 (1994)
5. See Duncan v. McCall, 139 U.S. 449 (1891) (people are source of all political power and have right to have it exercised through elected representatives); See also United States v. Downey, 195 F. Supp. 581 (S.D. Ill. 1961) (republican form of government includes right to an independent judiciary whose rules of procedure are made by duly constituted state officials, not outside authorities) .
6. Amar, supra., at 770-782; See also: Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1869) (secession viewed as violation of republican government guaranteed by Article IV)
7. Amar, supra, at 755; See also: Hoxie School District No. 46 of Lawrence County, Arkansas v. Brewer, 137 F. Supp 364 (E. D. Ark. 1056; aff'd 238 F. 2d 91 (state officials invoked guarantee clause when threatened during efforts to implement Fourteenth Amendment with regard to school desegregation)
8. Toren, supra, at 371, 372-74, 377-79
9. Ibid, at pp. 378-85
10. See e.g., Alley, Robert S. ed., James Madison on Religious Liberty, pp. 37-94
11. Barron v. City of Baltimore, 32 U.S. 243 (1833)
12. Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994), Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962); Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, 15-16 (1947); See also, Gelman, Susan and Looper-Friedman, Susan, "Thou Shalt Use the Equal Protection Clause for Religion Cases (Not Just the Establishment Clause)." 10 U. Pa.J.Const.L 665; http://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/conlaw/articles/volume10/issue4/GellmanLooperFriedman10U.Pa.J.Const.L.665%282008%29.pdf
13. See: Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878) (religious duty to practice polygamy not a defense to charge of bigamy); See also: McCarthy, supra., at 345 (at taxpayer expense, state of Minnesota established system of interest free mortgages in accordance with Islamic ban of usury).
14. State of Ohio ex rel Bryant v. Akron Metro Park District for Summit County, 281 U.S. 74 (1930); Luther v. Borden, 48 U.S. 1 (1849)
15. Luther v. Borden, supra.
16. Oil Workers International Union v. Elliot, 73 F. Supp 942 (N.D. Tex. 1947)
17. See "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America," introduced in United States v. Holy Land Foundation, Crim No. 3:04-CR-0240-P, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, available as Appendix II in Report of Team B II, Shariah: The Threat to America: An Exercise in Competitive Analysis, An example of substantial subversive activity specifically, seditious conspiracy, was established in United States v. Rahman, 189 F. 3d 88 (2nd cir. 1999); substantial terrorist activity against the United States need not be established in footnotes
18. McCarthy, supra. pp. 27-28
19. See Report of Team B II, supra., pp. 124-25
20. Code of Virginia, 18.2-481 (3)
21.A New Jersey appellate court overturned the ruling of a trial judge who had declined to issue a restraining order after having concluded that a Muslim husband did not act with the requisite intent for sexual assault because of religious belief. Nonetheless, an excerpt from the appellate decision illustrates the conflict between religion and law enacted by representative government to criminalize spousal rape. http://volokh.com/2010/07/23/cultural-defense-accepted-as-to-nonconsensual-sex-in-new-jersey-trial-court-rejected-on-appeal/
22. Reynolds, supra.
23. Reynolds, supra., 98 U.S. at 164

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Bill Warner, Director, Center for the Study of Political Islam
Permalink: http://www.politicalislam.com/blog/the-guarantee-clause/

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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