Israel seizes Palestinian land for new settlements

[Spider]

Of course they can't legally claim the territory! You realize why, right? You do understand this topic right? The broad strokes at least?

If it was that simple they'd have just annexed it all decades ago. Of course they have sovereignty. They just aren't willing to turn into a formal annexation for obvious reasons. They can't say it. But its the case, regardless.

And it remains about what Israel says. Because Israel stated in no uncertain terms, twice, in 1967 and again in 1980 (and amended in 2000), that Jerusalem is their capitol. And you can easily tell they weren't kidding because all of their government offices are there, as is their supreme court. You can go there right now and take pictures of it if you don't believe me.

As for what Israel says, you are cherry picking:

(Watch as I throw down the Jerusalem law, the most infamous whipping boy in online debates on this topic)

Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel (unofficial translation)[2]
Jerusalem, Capital of Israel:
1. Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.
Seat of the President, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court:
2. Jerusalem is the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.
Protection of Holy Places:
3. The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places.
Development of Jerusalem:
4. (a) The Government shall provide for the development and prosperity of Jerusalem and the well-being of its inhabitants by allocating special funds, including a special annual grant to the Municipality of Jerusalem (Capital City Grant) with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset. (b) Jerusalem shall be given special priority in the activities of the authorities of the State so as to further its development in economic and other matters. (c) The Government shall set up a special body or special bodies for the implementation of this section.
Amendment no. 1 (passed by the Knesset on 27 November 2000):
Area of the jurisdiction of Jerusalem
5. The jurisdiction of Jerusalem includes, as pertaining to this basic law, among others, all of the area that is described in the appendix of the proclamation expanding the borders of municipal Jerusalem beginning the 20th of Sivan 5727 (June 28, 1967), as was given according to the Cities' Ordinance.
Prohibition of the transfer of authority
6. No authority that is stipulated in the law of the State of Israel or of the Jerusalem Municipality may be transferred either permanently or for an allotted period of time to a foreign body, whether political, governmental or to any other similar type of foreign body.
Entrenchment
7. Clauses 5 and 6 shall not be modified except by a Basic Law passed by a majority of the members of the Knesset.
Menachem Begin Prime Minister
Yitzchak Navon President of the State"
Published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 980 of the 23rd Av, 5740 (5 August 1980), p. 186; the Bill and an Explanatory Note were published in Hatza'ot Chok No. 1464 of 5740, p. 287.

^See how careful they were to annex East Jerusalem without actually using the word "annex"? Wouldn't want to accidentally spawn a bunch of pissed off Arab Israelis.

So you tell me. Does what Israel says only matter if it allows you to wave your arms while holding on by your fingernails?

[exploited]

Typically, I'd go by the most recent ruling, as do most legal jurisdictions everywhere.

I'd also argue that sovereignty requires both de jure and de facto authority for it to be established. Far more reasonable than simply blathering about how if you can't beat up the guy who steals your shit, it belongs to him.

Lastly, I'd concede the issue is complex. Probably the best solution is to strengthen international law to deal with this. Which is of course my original position, which is quite fair, but not appealing to the sort of juvenile mind that thinks asking "Whatcha gonna do about it?" has a place in an adult conversation.

For the tenth time, we know Spider. We know.

[Homer]