Israel is the legal occupant of the West Bank, says the Court of Appeal of Versailles, France

Israel is the legal occupant of the West Bank, says the Court of Appeal of Versailles, France

"In 1990, Israel bid for the construction of the Jerusalem light rail. The tender was won by French companies Veolia and Alstom. The light rail was completed in 2011, and it cross Jerusalem all the way to the east side and the « occupied territories » (more about this term later).

"Following this, the PLO filed a complaint with the High Court (Tribunal de Grande Instance) of Versailles France, against Alstom and Veolia, because according to PLO, « the construction of the tram is illegal since the UN, the EU, many NGOs and governments consider that « Israel illegally occupy Palestinian territories ».
The quest for the International Legislation to establish the rights of each party.

"In order to rule whether the light rail construction was legal or not, the court had to seek the texts of international law, to examine international treaties, in order to establish the respective rights of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

"And to my knowledge, this is the first time that a non-Israeli court has been led to rule on the status of the West Bank.

"It is the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 that an independent, non-Israeli court has been called upon to examine the legal status of West bank territories under international law, beyond the political claims of the parties.

"Keep in mind though, that the Court's findings have no effect in international law. What they do, and it's of the utmost importance, is to clarify the legal reality.

"The Versailles Court of Appeal conclusions are as resounding as the silence in which they were received in the media: Israel has real rights in the territories, its decision to build a light rail in the West Bank or anything else in the area is legal, and the judges have rejected all the arguments presented by the Palestinians."