"America and Israel are brothers and sisters in the family of democracy, natural allies – natural allies in the cause of peace."
- Bush, American Israel Public Affairs Committee Conference, Washington, D.C., May 22, 2000
"Occupied people have the right to resist the occupation itself, as well as the specific illegal practices of the occupier."
-United Nations Charter (see below)
Article 1(4) of Protocol I (additional to the Geneva Conventions) considers self-determination struggles in the context of international armed conflicts: the principle of self determination itself provides that where forcible action has been taken to suppress the right, force may be used in order achieve self determination.
The legal status of combatants for the right to self-determination was defined by the General Assembly in 1973 according to the following principles: United Nations High Commission on Human Rights Fact Sheet on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs13.htm
- Such struggles are legitimate and in full accord with the principles of international law.
- Attempts to suppress struggles against colonial and racist regimes are incompatible with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Such attempts themselves constitute a threat to peace and security.
"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . .I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."
