The Argument Against Israel - 1) Legal
The fact that Israel is the only country to constantly assert its supposed right to exist is evidence of its insecurity to that end. That's because, by the standard set forth in international law, Israel's right to exist is uniquely and extremely debatable, even in comparison to any other nation. The prerequisites for the legal recognition of any state include popular sovereignty, defined borders, and the maintenance of certain standards of international law, including the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force, the prohibition of the denial of self-determination, the prohibition of apartheid or ethno/religious supremacism, the prohibition of wars of aggression, and the prohibition of genocide. Let's review each of these prerequisites in regard to Israel:
- Popular Sovereignty - The international covenant on civil and political rights (to which Israel is signatory) states that "the will of the people must be the basis of the authority of government, and that will must be expressed in periodic and genuine elections by universal and equal suffrage." This standard nullifies Israel's claim to legitimacy because Israel excludes millions of Palestinians who constitute both the popular majority and the indigenous population, on the basis of the very ethno/religious nationalism which Israel asserts in declaring itself "the Jewish state".
- Defined borders - Border disputes can exist here and there, but any state whose borders are entirely undefined does not meet this minimum requirement. Israel's borders are merely armistice lines established to separate forces. Israel's actual borders are fluid, loosely defined by temporary treaties, and frequently violated by Israel itself. Moreover, Israel is engaged in a constant process of expansion, annexing territory from its neighbors through military force, which is specifically forbidden in international law. ( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HtBfPa3P-eU )
- The maintenance of International legal standards - Nations actually have a duty under international law to NOT recognize any nation established in violation of certain standards of international law, or which routinely violates them, stating that "no state shall recognize as lawful or render any aid to maintaining a situation created by a serious breach of "Jus cogens" (peremptory norms that cannot be overridden by treaties or national laws) and "Erga omnes" (obligations owed toward all members of the international community)." These standards of international law include:
- the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force (which Israel has routinely violates by invading, occupying, and annexing territory from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and the indigenous Palestinian population, which England was given a mandate from the League of Nations to prepare for independence, not for invasion, partition, and subsequent expulsion by European settlers).
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZDSWztrLM )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=guAd-OQ4hbI )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rteB5T4hwVY )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2FwBRvOZI )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rGVgjS98OsU )
- the prohibition of the denial of self-determination (which Israel violates with its disenfranchisement of the indigenous Palestinian population).
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2XJsisX4Umk )
- the prohibition of apartheid or ethno/religious supremacism (which Israel routinely violates with its unequal treatment of the indigenous Palestinian population both inside and outside of the green line, as well as its declaration of a state for the specific interests of one ethnic or religious group over those of another).
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xvwo4Vkb1-c )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dsVDPzJzc98 )
- the prohibition of wars of aggression (which Israel routinely violates against its neighbors in the region, as well as against the indigenous Palestinian population).
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsIpLWp8QU )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kPE6vbKix6A )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=08FEiBklxsA )
- and the prohibition of genocide (the defining characteristics of which were deemed by the ICC to have been met by Israel's actions in Gaza, prompting the ruling that the case would proceed).
( https://m.youtube.com/shorts/XhML4LUwddQ )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h8_18UuiAm4 )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YBvHmGtm6lU )
( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-U6mJ_PDiPY )
Of all of these prerequisites for statehood, there is only one nation which fails to meet or comply with every single one of them. According to International law, these violations nullify the rights typically afforded to states, such as the right to territorial integrity and the right to self-defense. Which brings us to a point often cited by zionists in defense of Israel's constant wars of expansion - the assertion that "Israel has a right to defend itself."
Just as it is in civil/criminal law that one who breaks into somebody else's house can't claim self defense within the house that they've violated, it's also true in international law that no state has the claim to self-defense in foreign territory that it occupies. Russia can't claim self-defense in Ukrainian territory, the US can't claim self-defense in Iraqi or Cuban territory and likewise, Israel can't claim the right to self-defense in occupied Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, or Egyptian territory. By law, the only place where Israel has a right to self-defense in is within the borders of the 1947 UN partition plan, as all expansion since then constitutes the acquisition of territory by force and illegal occupation.
Furthermore, given that these and all aforementioned violations are consistent today and were foundational to the establishment of Israel, and that according to international law any such state has no right to recognition at all, this means that Israel's *entire* claim to legitimacy is defunct under international law, and therefore *all* Israeli territory is merely occupied territory of other states and peoples, and therefore Israel not only has no legal right to exist, but also has no right to defend itself *whatsoever*.