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32 Harv. Int'l. L. J. 457 (1991)
International Law and the Territories

handle is hein.journals/hilj32 and id is 463 raw text is: VOLUME 32, NUMBER 2, SPRING 1991 International Law and the Territories Michael Curtis* In Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967, Adam Roberts warns that the language of law can become a language of right and wrong, of moralistic reproach.' The frequent result of this process, he explains, is a facile application of general rules without a deep understanding of situations that are unique.2 His admonition might well apply to the article The Rele- vance of International Law to Palestinian Rights in the West Bank and Gaza by Richard A. Falk and Burns H. Weston, which has more the fervor of political advocacy than the circumspection of international law. Falk and Weston appear primarily concerned with mobilizing as much international pressure as possible rather than clarifying the legal landscape.3 No doubt, customary and conventional international law have often been used to buttress tendentious political positions, and it would be unrealistic to expect otherwise. The fundamental problem with Falk and Weston's argument is that it is infused with an animus that exceeds the usual boundaries of scholarly discourse while paying scant attention to the realities of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The authors continually employ selective and intemperate language when referring to Israel. For example, while they stop short of arguing that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza can be equated with Iraq's unprovoked aggression against and occupation of Kuwait, they still use, the word invasion when referring to Israel's defensive actions in June 1967 against imminent Arab attack. The authors speak of the harsh character of Israel's administration in the territories over the last twenty-three years and the failed responsibility towards the Palestinian people.4 Their analysis of Israeli action includes allegations of tortious and/or criminal responsibility,'5 prolonged and oppressive Israeli occupation,6 abusing the populations of the West Bank and * Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University. 1. Adam Roberts, Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967, 84 AM. J. INT'L L. 44, 45 (1990). 2. Id. 3. See Richard A. Falk & Burns H. Weston, The Relevance of International Law to Paletinian Rights in the West Bank and Gaza: In Legal Defense of the Intifada, 32 HARV. INT'L L.J. 129 (1991). 4. Falk & Weston, supra note 3, at 144. 5. Id. at 146. 6. Id. at 151.

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