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CB: Does Israel claim to be sovereign over Gaza ?
1) There's sovereignty in the basic, traditional sense, that is, the sovereign is he who has the right to do anything he wants. (I'm paraphrasing somebody--Lord Acton? I can't remember and I haven't been able to find the source of the quote.) Well, maybe the sovereign was limited by God or gods, at least in those cases where the sovereign was not the living embodiment of said gods... At any rate, Israel certainly "claims" sovereignty in this meaning.
2) But the acting meaning of "sovereign" in contemporary political discourse is a shorthand reference to the *sovereign nation state,* which since the 20th century is technically no longer "sovereign" in the sense of my paragraph 1), as nation-states are expected to follow certain laws, at least vis a vis other nation-states; and, even if not themselves signatories to such laws, are expected to follow certain international norms as determined by a vote of a Security [sic] Council of the United [sic] Nations, who, in theory, have almost unlimited recourse to violent action against adjudged violators. (I am taking seriously the assertion--much clearer from the perspectives of 1919 and 1946--that the League of Nations and the more serious UN were something new, and were legitimate--yes, of course, and legitimating--attempts to move beyond, and where deemed necessary supersede, the traditional treaty system.)
Now, we can see that Israeli claims to sovereignty over Gaza are consistent: They claim to be the representative nation-state governing Gaza whenever it suits their interests, as determined solely by themselves; and they disclaim such authority whenever it suits their perceived interest, as determined solely by themselves.
That is, Israel embraces the pre-modern understanding of "sovereign," as in my paragraph 1), and shows nothing but contempt for the 20th century attempt at some form of progress, as defined in my paragraph 2). To be fair, in this they are following the lead of their benefactor, the United States. On the other hand, showing nothing but contempt for the institutional arrangements that were basic to the founding of one's own nation-state, not so very long ago, strikes me as fucking stupid. I might have written "lunatic," except I apparently need to show my clinical credentials before I'm allowed to do so on this list. ;) - Hide quoted text -
On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 5:15 AM, c b <cb31450 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Victor Friedlander wrote:
>
>
>> Gaza is not a sovereign state but only a
>> break-away district of the State of Israel.
>
> ^^^^^
> CB: Does Israel claim to be sovereign over Gaza ?
>