Sir
The irony of
El Hassan bin Tala’s letter (May 21) might be lost on anyone unfamiliar with
the ins and outs of recent history in the Middle East.
In speaking of the Israeli government’s reported desire to extend sovereignty over areas of the West Bank, he refers to an incident in 1982 when Mrs Thatcher was seeking Jordan’s support against the Argentinian seizure of the Falklands.
She referred, he tells us, to UN Security Council Resolution 242 which states the inadmissibility of acquiring territory by war.
What he fails to mention is that in 1982 Jordan was claiming sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which it had annexed in 1950, having seized them during its attack on the nascent state of Israel. Britain was the only nation in the world (with the possible exception of Pakistan) to recognise the seizure as legal.
In speaking of the Israeli government’s reported desire to extend sovereignty over areas of the West Bank, he refers to an incident in 1982 when Mrs Thatcher was seeking Jordan’s support against the Argentinian seizure of the Falklands.
She referred, he tells us, to UN Security Council Resolution 242 which states the inadmissibility of acquiring territory by war.
What he fails to mention is that in 1982 Jordan was claiming sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which it had annexed in 1950, having seized them during its attack on the nascent state of Israel. Britain was the only nation in the world (with the possible exception of Pakistan) to recognise the seizure as legal.
Neville
Teller
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