Palestine, Palestinians, and International Law
by Francis A. Boyle

No regional crisis has greater potential to affect world peace than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. None has proved more intractable, and seemingly impossible to resolve. Yet, at the end of the day, most commentators agree that the only solution to the conflict lies in the creation of a viable Palestinian state under the guidance and norms of international law: only international law can provide an autonomous legal system capable of rendering objective judgment on the claims of the competing parties.

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the international legal principles related to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination: starting with the League of Nations awarding the Mandate for Palestine to Britain after the First World War; through the partition of the Palestine Mandate by the United Nations after the Second World War; to the Palestinian Declaration of an Independent State of their own in 1988; to the diplomatic recognition of the Palestinian State by about 130 other states; through the United Nations granting the State of Palestine all the rights of a U.N. Member State but the right to vote, etc.

During the past two decades, the author has provided the Leadership of the Palestinian People with advice, counsel, and representation at all stages of this process. The scholarly analyses that he used to back up this critical work can be found in the pages of this book. Another chapter analyzes the hypocrisy and double-standards behind the Bush Jr. administration's bogus "war on international terrorism," with special reference to U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East and the Muslim World after 11 September 2001.

The concluding chapter provides advice and guidance to the international grassroots Campaign for Israeli Divestment/Disinvestment, which were all inspired by the author's involvement in the original Divestment/ Disinvestment Campaign against the former criminal apartheid regime in South Africa. Today the Republic of South Africa stands as a beacon of hope for oppressed peoples and states all over the world. The same can be true for Palestine and Israel.

This book explains why and how that can be done.

About the Author
Starting in 1987, Francis Boyle served as Legal Advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization on the Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 15 November 1988 as well as on the ensuing Palestinian Peace Initiative. He then served as Legal Advisor to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations from 1991 to 1993. There, at the instructions of the Head of the Delegation, Dr. Haidar Abdul Shaffi, the author drafted the Palestinian Alternative to what later became the now defunct Oslo Agreement. This book provides an insider glimpse into the decades-long efforts of one of America’s foremost human rights advocates.

Francis Boyle is a leading American professor, practitioner and advocate of international law. He was responsible for drafting the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, the American implementing legislation for the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. He served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International (1988-1992), and represented Bosnia-Herzegovina at the World Court.

Professor Boyle teaches international law at the University of Illinois, Champaign and holds a Doctor of Law Magna Cum Laude as well as a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University. He is the author of several titles, including The Future of International Law and American Foreign Policy, and The Bosnian People Charge Genocide.

Reviews
By Diana Bhutto, legal advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization