"First, I appreciate that your article framed the United States’ decision to rejoin UNESCO around Palestine’s contested membership status in the organization. The article provided important context about why the United States withdrew its funding in lieu of recognizing Palestine as a member."
June 12, 2023
To:
Angela Charlton, Journalist, Associated Press
Matthew Lee, Journalist, Associated Press
Josef Federman, News Director, Associated Press
Jonathan Whitten, News Director, CityNews Toronto
Dear Ms. Charlton, Mr. Lee, Mr. Federman, and Mr. Whitten,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my appreciation of the article “US decides to rejoin UNESCO and pay back dues, to counter Chinese influence,” by Angela Charlton and Matthew Lee of the Associated Press and published by CityNews Toronto on June 12, 2023.
First, I appreciate that your article framed the United States’ decision to rejoin UNESCO around Palestine’s contested membership status in the organization. The article provided important context about why the United States withdrew its funding in lieu of recognizing Palestine as a member. This was in stark contrast to a Reuters article, which omitted much of this critical context. Thank you for giving appropriate priority to the Palestinian aspect of this story.
However, in the final paragraph of your article, you write:
“The Palestinians claim the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip — territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — for an independent state.”
In 1967, Israel militarily occupied the territories of the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in violation of international law, which does not recognize the “capture” of territory by armed force. Article 2, Section 4 of the UN Charter provides no avenue for a country to violate or infringe on the territorial integrity of another country. It states that “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” This is not a matter of opinion but of settled consensus among international bodies including the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.
As such, I insist that you update your sentence to read:
“The Palestinians claim the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip – territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war – for an independent state.”
Thank you for making these changes. Should you wish, you can contact me at 438-380-5410 for more information.
Sincerely,
Tayla Shair, Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East