A new government publication states, for the first time, that Israel has an exclusive right to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.
The book, titled "Israel's Right as of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria," is a compilation of materials and lectures first presented at a Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry symposium last year, which was attended by some of the world's leading jurists and diplomats.
The symposium, led by Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Zeev Elkin, was held as part of the ministry's international program to bolster Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital.
The book has been printed in several hundred copies, to be distributed in Israel's missions worldwide and to top foreign diplomats, jurists and leaders of public opinion.
The ministry said this was the first time a book dealing with the issue of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria has been published.
"For years, we have had to tolerate the false message that Israel's very presence in reunified Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria are a violation of international law," said ministry Director General Ran Yishai.
"The world's top jurists have refuted this notion, but they have been all but silenced by a pro-Arab campaign using false legal arguments to justify international bodies and countries' anti-Israeli policy," he said.
"Now, the State of Israel has put together arguments by some of the world's greatest legal experts, including by some who have personally shaped international law, that prove Israel is in the right even when faced with legal bullying in the international arena," Yishai concluded.
