A FEW days back, the third committee of the UN General Assembly, by a vote of 170 in favor, 6 against and 9 abstentions, voted in favor of a resolution that "reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination including the right to their independent State of Palestine."
The clause "including the right to their independent state of Palestine" is significant. It is the enunciation of a right distinct from the right to self-determination. It is a principle of legal hermeneutics that terms are to be construed according to their accepted meanings at the time of the enactment or passage of law. It was necessary to include the right to an independent State, because the right to self-determination does not of necessity include the right to independence or the right to secession.
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