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The establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been described as illegal by the [[UN Security Council]] many times, for example in resolutions [[UN Security Council Resolution 446|446]], [[UN Security Council Resolution 452|452]], [[UN Security Council Resolution 465|465]] and [[UN Security Council Resolution 471|471]]. Since resolutions 446 and 465 were made under Chapter VI, not Chapter VII, of the [[United Nations Charter]], they hold no binding force under international law, <ref>"The UN distinguishes between two sorts of Security Council resolution. Those passed under Chapter Six deal with the peaceful resolution of disputes and entitle the council to make non-binding recommendations. Those under Chapter Seven give the council broad powers to take action, including warlike action, to deal with “threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, or acts of aggression”. Such resolutions, binding on all UN members, were rare during the cold war. But they were used against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. None of the resolutions relating to the Israeli-Arab conflict comes under Chapter Seven." [http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1378577 Iraq, Israel and the United Nations:
Double standards?], October 10, 2002.</ref> and Israel chose not to heed them. Vera Gowlland-Debbas, a professor of Public International Law, has argued that Security Council resolutions outside of Chapter VII should also be considered legally binding upon member states.[http://student.cs.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0002338.txt] The Security Council itself takes great care to make the distinction in its resolutions.
International [[human rights]] groups [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]] denounced the settlements as illegal[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150212005?open&of=ENG-ISR][http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/27/isrlpa12346.htm], though the [[Anti-Defamation League]] has argued that they are legal. <ref>[http://www.adl.org/israel/advocacy/how_to_respond/settlements.asp?xflag=1 How to Respond to Common Misstatements About Israel: Israeli Settlements], [[Anti-Defamation League]] website. URL accessed April 10, 2006.</ref>
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