Voting as a Vehicle for Self-Determination in Palestine and Israel

Through a study of the situation in Palestine and Israel, this Essay argues that collective self-determination can, in some circumstances, be realized through voting in the political system of an occupying power. More specifically, we contend that (1) a power exercising “indefinite occupation” has a duty to grant voting rights in its own domestic political system to those members of the occupied population who may wish to vote; (2) a demand for voting in the political system of an occupying power does not, in itself, constitute consent to acquisition of title by the occupier; and (3) a demand for voting under occupation can be a viable part of a struggle for decolonization, even without a preexisting social contract among members. The argument we set forth amounts to a paradigm shift in the way the international community should understand the international law of occupation both in the Palestinian territories and more broadly.