Linking the Gaza Strip with the West Bank: - Jerusalem Center For ...

page 12may also be relevant, such as self-determination andrecognition, which will be discussed below. Moreover,the weight placed on the respective criteria may vary indiffering situations. 511. Criterion i: A Permanent PopulationThe first criterion for statehood is that of a permanentpopulation. This connotes a stable community of peoplewho identify themselves with a specific territory. The sizeof the population is of no consequence. 52 Who actuallybelongs to the population of a state is determined by themunicipal law on nationality. 532. Criterion ii: A Defined TerritoryThe second criterion of statehood (and the one withwhich this monograph is most concerned) is that of adefined territory. States are quite clearly territorialentities and, as such, need a territorial base from whichto function. There are various conflicting theories as tothe relationship between a state and its territory, 54 butcontrol of territory represents the essence of a state.While there is a need for adefined territory, there is noprescribed minimum sizeof the territory. Indeed, onefinds both very large and verysmall states.Russia is 6,592,771 square miles; 1.8 times the size ofthe United States. Tuvalu, an island group in the SouthPacific Ocean, is only 10 square miles, some 0.1 timesthe size of Washington, DC. Nauru, an island in theSouth Pacific Ocean, is only 8.2 square miles.Further, it is not a requirement that the boundaries of theterritory be fixed or certain. Although defined territoryimplies this, it is not the case. This was confirmed by theGerman Polish Mixed Arbitral Tribunal in the DeutscheContinental Gas-Gese Uschaft v. Polish State case. Thetribunal held that, “Whatever may be the importanceof the delimitation of boundaries one cannot go so faras to maintain that as long as this delimitation has notbeen legally affected the state in question cannot beconsidered as having any territory whatsoever…. In orderto say that a state exists….[i]t is enough that this territoryhas a sufficient consistency, even though its boundarieshave not yet been accurately delimited and that the stateactually exercises independent public authority over thatterritory.” 55The State of Israel further demonstrates this principle.The State was admitted to the United Nations in 1948despite border disputes that continue even today.Accordingly, alterations to a state’s territory, whether byincrease or decrease, do not affect the identity of the stateor its existence. 56 Lest one be tempted to assume thatthese disputes are antiquated or marginal, it is advisableto note that organizations such as Hamas, 57 Hezbollah, 58Palestinian Islamic Jihad 59 and even the State of Iran 60openly deny Israel’s right to exist regardless of itsdimensions.What is vital to note is thatthe criterion of a definedterritory does not requirethat the state possessgeographical unity. Indeed,a state may consist ofdisconnected territorialareas.Many states are comprised of a mainland and islands,such as Australia, which consists of the mainland andislands including Tasmania, Norfolk, and very distantislands like Christmas and Keeling. A state can alsocomprise many islands. The Marshall Islands are twoarchipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands.Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago with17,508 islands. These states, and many others are notgeographically united.