of nationality.68 However, other aspects are also important, such as: the rights to vote, hold political office, work (including employment with the government) without needing a work permit, be eligible to own property, and be entitled to access education and welfare benefits on a non-discriminatory basis.69 In some contexts, two other aspects of nationality are particularly important: state sovereignty/independence; and the existence of a nationality law that establishes which persons are considered nationals of that state.70 As a general rule, a country’s own nationality laws determine which people should be considered its nationals. However, international law and human rights principles establish important limits on how states define and implement their nationality laws. One of the exceptions to the general rule is that it is a principle of customary international law that the “inhabitants of a territory undergoing a change of sovereignty automatically acquire nationality in the new state” unless there is a treaty arranging some other nationality for such persons.71 Further, under international law, states are not permitted to arbitrarily withdraw nationality from persons who should be considered nationals of that state.72 When these principles are not applied, and particularly where nationality is explicitly denied by a successor or occupying state, the people affected are left stateless, even though they have a right under international law to be considered nationals. 4.2. Are Palestinians Stateless? Palestinian Identity Many Palestinians consider themselves to be Palestinian nationals in view of their long-standing ties to the areas currently known as Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and Palestine, as well as their ethnicity, shared political and cultural affinity. It is important to acknowledge and respect Palestinians’ connection to Palestine and right to self-identify as Palestinian nationals. In addition, Palestinian nationality – in the legal sense – was established by an international treaty in 1923 and continues to be protected by international law. The displacement of Palestinians initiated by the creation of Israel in 1948 (and continuing subsequently), combined with the denial of nationality by Israel, negation of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and the lack of Palestinian sovereignty and a Palestinian nationality law has resulted in the effective denationalization of most Palestinians. As such, most Palestinians should be considered not only refugees but also stateless persons. International Law, Palestinian Nationality, and Self-Determination Palestinians are recognised internationally as a national people – a legal classification under international law that entitles them to the right of self-determination and other rights. This recognition dates to the 1919 Covenant of the League of Nations, which acknowledges that Palestinians were one of the communities 68 The International Law Commission describes diplomatic protection as: ‘the invocation by a State, through diplomatic action or other means of peaceful settlement, of the responsibility of another State for an injury caused by an internationally wrongful act to a natural or legal person that is a national of the former State with a view to the implementation of such responsibility.’ United Nations, Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries (2006) https://www.refworld.org/docid/525e7929d. html, Pt 1, Art I. 69 See Edwards, n 67, Ss. 1.1-1.4. 70 See Albanese and Takkenberg, n 6, Part One (III), S. 3.2.2. 71 Susan M Akram, ‘Palestinian Nationality and “Jewish” Nationality: From the Lausanne Treaty to Today’ in Farsakh, Leila (ed) Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self-Determination and Decolonization Beyond Partition (University of California Press, 2021) https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520385627/rethinking-statehood-in-palestine, 194 [hereinafter, Akram, ‘Palestinian Nationality’ (2021)]. 72 Akram, ‘Palestinian Nationality’ (2021), ibid, 194. See also Edwards, n 67, 1.3.3. 12