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Over 100 Jewish legal experts from around the world sent a letter to Knesset members and government ministers, expressing their opposition to Israel's plan to apply Israeli sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria.

In the letter, the signatories noted that they are "committed to the right of Israel to exist and to flourish, and to live in security without armed threats to its people, like any other state under the rule of international law."

They also said that "where Israel’s sovereignty is threatened through violent attacks, we recognize its right to defend itself within the limits prescribed by international law."

They claimed that sovereignty would "implicate Israel in violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, expose it to new and grave dangers under international law and implicate its international responsibility for unlawful actions," and urged Israel "to follow the path of the law [and] desist from any purported annexation."

In addition, the signatories claimed, "annexation would fundamentally breach a central prohibition under international law of acquiring territory pursuant to the threat or use of force. Such an act would also run contrary to other principles of international law [and] undermine the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination."

Such a move "would implicate Israel’s international responsibility for unlawful actions. It would cause significant measures to be taken by other states. It would give rise to the risk of liability for individuals who participate in the decision," they said.

Signatories included International Law Professor Philippe Sands QC; Judge Dennis Davis, President of the Competition Appeals Court in South Africa; Eyal Benvenisti, Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge; former Lord Chief Justice Lord Harry Woolf; former Supreme Court Justices Lord John Dyson and Lord Lawrence Collins; and International Law Professor Philippe Sands QC.

The letter was spearheaded by the Global Jewish Coalition, a group of organizations which work to stop Israeli annexation and advance the two-state solution, and which includes J Street, the New Israel Fund, and Yachad,