FALLMUNC II
UN General Assembly:
SPECPOL
Palestine
[Note: This background guide is based upon, and large parts of the
text are taken directly from, the
UN's "History of the
Palestinian Question." This and other web resources are listed at
the bottom of the page.]
At the end of World War I, the Turkish Ottoman Empire
was destroyed and several Ottoman Arab territories were placed under the
control of Great Britain. Every territory became an independent state
except for Palestine. In accordance with the Balfour Declaration, a
1917 act by the British government supporting "the establishment in
Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people," Palestine remained
under British control during a period known as the Palestine Mandate from
1922-1947. Jewish immigration into Palestine from mainly Eastern
Europe grew during the period, particularly during the 1930s in response to
the Nazi’s persecution. Palestinians resisted the immigration and
demanded independence, eventually rebelling in 1937. Great Britain
sought the help of the United Nations in 1947.
The United Nations suggested dividing Palestine into
two independent states: Arab and Jewish Palestine. Jerusalem, the capital
city that is sacred to both religions, was to remain international. In
1948, the Jewish state, Israel, occupied 77% of Palestine and the larger
part of Jerusalem while Egypt and Jordan occupied the other Palestinian
lands, halting the Palestinian state from being established. In the 1967
war, Israel occupied the remaining Palestinian lands held by Egypt and
Jordan and annexed Jerusalem. The Security Council called upon Israel to
remove its forces from lands occupied during the conflict, and, in 1974,
reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. In 1975, the
UN established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of
the Palestinian People. Palestine has observer status in the UN.
Still, Palestine remains controversial. In 1982,
Israel invaded Lebanon to eliminate the Palestinian Liberation Organization
(PLO). A cease fire was arranged when the PLO withdrew to neighboring
countries with the promise that Palestinian refugees who remained would go
unharmed, but a large-scale massacre of refugees took place in the camps of
Sabra and Shatila.
In 1983, the International Conference on the Question
of Palestine adopted inter alia the Geneva Declaration containing
the following
principles: the need to oppose and reject the establishment of
settlements in the occupied territory and actions taken by Israel to change
the status of Jerusalem, the right of all States in the region to existence
within secure and internationally recognized boundaries, with justice and
security for all the people, and the attainment of the legitimate,
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
In a December 1987 uprising of the Palestinians in
Israeli occupied territory, Palestinian civilians suffered massive
casualties. The Madrid 1991 conference on Peace in the Middle East resulted
in mutual recognition between the Government of the State of Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian
People, and the signing by the two parties of the
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements in
Washington on 13 September 1993.
Still the agreements proved inconclusive. After the
second intifada, a wave of violence in Palestinian held territories, Israel
began the construction of a West Bank separation wall, located within the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, which was
ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004.
In 2002, the Security Council adopted resolution
1397 affirming the vision of Israel and Palestine coexisting with
recognized boarders. In 2003, the Middle East Quartet (US, EU, Russia, and
the UN) released a “Road Map” to peace between the two states and received
the Security Council’s support in resolution 1515.
In 2005, Israel withdrew its settlers and troops from
the Gaza Strip as part of its “Disengagement Plan,” while retaining
effective control over its borders, seashore, and airspace. Following the
Palestinian Legislative Council elections of 2006, the Quartet concluded
that future assistance to the Palestinian Authority would be reviewed by
donors against the new Government’s commitment to non-violence, recognition
of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements.
Some
Useful Sources to Begin Your Research:
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpal/index.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/803257.stm
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/il.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html
