Issue: Measures to decrease tensions between Israel and Palestine

Forum: Peace Building Commission (PBC)Position: ChairName: Alara Egeli IntroductionThe tension between Israel and Palestine has been a major issue for the whole word since mid-20th century. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is mainly because of land and borders and how they are controlled. Although the starting of this current political problem is shown as the 20th century the claims of both states go back a couple of thousand years. As years have passed the issue became more and more complex leading to it being known as a problem which has no solution. Such a territorial dispute has been lasting between Israel and Palestine seems to be increasingly harder to satisfy the needs and alleged rights. As time passed more parties involved in the crisis. Israel, being the world’s only Jewish state is located in the east of the Mediterranean Sea. Palestine was a common name of the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. When the Jews fled to Europe with the impact of anti-Semitism, they wanted to settle in the territory and gain an independent land. The conflict in a religious aspect explains that the Palestinians wanted to maintain an Arab-Muslim territory against the Jews. Over the years every kind of solution failed to be sufficient and effective. Before this conflict the Arabs and Jews had existed in peace for centuries. Today the lines reflect the wars between the two states and the UN had a lot of efforts on the region. 

Definition of Key Terms 

Designated Land-A land which is selected to be used for a particular purpose, referred as specie land.

Territorial Dispute -A territorial dispute is present when two states fight over a territorial claim and declares sovereignty over a part of land which is refused by the other party. The conflict rises when there is a disagreement between states, parties or any kind of factions about who takes care of the particular land.

Map of Israel

The British Mandate for Palestine-In 1923, the League of Nations ratified the Mandate for Palestine and Transjordan Memorandum that would create two separate British protectorates against the declining Ottoman Empire: Transjordan and Palestine. The latter had the objective of creating a national home for Jews to practice their religion and live freely under the customs of Jewish tradition. Britain maintained control over the mandate for 28 years, until the creation of the Israel state that resulted out of the UN Partition Plan.

Zionism& Zionist Movement-Zionism is basically an ideology that Judaism should both be a nationality and a religion of a person. Zionism is recognised as Israel’s national ideology nowadays. Jews were believed and then given the rights that they should have a homeland where they establish their own state. For long years Israeli people left undecided how the government procedure should be like even though they supported Zionism. Zionism emerged and became the main idea when World War II initiated and anti-semitic ideas became an immense obstacle in front of Jewish people. After the Second World War a lot of Jews were left to be refugees, being discriminated by their safe environment. The Zionist movement believed that this environment could be found in The British Mandate of Palestine, due to its sacred and holy land. With that being said it was certain that they should have their homeland and this lead to the establishment of Israel. The State of Israel was recognised by the United Nations in 1948 after taking action with the United Nations Partition Plan. Overall the Zionist Movement was considered as a political movement as it displaying Palestine under British Mandate and the UN Partition Plan.

Gaza Strip&West Bank-Both Gaza Strip and the West Bank are pieces of land as seen in the map. Currently it is being claimed that Gaza Strip and West Bank is under the territory of Palestine. After the United Nations Partition Plan the land that Palestine owned and had sovereignty diminished and decreased in a dramatic amount. In addition to this it is said that the land reduced to being the Gaza Strip and West Bank region only. The main conflict with Palestine having authority in both regions is that they are much further apart and have miles between them. This makes the Palestinian government challenge and have a lot of difficulty when ruling the lands. Also referring that the whole government is under a great threat and actually in danger, it is even harder for the Palestinian territory to protect itself with the military as well as keeping the authority growing.

Oslo Accords & Oslo Peace Process-In 1993, the Oslo Accords were established between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) out of UN Security Council resolution 242 that was unanimously adopted in 1967, in striving for an Israeli-Palestinian peace process; otherwise known as the Oslo peace process. The peace process aimed to achieve the following:

• Palestinian ‘’interim’’ governance; implying to create an authority that would rule over the Palestinian territory until a permanent government would be settled to rule over Palestinian soil

• Partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in order to make way for Palestinian elections

• The ultimate creation of an Israel Palestine peace treaty. The accords were a turning point in the dispute between Israel and Palestine by creating the Palestinian National Authority, who would be granted the right to govern over the regions of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Before the accords, no governmental organisation was formally allowed to govern both regions and thus these regions were often claimed by smaller military organizations. It should be noted that the Oslo Accords did not have the intention of creating a Palestinian state, but rather wished for an authority to maintain the stability of these regions, before ultimately resulting in civil unrest.

Intifada -The two Intifadas were a set of Palestinian uprisings which lasted for years. They were uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinian Right to Return-Israel offers a ‘right of return’ to Jews born outside Israel, with associated citizenship rights based on historic and ancestral affinity with the territory of Israel/Palestine. However, thousands of displaced Palestinian refugees from Arab Israeli War similarly have ancestral ties and historical affinity to the lands which they previously inhabited, yet are conferred no analogous rights by the State of Israel. Many Palestinians, especially but not exclusively advocates of a one-state solution, believe a similar right of return and automatic citizenship should be applied to the non-Jewish Palestinian diaspora.

General OverviewThe dispute between Israel and Palestine is in an ongoing situation for a long period of time. The parts that makes it hard to solve is that it has a lot of aspects and together they create a confusion. The roots of Palestine come from two national acts. The First and Second World War had effects on the formation of Palestine in a huge way. The Ottoman Empire ruled Palestine in that time while the Zionist movement was peaking. The Arab nationalism also rose where although it lasted as a minority, the Arab League supported the sovereignty of Palestine in the region. The first problem right after the British occupied Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. With this mandate Arabs and Jews became opponents in a way. In that time Israel was very different from today, it was not known as a state that had a Jewish majority. During the Second World War, Jewish people fled from European countries (mostly Germany) and migrated to other countries. They especially wanted to flee to their home, Israel, due to the fact that they recognised the settlements in the region for decades. Antisemitism lead Jewish people to fight against other nations and the outrage in Israel caused the war between the British and Jews. When Britain ended the sovereignty in the region United Nations was involved. The UN suggested the two-state solution (which was more like a two-nationality solution) which advised to divide the land between Arabs and Jews. Unfortunately, two of the parties claimed that they had to have the whole land for themselves. Palestine did not declare independence while countries like Jordan and Israel did which led Jordan to take control of Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The creation of the state also created an interest to the Middle East for Britain and United States of America. Israel’s declaration of independence was immediately recognised by USA, by President Truman. For a decade Palestinians and Arabs were forced to be refugees and sent to camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. When the Arab League formed Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Liberation Army things changed. Guerrillas and attacks to Israel were ongoing by Palestine when the First Arab-Israeli War began. This war is referred to as the “Israeli War of Independence” and “Nakba” (catastrophe) for Palestinians. The war resulted with Palestinians being refugees and Israel occupying the whole land. The Palestinians reflect this result as a mass murder. Also, the Six Day War took place where tension rose and strength of military in Palestine grew a lot. Hijacking airlines and guerrillas and a lot of attacks took place against the Israeli soldiers and armies

The First Israeli-Arab War

and PLO was greatly acting against the state of Israel. PLO was the “sole legitimate representation of the Palestinian people” which was fully known by the Arab League.

On the other hand, Palestine took actions to become an independent state. The Palestinian National Council wrote the Declaration of Palestine and calls themselves the “State of Palestine”. Where Jordan let go of West Bank (left it to PLO) the First Intifada took place between 1987 and lasted until 1993. The idea of negotiation and maintaining peace did not come until the early 1990’s for both of the parties. This is the time interval in which most of the resolutions were passed and the Partition Plan initiated. However, the Second Intifada left a great amount of brutal violence between the states. The Palestinians used suicide bombings, rocket attacks and sniper fire. According to the World Fact Book over 4,200 people died in total during the Second Intifada. After this other aspect of the conflict began to take place, it became harder to sustain a peaceful environment. Where around 2005 Israel abandoned the settlements in the Gaza region they kept all the military force and the borders, controlling any kind of act against themselves.

"Palestinian dichotomy” was one of the major issues that prevented nations from negotiating. This term was based on the factions of Hamas and Fatah which were very effective in the Palestinian region. Israel and Palestine have been active on the peace process but both parties have changed their minds a lot of times to come up on a consensus. When Palestine was accepted as a “non-member observer state” by the United Nations, Fatah and Hamas signed the Cairo Agreement. Cairo Agreement was signed in 2012 that made Palestine promise that they will not do any violent acts against the Israeli resistance.

Although the political and territorial claims of the parties do not stop it is crucial to look at the cultural aspect and historical background of the current situation. The cultures are in direct relation with their religions. Palestinians are Arabs who practice the religion of Islam. Israeli people are Jewish. Since these two religions were founded they have a long history behind all of this conflict. Long ago Jewish people had settlements in Israel and they were let out of slavery in that region and the near lands. The Jewish development in terms of culture and religion happened to take place in Israel or elsewhere such as the land of Canaan or the Promised Land. On the other hand, Islam was practiced in the region when Early Muslims came in the 7th century. The armies of Rashidun Caliphate occupied Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Spain, Egypt and North Africa. Muslims immigrated to these areas and they started to try to convert people to Islam, which they settled and practiced their religion.

The main thing that makes the problem remain unsolvable is that all kind of solution methods has already been practised and proved that they were inefficient and not sustainable. Both parties remain to debate over three main issues. These include border security and recognition, the question of Jerusalem and the restriction of Palestinian freedom of movement which gave them the rights, to return and the recognition of United Nations.

Major Parties Involved

PalestineIt can be easily said that the state of Palestine represents the Arabs in the region. Whether or not Palestine is recognised as an independent country does not matter. The two parties in Palestine, Fatah and Hamas, have made the conflict more complicated and Palestinian side has been damaged a lot. With the effect of these problems and this problem not leading to a solution once and for all. Some countries refused to recognise Palestine as a country, these states include USA, Israel, Canada, United Kingdom and many European states. Not only this domination affected Palestine externally but Palestine National Authority collapsed, leading to the diversion between Fatah and Hamas. The governing parts are splitter as Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The bipartisan governance of the state has been fractured immensely.

IsraelIsrael is the only state in the world which has a Jewish majority as the states religion. Since they have gained independence in 1948, the country is the representation of the Jewish people. The main reason and purpose that Israel believes its own sovereignty in the region is because of religious beliefs and the conception that they believe Israeli people settled there for over 3 millennia which resulted with having deep religious relationships with the land. After 1967 Israel claimed to build settlements in lands therefore the problem became a disturbance. The clear solution for Israel is spotted to be the one-state solution. The right of both Israel and Palestine to fight with their military forces has not still lead to a consensus however the fact that United Nations endorsed the Partition Plan designates the land to Israel. Whereas there is a debate going on because United Nations also declared Palestine as a non-

observer entity. Thus, there is no certain and clear way present to solve the issue. It is crucial to know that security is the most important aspect for Israel.

United States of America

Map that shows the general diplomatic relations of Israel

United States of America has helped and provided both military and political support to Israel. Some US diplomatic sources showed evidence that in 2009 the United States Navy warships stationed in the Gulf of Aden and ordered to follow Iranian arms shipment. Where foreign aid was far most the biggest supportive relation United States of America was fond of the two-state solution for a long period of time.

EgyptDespite of the past conflicts between Israel and Egypt, the conception of Egypt is contrary to the state of Palestine. Although Egypt and Israel were fighting in a state of war between each other since the Arab-Israeli war in 1948, the two states have peaceful and good relations right now. Egypt is also a member of the Arab League and it played an essential role in the prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel.

Arab LeagueThe Arab League is a common name for the region which can be summed up as the North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. It is known as a regional organisation. The aim of the organisation is to “draw closer relations between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries. For example, Saudi Arabia donates a lot of income and funds the state of Palestine in a huge amount which can be expressed as a religious reason.

Iran

The relationship between Israel and Iran depends on a threat which Israeli forces believe Iran’s nuclear program is a direct dangerous existing. On the other hand, Iran has the same opinions for Israel for their undeclared nuclear weapons which are officially known to be true. Iran has also provided a significant amount of military and economic sources to Hezbollah, Hamas and Syria which also leads to the conflict in the Middle East.

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1963 because of the need to liberate Palestinian authorities from Israel armed forces. It is much like the defence mechanism, governing body of the State of Palestine. The main purpose of the organization is to also keep the identity and promote Palestinian citizens with nationalism. Although a lot of states recognize this force before 1991 the organization was thought to be a terrorist group by the United States because of the negative effects on Israel and the violation. It is open to debate whether the organization is purely beneficial whereas its primary purpose is to maintain a democratic Palestinian nation in terms of security, military and protection.

FatahFatah started with the Palestinian National Liberation Movement in 1965. It is a major Palestinian secular political party. The organization/party was found by Yasser Arafat and his friends from Algeria. The organization was opposing to PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization),

which was recognised as a terrorist group. Fatah started establishing terrorist raids against Israeli forces from Jordan, Lebanon, and Egyptian-occupied Gaza with the help of Syria. Fatah did manage to take over PLO in 1968 and this lead to the decreasing reputation of the party in Palestine. “Today, Fatah is the PLO’s most prominent faction.”

HamasHamas is the opponent of Fatah in the Palestinian region. It is an Islamist political organization as well as a militant group founded in 1987. The aim of Hamas is to replace Israel with the land of Palestine and declare a Palestinian territory. Hamas also governs Gaza without any relation of the Palestinian Authority. It is still not clear whether or not Hamas could reconcile itself to the existence of Israel. Hamas has been in direct violation which upgraded from suicide bombings to rockets and mortars, weapons. Over the years Hamas has gained a slight majority in Palestinian elections.

Timeline of Key Events

Time/Date Event

1917 Britain conquers Palestine from Ottoman Empire.

1930-1935 The campaign against Jewish Community commenced by The Black Hand Islamic group.

1936-1939 Arab revolt takes place.

1947 The idea of splitting the region into two separate Jewish and Arab countries comes up as a suggestion from UN.

1948 Britain abandoned its mandate over Palestine and disengaged Palestinian forces.

1948 First Arab War

1949-1960 Palestinian fighting groups bases Egypt and Gaza hold raids on Israel.

1964 Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Palestine Liberation Army is formed.

1967 Six Day War

1970-1980 PLO starts to attack Israeli forces.

1987-1993 First Palestinian Intifada

1988 Palestine declares itself as a state, Declaration of Independence

1993 Leaders of PLO sign the Oslo Declaration.

1998 The Wye River Memorandum

2000-2005 Palestine protests to escalate into a Second Intifada.

2005 Israel takes all Jewish settlements and military groups from Gaza but continues to control the region.

2007 The unity breaks between Fatah and Hamas.

2008 United Nations accepts Palestine as a “non-member observer state”.

2014 Hamas rocket attacks

2017 The American embassy is moved to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, USA recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s territory.

2017 Israel claims and declares Jerusalem to be its capital city.

Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue The following titles and explanations are taken from the database of United

Nations.

Fourth Geneva Convention, 12 August 1949This convention was on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War.Security Council Resolution, 22 November 1967 (SCR/242) The legal basis for a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian question, calls

on Israel to give up control of territories taken in the Six Day War. ● Security Council Resolution, 22 March 1979 (SCR/446)

▪ States: "determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East."

● Security Council Resolution, 7 October 2000 (SCR/1322)

▪ This resolution states the disapproval of violence in Jerusalem and calls upon Israel to follow through on its legal obligation.

● Statement of Secretary General on the Situation in the Middle East, 12 March 2002

▪ In an open meeting with the Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan calls on the Israeli and Palestinian people to stop attacks, and on both leaders to move towards a political settlement through negotiations.

● ICJ Advisory Opinion, 9 July 2004

▪ The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel's West Bank barrier violates international law. The court said to protect Israel’s citizens in a legal way and compensate Palestinians for property loss or damage by the building of the wall. The ICJ urges the UN Security Council and General Assembly to consider taking action in ending illegal activity.

● Security Council Resolution, 8 January 2009 (SCR/1860)

▪ In Resolution 1860 the Security Council deals with the situation in Gaza during the Israeli military siege. Condemning all violence directed against civilians, the Council called for an immediate ceasefire followed by the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. The Council also requested unimpeded humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

● Security Council Resolution, 2016 (SCR/2334)

▪ “Reaffirmed the lack of legal validity of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. Restated Israel’s obligation to leave Palestinian territory and to stop all acts of violence towards civilians.”

● Partition Plan

The UN Partition Plan was essentially a proposal to Palestine. This plan advised and recommended to cooperate with Economic Union of Mandatory Palestine to end the British Mandate. A resolution was adopted in 1947, which was referred to as the Resolution 181 (II). The Plan actually worked and it was respected by the Jewish population in the area however it had some limitations according to the Jewish Agency. The Arab leaders and the government did not accept the territorial division. Unfortunately, right after the adoption of this resolution the civil war started leading this plan not to be implemented.

● Solutions

The common types of solutions also included the involvement of states. There was one state, two-state and three state solutions that were tried to be implemented to this conflict as mentioned before.

“The United Nations will continue to support international efforts aimed at bringing an end to the occupation that began forty years ago, and achieving a two-state solution.

A viable and independent Palestine and a safe and secure Israel would not only be a blessing for the two peoples, but would also help promote peace and stability in the wider region.” -Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN African Meeting on the Question of Palestine, 9 May 2007.

Possible Solutions Some possible solutions can be to act peacefully towards the conflict whereas a different procedure or plan should be followed since it was seen that other solutions were inefficient.

The dispute between Israel and Palestine has become more a religious conflict rather than just gaining land and declaring independence. Therefore, a solution can be to come to a consensus between Muslims and Jewish people.

The one state solution which aims to join Israeli and Palestinian lands together can be another solution. In this way a democratic government which is created by both Arabs and Jews can be maintained. This solution is certainly beneficial for Palestine.

The two-state solution can be efficient and probably the most logical solution for both parties. However, a plan like the Partition Plan has to be created because as it is seen the normal way of the two-state solution is not working. The two-state solution, practically, is to divide the land into two equally or divide it into portions such that Israel and Palestine will share it as it was seen in the Oslo Accords.

The common solution that is suggested is to form a “Palestinian National Authority” to negotiate with Israel. Once a stable environment is maintained and sustained it will be easier to come to a conclusion for this issue which is now affecting the whole world. Stereotypical solutions for this issue will not be a way to solve the issue so the delegates have to come up with unique clauses.

Jerusalem is seen to be the main problem for three main religions. This city can be the “Capital of the World” rather than to belong to a specific party contrary to what Israel is claiming right now. The settlements are a huge issue between both parties so it is crucial to take the historical background of the conflict into consideration.

The ceasefire is going on between both parties, and it can get worse.  

Appendix/Appendices · http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20415675

· http://www.un.org/news/

· http://tari.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=7

· https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/israel/palestine

· http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/israelpalestine/

· https://www.globalpolicy.org/security-council/index-of-countries-on-the- security-council-agenda/israel-palestine-and-the-occupied-territories/38296.html

· https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html

· http://www.ijs.org.au/Consequences-of-the-war-of-1947-1949/default.aspx

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