Topic > The United Nations and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

The United Nations and its precursor, the League of Nations, played a central role in the creation, development and current state of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. The Arab-Israeli conflict concerns the territory that Israel now occupies in what used to be Palestinian land. The State of Israel was formed in 1947 with the support of the United Nations and immediately entered into conflict and war with the Palestinians and Arab neighbors. Since then, Israel has strengthened its position through military action with US support. The United States has issued numerous resolutions condemning Israeli actions, but, to date, efforts for peace and the creation of a Palestinian state have been fruitless. The current UN position is that Israel should respect the Oslo Accords, return the occupied territories in the West Bank and negotiate with the Palestinians to reach a peaceful two-state solution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The creation of the state of Israel was motivated by Zionism, a 19th-century movement to return Jews to their ancestral home, and facilitated the League of Nations. In 1917 the British proposed the Balfour Declaration for the creation of a Jewish nation in Palestine. The League of Nations supported British control of Palestine with the formation of a Jewish state. Jews began purchasing land in Palestine, mostly from absentee landowners, and increasing their population. When the Nazis took power in Germany, more and more Jews emigrated to Palestine. As the number of Jews increased, the Palestinians rebelled against the British who controlled the territory. The United Nations' second major intervention in the region was the approval, in 1947, of a plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and a Palestinian state. The Partition Plan of 1947 stated: “The independent Arab and Jewish States and the special international regime for the city of Jerusalem, established in Part III of this plan, shall come into force in Palestine two months after the evacuation of the Mandate armed forces obligatory". The energy was completed but in any case no later than October 1, 1948." The fact that millions of Jews were killed by the Nazis motivated the formation of an Israeli state in 1948. Palestinians and Arabs rejected the partition plan and it followed a war, which involved other Arab states, and was eventually won by Israel. In 1967 there was another war, the Six Day War, which led Israel to annex Gaza and the West Bank and to create more Palestinian refugees. The United Nations issued Security Council Resolution 242, proposing a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supporting the creation of a Palestinian state. As stated in Resolution 242, “Cessation of all claims or states of belligerence and respect and recognition of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized borders, free by threats” or acts of force”. To date, Resolution 242 has not been implemented. In the 1970s and 1980s, Palestinians continued to fight the government of Israel, and the United Nations generally supported their struggle by issuing a series of resolutions critical of Israel. However, the United Nations has not yet recognized the State of Palestine. In 1993 the United States moderated a peace process that led to the Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinians. The United Nations has softened its stance towards.