Israel and Palestine Conflict : A Failure of United Nations

Israel and Palestine Conflict : A Failure of United Nations

Author: Muhammad Shaghil Ansari, a 1st year law student at Jamia MIllia Islamia

Earlier in the month, a war broke between the Israel and HAMAS, a militant Islamic group controlling the Gaza strip since 2006. The Israel Defense forces confirmed that around 2100 rocket bombs were fired in a single night. In aftermath of this event the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu in an electronic message conveyed to the citizens, that they are in a state of war. Following the directives of the Defense Ministry IDF carry out a “complete siege” of Gaza. Both the sides have traded daily rocket fire, mass killing and injuring thousands of soldiers and people and taking dozens as hostages.

This long going conflict dates back to the mid of 20thcentury, in 1947 The UN adopted a resolution which sought to divide the British colony of Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state. Further with the successful implementation of the partition plan Israel was born as a new Jewish state, sparking the First Arab and Israel war, which ended with Israel emerging as the victor. Around 750,000 Palestinians were displaced and The territory was divided into three parts- The State of Israel, The Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Following the next two wars in 1967 and 1973, the tensions between the Arabs and Israel arouses and become a tough nut to crack. Although After a series of constant cease fire and peace negotiations the Camp David accords were signed in 1979, in which Egypt became the first among the Arab states to officially recognize Israel as an Independent nation. Further The Oslo Accords of 1992, was a great initiative taken by the leaders of Israel and Palestine in order to mediate the conflict which also set up a framework for Palestinians to govern themselves in the area of West Bank. A proper framework to conduct elections was established. Later on with the rise of HAMAS in 2006 elections in the Gaza strip. Following the seizure of HAMAS, a violence broke out between HAMAS and Fatah , previously known as the Palestinian National Authority, during the time of 2006 to 2011 a series of failed negotiations and deadly confrontation culminated in agreement to reconcile. The clashes of 2014 in the Palestine territories precipitated in a military confrontation between the IDF and HAMAS , in which thousands of rockets were fired by both sides which gave emergence to unbearable casualties each side.

Following the recent events of war in Israel and Palestine, many nations have condemned the violent terrorist attacks and express their support for Israel while some advocated the Palestinian cause of self-determination and have openly criticized Israel for its horrifying acts. As a result of continuous bombings a large number of people have lost their homes and have been shifted to refugee camps in other nations  especially in the Palestine region. Thousands have been killed and have been severely injured. 

The United Nations which was established as the super most international organization with a very noble aim to resolve conflict and to foster peace and security among nations. Inferring from the earlier historical involvements, peacekeeping efforts and attempts at mediating disputes, UN has repeatedly failed to arrive at a consensus and also failed to restore peace in the war torn region. However numerous challenges, including political divisions, territorial disputes, refugee issues and security concerns still persist. The innocent people still have to bear the brunt of the international community’s shortcomings. The UN’s role in this matter is of significant importance, despite all these grudges and in capabilities of the world government to restore peace, many people like us still see UN as the only hope. At last, the path to resolution remains elusive, and finding a way forward that satisfies both parties and the international community continues to be a formidable task