Israel Palestine Conflict And UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338

UN Security Council Resolution 242

The conflict between Israel and Palestine has caused great damage to the lives of people and other properties. It is still unresolved after a long time. It seems that peace is very difficult to achieve. To find the solution of conflict between Israel and Palestine, UN adopted several resolutions like Resolutions 242, 338 etc. for the purpose of peace.

Origin of Resolution 242

In the Six-Day War (June 1967), Israel finally occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Occupying territory by war is not acceptable according to international law. Gaza Strip and the West Bank are occupied territories and have no relation with Israel. Israeli aim was to occupy more and more land as possible. United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 242 on November 22, 1967 after the end of Six-Day War.

The Main Principles of Resolution 242

The Resolution 242 includes three main principles for the establishment of peace which are stated as: 1. Israel must withdraw armed forces from occupied territories. Israel must respect the self-government of Palestinians and breakdown the occupation. 2. All claims must be terminated and respect must be given to the sovereignty and independence of every state. Every state in the area of conflict must be given their rights so that they live in peace and boundaries must be secure, recognized and free from threats. 3. The resolution also asserted that settlement of the refugee problem must be achieved.

Extent of Implementation of Resolution 242 Resolution 242 is not implemented till now. Israel Palestine conflict is as it was before, in spite of the resolution. Resolution is failed completely in finding the solution for the conflict due to many reason explained below. Reasons for the Lack of Implementation of Resolution 242
The main reasons for the lack of implementation of Resolution 242 are:

1. Misunderstanding in the Withdrawal Phrase

According to Israeli view, withdrawal phrase, withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict, does not say that Israel must withdraw from all territories, because there is no word all or the before the word territories. Resolution 242 does not refer to the withdrawal from all territories. Therefore, withdrawal is needed only from some of the territories. 1 Palestine insists that Israel must withdraw completely from all territories occupied by Israel. However Israel reports that total withdrawal cannot happen because it will make the boundaries unsecure. So Israel refused to withdraw from Gaza Strip. 2 According to American draft, Israel will not withdraw from all the territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. In January 1970, British Foreign Secretary, George Brown who formulated the Security Council resolution, said that the proposal of resolution was shown to Arab leaders. In proposal, it was written that Israel would not withdraw from all the territories. 3 Israeli withdrawal from some of occupied territories did not result in peace in the region. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is still continuing, because Israel has full control over Palestine.

2. Secure and Recognized Boundaries

Israeli armed forces do not want to withdraw from occupied territories in the Palestine, because they think that the boundaries may be unsecure and unrecognized. So according to their opinion, withdrawal is only possible if there is a guarantee of secure boundaries. Hence withdrawal is in conjunction with the establishment of recognized and secure boundaries. 4 According to Israeli view, borders are not secure. The border of 1967 is not a satisfactory border. Therefore withdrawal will take place only to the recognized and secure boundaries. Professor Kenneth W. Stein belonging to Emory University reported that Resolution 242 did not mandate Israel to withdraw from all the territories occupied in the war of 1967. 5 In 1974, Lord Caradon, the main drafter of resolution, said that: It is wrong to demand Israel to withdraw to the positions of 4 June, 1967. They are only armistice lines which are artificial and undesirable. Therefore we did not demand Israel to go to those positions. 6 However the extent of conflict between Israel and Palestine is not decreased. The conflict is still continuing creating no peace condition.

3. Israeli Withdrawal and Peace

According to Israeli opinion, withdrawal from occupied territories cannot create peace. There is no guarantee that withdrawal is a solution for creating peace. President Johnson said that Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories was not to be immediate 7 because it was not a prescription for creating peace in the region. Moreover Security Council did not demand Israel to return to the armistice lines of 1949. The reason was that withdrawal to those lines would not guarantee peace in the region as the situation of 1957. However, recent conflict between Israel and Palestine is also the result of mistake of past. If Israel would have been withdrawn from the occupied territories, the

present conflict would have not been occurred. So to create peace, Israel must withdraw from occupied territories over which Israel still has occupation.

4. US Interests Affecting the UN Security Council Resolution 242

Israel is a tool for America in the region. The US is responsible for the lack of implementation of Resolution 242, because it may be an advantage for US interests. US interests are responsible for keeping the resolution out from being implemented and Israeli occupation over Palestine. US military complex is gaining so much from the region of conflict. It is true that Israel is so much faithful to US and strong tool for war in the Middle East. Hence, more dominant Israel makes the US more stronger tool. Israel is like a base for US in the Middle East. During conflict, $650 million were granted to Israel by US for military expenditures. 8 Israeli occupation over Palestine was also regarded completely by 40 US vetoes. They supported Israel. 9 Therefore, Palestine is occupied by Israel as well as by US.

5. Economic Control of Israel and US over Palestine

Israel and the US affect the economy of Palestine. If Resolution 242 is completely implemented in the region, then Israel must withdraw from Palestine. Because Palestine is oil-rich country, so Israel and US take interest in the region. It is the interest of US to have pressure on the Palestine, and that Israel must be a check on the region, so that it has fully control over oil sources. So resolution is being neglected.

6. Israel Palestine Conflict has been Reported Indirectly in the Resolution 242
In the Resolution 242, it is reported simply that Israel must withdraw from territories. This raises several questions for different countries, whether Israel must withdraw from all the occupied territories or some of them. If, in the resolution, it had been reported directly that Israel must withdraw from all occupied territories in the Palestine, and the resolution had been implemented, then solution of the conflict was possible.

UN Security Council Resolution 338

UN Security Council adopted Resolution 338 on 22 October 1973 during the time of War of 1973. Resolution 338 gave a binding effect to the Resolution 242 of 1967. 10

Principles of Resolution 338

Resolution 338 was about the reaffirmation of the principles of Resolution 242. With little doubt, it is said that Resolution 338 reinforced Resolution 242 in many cases. It emphasized that Resolution 242 must be implemented. As in Resolution 338, the parties of conflict must negotiate with each other to settle the problem. Resolution 338 forced Israel and Arab states to cease the war. It brought new efforts for both, Israel and Arab states, to negotiate keeping in view the Resolution 242. Both resolutions were responsible for establishing the peace in Middle East.

Lack of Implementation of Resolution 338

Resolution 338 also failed in finding the solution of Israel Palestine Conflict due to the same reasons discussed for the lack of implementation of Resolution 242. It failed in creating the air of peace between Israel and Palestine. Israel and Palestine did not negotiate with each other for the solution of conflict. Negotiation was the main purpose of the Resolution 338.

Consequences of the Lack of Implementation of Resolutions 242 and 338

As a consequence, lack of implementation of Resolutions 242 and 338 has fired the conflict between Israel and Palestine. International law gives no right to Israel to gain sovereignty and occupation over Palestine. However, Israel is dominant in the West Bank and Gaza Strip being responsible for serious sufferings in the Palestine.

From the time of adoption of Resolutions 242 and 338 till now, these have not been implemented and thus, situation in the Palestine became more and more serious with the passage of time. In spite of resolutions, Israel has increasing domination over Palestine.

References
1

From article: RESOLUTION 242 WHY THE ISRAELI VIEW OF THE WITHDRAWAL PHRASE IS UNSUSTAINABLE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW by John McHugo.
2

From article: SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 242: A VIOLATION OF LAW AND A PATHWAY TO DISASTER by Howard Grief.
3

Yosef Tekoah, ibid., p. 263.

Statement by Ambassador Abba Eban, UN General Assembly, Official Records, 23rd session, 1686th Plenary Meeting, October 8, 1968, 913, at 9 (section 92), 11 (section 110).
5

Kenneth W. Stein, My Problem with Jimmy Carters Book, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2007.
6

Cited from the Beirut Daily Star, June 12, 1974, by Andrea Levin, Correcting Carters Distortion, Jerusalem Post, January 16, 2007.
7

From article: SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 242: A VIOLATION OF LAW AND A PATHWAY TO DISASTER by Howard Grief.
8

Friedman 1991, A1. Neff 2005, 14. E.V. Rostow, The Illegality of the Arab Attack on Israel of October 1973.

10