What events led the UN to try to resolve the conflict over Jewish and Arab claims to Palestine? How successful was this effort?
1 Answer
A series of events dating back to World War 1 and its success has been limited.
Explanation:
Jewish and Palestinian claims to Palestine were both recognised by the British during World War 1 to secure financial backing (The Balfour Declaration) and to secure Palestinian support to defeat the Turks who controlled Palestine as part of the Ottoman Empire and were allied to Germany.
After World War 1 the British were given Palestine as a League of Nations mandated territory. Both Palestinians and Jews increased pressure on Britain to fulfill their commitments. The situation deteriorated as Jews tried to enter Palestine after the coming to power of Hitler in 1`933.
After World War 2 the UN took over and divided Palestine into a Jewish state (Israel) and a Palestinian state.
The Palestinians were unhappy and Israel's Arab neighbours attacked. This led to the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948-49 at the end of which the Palestinians had lost nearly all their territory and this created the Palestinian refugee problem.
Further conflicts such as Suez in '56, the Six Day War in ,67 and Yom Kippur in '73 illustrate the continuation of this central issue of a Palestinian state.
Today the UN is still heavily involved particularly through peacekeeping operations and specialised agencies such as UNHCR. On balance the evidence would suggest that UN policy in creating a Jewish state has been successful but as far as the Palestinians are concerned it has been a disaster and the conflict is still there.
