Position Paper on Israel-Palenstine
Committee: United Nations Security Council
Topic: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Country: Australia
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a major concern to all societies. The question of Palestine and Israel has commanded the attention of the UN since the organization was founded. As for many years many resolutions have been put into action regarding this issue.
Resolution 242 is the most important of the Security Council’s resolutions. Issued after the 1967 war, when Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank from Jordan, it calls for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the recently occupied territories and a "just settlement of the refugee problem". Its language is ambiguous. It does not set out what a temporary solution for the Palestinian refugees would entail and there are disputes over its translation, but resolution 242 remains the basis for most peace plans, and speaks of the necessity for political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries.
Australia has generally a “self-interested preference for the peaceful resolution of conflict [and] acceptance of international law”. However, Australia and Israel enjoy a warm and cooperative relationship. So, when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Australia’s voting pattern to the “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine” resolutions of the UN has gone from an ‘abstain’ in 2001 and 2003, a ‘yes’ in 2002, to a consistent ‘no’ since 2004.
As has been the case with previous changes of government in Australia, the main difference between the post-2007 Labor Governments and the preceding Coalition Government is the language used in discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the tone of public statements. For example, the current Government has more routinely criticized Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank than did the previous
Topic: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Country: Australia
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a major concern to all societies. The question of Palestine and Israel has commanded the attention of the UN since the organization was founded. As for many years many resolutions have been put into action regarding this issue.
Resolution 242 is the most important of the Security Council’s resolutions. Issued after the 1967 war, when Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank from Jordan, it calls for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the recently occupied territories and a "just settlement of the refugee problem". Its language is ambiguous. It does not set out what a temporary solution for the Palestinian refugees would entail and there are disputes over its translation, but resolution 242 remains the basis for most peace plans, and speaks of the necessity for political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries.
Australia has generally a “self-interested preference for the peaceful resolution of conflict [and] acceptance of international law”. However, Australia and Israel enjoy a warm and cooperative relationship. So, when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Australia’s voting pattern to the “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine” resolutions of the UN has gone from an ‘abstain’ in 2001 and 2003, a ‘yes’ in 2002, to a consistent ‘no’ since 2004.
As has been the case with previous changes of government in Australia, the main difference between the post-2007 Labor Governments and the preceding Coalition Government is the language used in discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the tone of public statements. For example, the current Government has more routinely criticized Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank than did the previous
Citations: www.fmep.org/resources/reference/un_resolutions.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict http://english.cntv.cn/20121122/101362.shtml http://www.mythsandfacts.org/conflict/10/resolution-181.pdf