Security Council
Republic of Turkey
Israel & the Palestinian Territories
Delegate: Sergio Rivera Partida
I. Topic Background The Israel/Palestine conflict ultimately boils down to religious tension, and is part of the larger Arab/Israeli conflict. In 1948, the U.N. partitioned the region of Palestine into two states, one Jewish, and one Arab, to address the ongoing Jewish-Arab tension. Jewish leaders accepted the plan, the Palestinian government did not, and the result was a short-lived civil war which ended with Israel declaring independence on May 14, 1948. For decades after the civil-war, Arab nations refused to recognize Israel's legitimacy as a nation, and in 1964 formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Gaza strip and Jerusalem from Egypt, and West Bank from Jordan. In response, several Arab nations banded together and launched the Yom Kippur War against Israel. No definitive gains were made by either side, however it did lead to the Camp David Accords of 1978, which led to the Egypt-Israeli Treaty. Tensions sparked into violence yet again in 1987 with the First Intifada, in which Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied territory revolted. The First Intifada bore the creation of Hamas, founded by Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, an armed resistance establishment that is prevalent in the current Gaza situation. In the Oslo Peace Process of 1993, Israel and the PLO tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a peace agreement. Its failure was credited to the lack of effort on both sides to uphold the conditions established by the process, such as the promised decrease Israeli settlement activity in West Bank and Gaza, and the acceptance of Israel as a legitimate nation. In 2000, the Second Intifada broke out in wake of the failed peace attempt. In 2003, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon announced a disengagement plan, which constituted the removal of