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Unlock This CourseThe Palestine problem did not end with the armistices of 1949. Israel and its Arab neighbours stayed in conflict. Many Palestinian Arabs were refugees, and borders were not agreed. For the next forty years the UN kept returning to the Middle East. It passed resolutions, sent observers and sent soldiers. Yet the quarrel went on. That is why the spec calls it a case study in limited success.
Israelis argued that their state needed secure borders and Arab recognition. Arab states and Palestinians argued that land had been lost and refugees had never been given justice. Both sides could point to UN resolutions to support their case, and that is part of the story.
Key terms:
In May 1967 Egypt's president, Nasser, asked the UN to remove its peacekeepers (UNEF) from the Egyptian side of the border. The Secretary-General, U Thant, withdrew them. War followed in June 1967. In six days Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. These became the occupied territories.
On 22 November 1967 the Security Council passed Resolution 242 unanimously. It was drafted by Britain. It called for:
The UN also appointed a special representative, Gunnar Jarring, to help the sides reach agreement. This is the "land for peace" idea in action.
Six years later nothing had been settled. On 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli forces in Sinai and the Golan Heights. After heavy fighting the USA and the USSR, who backed opposite sides, agreed that the war should stop. On 22 October 1973 the Security Council passed Resolution 338 by 14 votes to none, with China not taking part. It called for:
Resolution 338 called for a ceasefire, which was only partly kept at first. It did not solve the underlying problem.
It stopped wars when the sides were ready to stop. It gave everyone an agreed starting point for talks. Egypt and Israel later made peace in 1979, and Israel handed Sinai back to Egypt by 1982. Peacekeepers kept the borders quieter.
Israel stayed in most of the occupied territories. There was no settlement for the refugees. The wars of 1967 and 1973 were not prevented, and no lasting peace followed from either resolution.
Where the sides agreed, peacekeepers could help. After the 1973 war the Council set up a second UN Emergency Force (UNEF II) on 25 October 1973. It patrolled a buffer zone between Egyptian and Israeli forces in Sinai. In May 1974, after Israel and Syria agreed to pull their forces apart, the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was set up to patrol a buffer zone on the Golan Heights. UNDOF remains there.
These forces were lightly armed and used force only in self-defence. They could watch and report, but could not stop a determined army. In 1967 Egypt simply asked UNEF to leave, and it went.
The League of Nations also failed to settle disputes when great powers did not support it. The UN did better at ceasefires and peacekeeping, but in the Middle East it still depended on the consent of the sides and the great powers. In 1947-49 the UN shaped events. After 1967 it could mostly manage the conflict rather than end it.
Explain TWO causes of the failure to carry out UN Resolution 242 after 1967. [8 marks]
Remember: one cause alone cannot score more than half marks. For each cause, give precise facts and explain how it led to the failure.
One cause was that the sides disagreed about what the resolution meant and what should come first. Resolution 242 asked for Israeli withdrawal from "territories occupied in the recent conflict", but the English wording did not say "all" territories. Israel said it could keep some land until it had peace and secure borders. In September 1967 Arab leaders at Khartoum had refused peace, recognition or talks with Israel. Because each side wanted the other to move first, the "land for peace" exchange never happened.
A second cause was that nothing forced the sides to obey. The resolution was a request, and the UN had no army to enforce it or sanctions to punish those who ignored it. The Cold War made things worse. The USA backed Israel and the USSR backed Egypt and Syria, and each could use its veto to block action against its friend in the Security Council. So after 1967 Israel stayed in most of the occupied territories and the Council did not act.
What lifts it to the top level: two causes, each backed by precise facts and a clear link to the failure.
Start each paragraph with the word "cause" in your own words ("One cause was..."), then finish by tying it back to the outcome in the question.