Topic: Question of Palestinian Statehood
Country: Congo
Delegate Name: Jeffrey Ohl
School: Ann Arbor Community High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Congo position papers GLIMUN 2012 committees
The Democratic Republic of Congo believes that the question of Palestinian statehood has to be answered soon due to the large amounts of violence and many deaths associated with the issue. Nearly fifteen thousand lives have been lost due to the war since it started more than six decades ago. We believe that both Palestine and Israel are at fault regarding this issue. By this we mean that by now both parties could have made compromises to end the conflict. We believe that the most successful compromise would involve a two state solution – the type of solution that has polled most favorably with both Israelis and Palestinians.
A two state solution would mean that Israel would remain its own state and Palestine would most likely get the West Bank* and the Gaza Strip from Israel, effectively establishing a Palestinian state in those places. In exchange for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Israel would get to keep Jerusalem. This would allow both the Palestinians and the Israelis to have enough space to live. In addition to this, Israel would have to stop building settlements in Palestine, otherwise there would be no point in giving the Palestinians the land. The Israelis should also have a more reasonable number of checkpoints at Palestinian borders. Along with a reduction in the number of checkpoints, the Israel Defense Forces would have to make sure the operators of the checkpoints stopped the abuse and humiliation of Palestinians who passed through, such as the strip searches of men, women, and even young girls that have occurred in the past. They should also try to make it take less time for Palestinians to go to Israel and vice versa. While it is possible this would be a risk to Israeli security, due to the fact that there would be less control and monitoring of all Palestinians entering the country, it might actually improve the situation because it would mean there would be less resentment from Palestinians, which could in turn lead to less violent conflict. Also, the people who operate the checkpoints would still be able to stop anyone that they deemed a threat from going through, they would just have to be less excessive about it.
Thus, the Congo believes a two-state solution is the best answer to the question of Palestinian statehood, with compromises from both parties allowing for mutual happiness.
*Excluding Jerusalem
