Topic: The Situation in Israel/Palestine
Country: Afghanistan
Delegate Name: Vaishnavi Krishnan
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Afghanistan position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
After decades of conflict between the predominantly Jewish Israelis and predominantly Muslim Palestinians in possessing a “homeland”, the situation in Israel and Palestine remains unresolved. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the areas of modern day Israel and Jordan were placed under British Mandate until region stabilized enough to self-govern. Tensions emerged between Britain and the Jewish and Arab communities because the British had promised both groups the land; for the Jews an “establishment [in the mandate] of a national home for the Jewish people" through the Balfour Declaration and for the Arabs support for the creation of an Arab state with the land through the McMahon-Hussein Correspondences. In an attempt to mediate the tension, the United Nations passed Resolution 181 in 1947, recommending the creation of separate Jewish and Arab states, and a “Special International Regime” to govern the disputed Jerusalem. Though the majority of Israelis approved of the resolution, the Arabs vehemently rejected it and a civil war broke out between the two groups in 1947. Responding to the outbreak of war, the United Nations passed Resolution 194 to negotiate a solution between the Arabs and Israelis. During the Six-Days War in 1967, Israel gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank, and Gaza, expanding Israeli territory far beyond what was laid forth in the United Nations’ partition plan. Again, the United Nations attempted to resolve the issue and passed Resolution 242, ordering the withdrawal of Israel from its acquired territory and the recognition of Palestinian and Israeli rights. Unsurprisingly, this was rejected by the countries involved. Since the war, numerous attempts have been made to resolve the conflict unsuccessfully. The Republic of Afghanistan does not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation and supports Palestine’s right to govern their land; however, Afghanistan is open to a two-state solution to promote reconciliation between the two states, provided that Israel abides to the terms set forth by previous and forthcoming agreements.
As a result of Soviet authority in the late 1900s and Taliban control following their withdrawal, Afghanistan has only recently come to a position where it can engage actively in international affairs. Afghanistan strongly supports Palestinian sovereignty and believes that Israel has violated international law through their actions towards the Palestinian people. Israel has illegally settled in Palestinian territories and has disregarded international requests of removing them. Israel has also denied citizenship to the millions of Palestinian refugees displaced by the civil war. Afghanistan sympathizes with the plight of the Palestinian people and has sent $500,000 in aid to Palestine in 2014, which is the most we are able to financially assist Palestine at the moment as our funds are stretched thin due to conflict concerning the Taliban and other extremist groups. Despite financial limitations, Afghanistan will continue to profoundly support the Palestinian people in other possible ways. Though relations between Afghanistan and Israel have been virtually non-existent during previous presidencies, under our current President Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan is willing to work with Israel to help the Palestinian people.
Afghanistan believes that the most viable and effective approach to arbitrate the conflict between Israel and Palestine is by first creating two separate states using the 1967 borders; this allows Israel to maintain its Jewish majority and allows the Palestinian people to have their homeland. Similar to what happened after the two Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh split, Jerusalem can remain the capital of both countries until they stabilize and reinstate peaceful relations. A two-state solution is contingent on Israel abiding to the resolutions passed by the United Nations and removing settlements in Palestinian territory and Palestine accepting Israel as their neighbor. A peaceful relationship is attainable between the two countries, as demonstrated by the separation of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. Afghanistan also believes that the United Nations must grant membership to Palestine as quickly as possible to allow them greater authority over their situation. The next issue that the United Nations must address with the creation of Palestine is the Hamas government in Gaza, classified by many nations as a terrorist organization. As a new, vulnerable country, Palestine will be highly susceptible to insurgency and will require a peacekeeping mission to control the Hamas and other issues that arise. Lastly, the United Nations must assist in facilitating the movement of refugees back to Palestine and assure that they receive Palestinian citizenship, regardless of whether they relocate back to Palestine. By using a multifaceted approach to conciliate the conflict, Afghanistan believes that the Palestinian people will be able to enjoy the rights and the land that they are entitled to.
