GGEV MUN 2024

UNITED NATIONS
SECURITY COUNCIL
"The Israel-Palestine war with special emphasis on trade
route security in Red Sea"
 Letter from the chairpersons

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the United Nations Security Council. The Security council is a

governmental body that supervises international peace and security. It is of
utmost importance to understand that the main purpose of this committee
is problem solving and finding solutions to end conflicts between nations
for the welfare of the nations and the world alike.

The agenda is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has been widely

regarded as one of the world’s longest continuing conflicts. Being a
historical row between two neighbouring States sharing the same capital
but different communities governing them, it certainly is a matter that
needs immediate focus.

It’s important to understand that this background guide is just a starting

point for your research. It has only the basic information required before
stepping into committee sessions. Delegates are expected to go deep into
the issues discussed here and other issues related to the agenda and know
details about their country policies and stance related to the debate. At first
everything seems confusing and intimidating, and we have all been there at
some point, but I assure you it's a lot less confusing than it seems. Thus, my
primary advice to first-timers: If you are just starting out with MUN, or
have any questions, feel free to email us or ask any questions.

Chairperson Vice Chairperson

Ashwinkumaar D Sahil Arora
+91 97902 50972 +91 98439 61580
 History of the Conflict
The Synopsis
Jews have been persecuted throughout history due to their religious beliefs
and foreign culture. In 1897, Jews started a movement called the Zionist
movement, to escape persecution and establish their own state in their
ancestral homeland, Israel. The World Zionist Organisation was created to
advocate for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. As a
result, a large inflow of Jewish citizens into the Palestinian territory was
observed, where the Jews began to buy their own land, and settle there.

By 1916, Palestine had come under British control as an outcome of the

Sykes-Picot Agreement (a secret agreement between Great Britain and
France). This led to the division of the old Ottoman Turkish Empire. Later,
through the Balfour Declaration, the British foreign secretary James
Balfour agreed to the establishment of a Jewish homeland. After Nazis
gained power in Germany in the 1930s, the Jew influx to Palestine took a
major turn with hundreds of thousands of them resettling in Palestine,
coming out of Europe.

Origin of Conflict
In 1947, the British Government referred the question of the future of
Palestine to the United Nations. The UN voted to split the land into two
countries. Jewish people accepted the agreement and declared
independence of Israel. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution
181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British
Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. On May 14, 1948, the
State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war
ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory. This led to many Palestinians being
displaced. The territory was also divided into three parts - State of Israel,
West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Six day War and the Yom Kippur War
In June 1967, Egypt and Syria were attacked by the air force of Israel to
annex certain territories such as the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan heights.
This war, the six day war, ended in Israel’s victory. Six years later, a
surprise two sided attack was waged against Israel to regain the territories.
Egypt, self proclaimed victory, as the parties came to a negotiation of the
previously ceded territories. In 1979, Camp David Accords, a peace treaty
was signed and ended the Israel - Egypt enmity.

Intifada and the Oslo Accords

In 1987, thousands of Palestinians rose up against Israel. This was known
as the First Intifada. The Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995, settled the
uprising with 6 cities and 450 towns withdrawn from the clutches of the
Israel government.
September 2000 saw the second Intifada take place as Palestinians were
sparked by Israel's control over the West bank. As a result, Israel even
agreed to construct a wall along the border, which was heavily opposed by
the ICJ.

Conflicts of the previous decade

In 2014 after the unity of the Fatah and Hamas (explained later in the
document), a military confrontation was observed due to clashes in the
disputed territories. Hamas fired nearly 3000 rockets killing 73 Israelis.
This was retaliated by Israel which resulted in 2251 Palestinian deaths.
Fatah president, Mahmoud Abbas announced that Palestine will no longer
follow the restrictions of the Oslo Accords.
March 2018 saw another period of war. Israeli troops killed 183
Palestinians and wounded 6,000 others after some Palestinians stormed
the perimeter fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel and threw rocks
during an otherwise peaceful demonstration. Just months later, Hamas
militants fired over one hundred rockets into Israel, and Israel responded
with more strikes. The Fatah and the Hamas disunited post this tense
incident.
 Fatah and Hamas
Hamas is an Islamist (Sunni) militant group in the majority (Gaza). It is
regarded as a terrorist group by the UN and most of the countries. It was
founded by activist Ahmed Yassin as an opposition to Israel after the first
Intifada.

Fatah is the secular counterpart of Hamas which is the current ruling party
in the minority (West bank). It is a faction of the Palestine liberal
Organisation. Founded by Yasser Arafat, it is currently headed by
Mahmoud Abbas. It does not support Hamas anymore and is the prime
opposition within Palestine.

Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the capital city of Israel and of Palestine too. The city lies on
the border of Israel and Gaza. Both nations claim sovereignty over the city
as their capital. The position endorsed by the United Nations is that
Jerusalem serves as capital for both the States in the future. In fact, Russia
recognises East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel.

Basic Points to Remember

Some important points have to be noted.
1. Israel is a majority Jewish country whereas Palestine is an Arab
nation of majority Sunni Muslims.
2. Hamas is the ruling party which governs Gaza.
3. Fatah is the ruling party which governs the West Bank.

Palestine:
Ever Since Israel was formed, the Palestinians felt a loss of identity. The
native Arabs saw the creation of Israel as a part of a conspiracy to move
them out of their land. They now require Israeli troops to withdraw to
pre-1967 borders and establish an independent Palestine state in the West
Bank and Gaza. They want Israel to stop all expansion of settlements before
coming to peace talks. Palestine wants Palestine refugees who lost their
homes in 1948 to receive rehabilitation, as a settled life for the ousted is
what the community as a whole expects from Israel. Palestine demands that
East Jerusalem be the capital of the Independent Palestine state.

Israel:
The Israeli nation wants complete sovereignty over Jerusalem. They are
against Jerusalem being shared as a capital. They want recognition of Israel
as a Jewish State. They also want the right of return of Palestine refugees
only to Palestine and not to Israel.

The Current Scenario

In October 2023, Hamas took Israel by surprise with an unprecedented
attack, killing more than 1300 and injuring around 3000. Naturally Israel
retaliated immediately and officially declared war on October 7, 2023.

Displacement Crisis
Around one million Palestinians were ordered to evacuate from Northern
Gaza due to a ground operation attack planned by Israel. The displacement
of millions presents a dilemma for Egypt and Jordan, which have absorbed
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the past but have resisted
accepting anyone during the current war. They fear that Gazans, many of
whom were already displaced from elsewhere in Israel, will not be allowed
to return once they leave. Egypt also fears that Hamas fighters could enter
Egypt and trigger a new war in the Sinai by launching attacks on Israel or
destabilising the authoritarian regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi by supporting
the Muslim Brotherhood. So far, negotiations have resulted in only 1,100
people exiting Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. The other
1.5 million displaced Gazans—70 percent of the territory’s population—have
nowhere to go and face increasingly dire living conditions and security
risks.

Humanitarian Crisis
Israeli forces have encircled Gaza City, cutting it off from southern Gaza
and squeezing Hamas. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in the
city. Gazan health officials say the war has killed 10,000 Palestinians,
including more than 4,000 children. The territory is also desperately low on
water, fuel, and supplies as Israel has rejected humanitarian pauses and
limited the amount of aid that can enter.

Red Sea and Trade Security

A US-led coalition is trying to deter the Houthis by positioning
destroyers and other military platforms in the Red Sea and by
shooting down the Yemeni group’s missiles and drones. But the
Houthis have been clear that they have no intentions of stopping until
Israel ends its war, which has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians.

Traffic through the Red Sea is down by more than 40 percent

disrupting global supply chains. Some of the world’s largest shipping
operators have redirected their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope
on the southern tip of Africa, delaying delivery times and adding a
further 3,000-3,500 nautical miles (6,000km) to their route. As of
mid-December, Israel’s only Red Sea Port, at Eilat, reported an 85
percent drop in activity since the attacks began.

While the bulk of Israel’s marine traffic comes through the

Mediterranean ports of Haifa and Ashdod, exports of Dead Sea potash,
as well as imports of Chinese manufactured cars – which make up 70
percent of Israel’s EV sales – are reliant upon Eilat.
 Compulsory topics of Research
1. Main causes of conflict between the two parties
2. Oslo Accords and its impact
3. Hamas and its status in Israel from 1987 until present
4. Fatah and its active role in the recent times
5. Jerusalem - Status of being a territory of Israel and Palestine
6. Refugee Crisis of Palestinians

Suggested Moderated Caucus Topics

1. Root causes of conflict and solutions to them
2. Addressing the displacement crisis of Palestinians
3. Solutions to improve humanitarian conditions in Palestine
4. Discussing the crisis in Jerusalem
5. Discussing the impact of war over Trade Security in Red Sea
6. Impact on world economy and suggesting solutions

Suggested Links
https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/israel-war-on-gaza/
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-con
flict
https://www.reuters.com/world/israel-hamas/