LCBMUNVIII

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)

TOPIC A: PROSECUTIONS OF WAR CRIMES IN

THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL

MARIA ALEJANDRA SANABRIA CASTILLO

8B
 The conflict between Israel and Palestine is a historical problem that has lasted until

today, being strongly marked by the level of violence with which it has been handled, and also

by how complicated it has been to find a peaceful solution between the two nations. Today,

displacements, genocides, kidnappings, threats, and terrorist attacks are committed almost daily.

Considering this, it is even more evident how serious the situation is and how important it is to

find a solution, after all, the death toll continues to rise.

This conflict can have several factors of origin, First, the dispute between Jews and Arabs

over Israel's ambition for more Palestinian territory, based on religious beliefs, because for the

Jews it was "The Promised Land". On the other hand, in 1947, the newly created United Nations

supported the partition of the two. They gave 55% of the territory to the Jews (National

Geographic, 2024), causing great displeasure between the two sides. Finally, in 1948, with the

unilateral creation of Israel, half of the Palestinian population, at least 750,000 people, were

violently expelled, again causing tensions over the hostility of the issue.

Now, the International Criminal Court is a commission that seeks to judge all those who

have committed crimes of international transcendence such as genocide, and crimes against

humanity, among others. Its objective is to remove impunity from the perpetrators and help

prevent such crimes from happening again.

With this in mind, it is considered that the current situation in Israel and Palestine is of

extreme importance for the commission, since, as has been said, many war crimes have been

committed and many innocent people have been affected. In addition, if the conflict escalates
further, there may be economic effects for other countries as well as more tensions between them

for supporting Israel or Palestine.

Now, it is pertinent to mention Russia's position. Russia is in favor of sovereignty, this

means that although Russia does not have a bad relationship with Israel, it supports Palestine and

also wants a benefit for itself with this war, however, it is not correct to state that the country

wants it to continue

It is necessary to keep in mind that there are no real negative effects for Russia, it is based

more on geopolitical benefits. This war functions as a smokescreen to divert attention from the

war with Ukraine, especially that of the United States. With this in mind, it is worth mentioning

that this would give Russia more opportunities against Ukraine, as it would no longer be able to

get all the help it had in the beginning. On the other hand, Russia uses the crisis to criticize U.S.

decisions and actions, blaming the U.S. for the complicated situation. This allows it to position

itself as a peace mediator between Israel and Palestine, thanks to cooperative relations with both,

meaning that Russia's influence in the Middle East will increase (Nixey, 2024).

In the same way, Russia's interest is marked by some other aspects. We have to take into

account that in the past Russia had already maintained a certain closeness with the Hamas group

and in general, Arab countries, also including Israel itself, although after the Syrian war, the

relation with the country weakened in some way. On the other hand, on the economic level,

because of the war between Israel and Palestine, the price of oil has increased by at least 1.9%

per barrel (Nadig, 2023), as a major exporter, Russia can take advantage of this. In geography
and political terms, as mentioned above, Russia seeks to challenge the dominance of the United

States in the conflict, seeking to condemn it for bad decisions and gain influence in the Middle

East.

Although Russia tried to keep a neutral position, as already said, it supports Palestine,

after all, they have shared a long relationship with Palestine that has been forged by Russia's

support for Palestine, especially in the period of the Soviet Union where they had supported

national liberation movements. Moreover, Russia never considered Hamas as a terrorist

organization (Rosenberg, 2023). Apart from this, Russia supports Palestine and criticizes the

failures of the United States in the conflict openly; "I think that many will agree with me that this

is a clear example of the failed policy in the Middle East of the United States, which tried to

monopolies the settlement process". With this, Russia can turn global opinion in its favor

(Osborn, 2023). Now, it should also be noted that this alliance and support is for the benefit of

the Russian country, as mentioned above. Supporting Palestine is a strategy to differentiate itself

from the United States to gain influence in the Middle East and advance its plan for a new world

order. (Dixit, 2024) Finally, Russia, with its support and shows of empathy to Palestine for the

complicated situation it has been living in; “With the horrors happening there, it’s easy to

do…When you look at the suffering and bloodied children, your fists clench and tears come to

your eyes.” Said Putin in a meeting in Moscow. This intends to divert attention from the war

with Ukraine and that it no longer receives so much help from the United States. (Osborn, 2023).
 Attending to the Action Plan. Some countries are considered to be the most appropriate to

collaborate with Russia in the development of the debate itself, such as China, Palestine, Algeria,

Turkey, and Iraq. Taking into account that they share a similar or equal position on the conflict,

either they do not have a good diplomatic relationship with Israel or they have a close past

relationship with Palestine as in the case of Russia and Iraq. On the other hand, they wish to

oppose the West as again, Russia and China. In economic aspects, China and Iraq are the most

similar to Russia, as they have good trade relations with Palestine.

To conclude, Russia would like to suggest two solutions to this conflict. First, a two-state

solution, to continue to defend the sovereignty of one people, one option may be to establish the

two states as fully independent and seek ways to divide the territory more equitably. On the other

hand, in case this does not work, the idea of confederation could be contemplated. Both peoples

could maintain independence or autonomy of their own, however, they would share certain

policies that could increase their cooperation without having to separate.

The objective is to put an end to the constant tensions and to allow the two peoples to

coexist peacefully and also to have the opportunity to have the territory they want and at the

same time be fair to each other. These solutions have already been considered by the world, in

the case of the separation of the two states, it was in 1947 that the UN established it, although it

was not handled in the best way. And in the case of the confederation, it had been considered

since the independence of Israel in 1948.

These solutions could stop a history of violence and there would be more cooperation

between these two states. In addition, it can bring good economic repercussions, as the market
could expand just like global business. The inhabitants will logically have more security and

tranquility at the social or national level. However, these two solutions have to be handled

rigorously, and with both side's agreement, otherwise, it could bring more violence and disgust

between them.

If the conflict is resolved, it may be the door for other countries to take these solutions

into account and carry them out under their problems and circumstances. In addition, it would

greatly contribute to the global sustainable development agenda imposed by the UN in goal 16

"peace, justice and strong institutions."

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