Palestinian Statehood - Research Paper Example

? Palestinian hood s November 10, Had the Palestinians been granted the recognition which they sought from the United Nations, to be recognized as a state, I believe that it would have made the Palestinian territory more peaceful and prosperous. However, what must be kept in mind is that this is only relative to the current situation which prevails in the Palestinian land. The statement to which I concur does not mean that there will be peace and harmony, or that prosperity and progress is what shall be the consequent result of Palestine being recognized as a state. The statement to which I agree is that the situation in terms of peace and prosperity shall be better than it is now. In order to gauge the complete understanding of the situation in Palestine, it is highly important that we look at it in context of its history and not just in isolation. The land of Palestine is the one region in the world which has experienced probably one of the most troublesome times. Throughout the various eras which have passed, it has been at the core of conflicts between various elements, with each believing that the land rightfully belongs to them as per their history and religion (Weiner 1999). Looking through the last century which has gone by, this land was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. However, after the First World War, the Ottoman Empire was broken and parts of it were given over to the victorious countries for administration by the League of Nations. The lands of Palestine were awarded to the Great Britain for their services during the First World War. From 1939 to 1945, the Second World War raged across the globe, during which the holocaust occurred. By the time the war ended, thousands of Jewish people had been displaced from Germany and were spread all around the region. The Great Britain gave up on its hold of Palestinian land, dividing it between the Jews, Egypt and Jordan. Thus, in the year of 1948, the independent and sovereign State of Israel was established (Quigley 2010). By the end of the “Six Day War” between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt Jordan and Syria, Israel had captured and taken full control over the lands of Palestine which had been given to Egypt and Jordan. These areas included the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip from the Egypt, the West Bank, Jerusalem from Jordan, while the Golan Heights were snatched from the Syrians (Quandt 1992). In 1988, the Palestinians announced that they were not just a piece of land, but officially the state of Palestine. This statement came from the Palestine National Council, which is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This proclamation by the Palestinians was based primarily based on the norms of the international law, relying on the right of the self determination. This is a primary right which is awarded to the people to chose their political status (Quigley, Palestine's Declaration of Independence: Self-Determination and the Right of the Palestinians to Statehood 1989). Till date at least 130 countries have formally recognized Palestine as a state, with over 150 of them maintaining diplomatic relations with the Palestinians in one or another form (AFP 2011). This makes about 2/3 of the member countries of the UN General Assembly. Those countries which do not recognize the status of Palestine as a nation or a state, call these lands, the “Palestinian Occupied Territory” (Neff 2011). Despite this every time this comes under consideration, this is vetoed out by the United States of America, which has explicitly refused the Palestinian bid to attain the full membership of the United Nations (Mohammed 2011). Despite the international pressure from various countries such as China, the United States maintains its stance stating that only negations with Israel would achieve the Palestinians to form a state (Johnson 2011). In order for an entity to be recognized as a state, there are certain conditions which are in place and need to be fulfilled. These criteria of statehood have been constructed through various ways, utilizing the basic elements which any entity would need to form a state. However, all of the different formulations have the common element that independent and sovereign government control is the central criterion of statehood. According to the international law, there are four very critical criteria which need to be satisfied by any entity, in order for it to be recognized as a state (Crawford, The creation of states in international law 2006). The first criterion is that the entity needs to have the government which can have an effective and independent control over the country. This is an essential point, as if the control is not solely in the hands of the government, the entity will not be recognized as a state. Secondly, there must be set boundaries of the entity, where it has control. These boundaries must be clearly defined. The third condition is that the entity must have the power to engage in the foreign relations with its free will. The last condition for being recognized as state hood is that the population under the independent governmental control should be permanent (Crawford 1977). If the people of Palestine achieve in fulfilling the criteria above, they can attain their status of statehood, since these conditions are but just the traditional yet essential requirement for an entity to get its statehood in the form of a sovereign state. If these requirements are accomplished, the Palestinians would then definitely be much better off than they are now (Boyle 1990). The first clause for the statehood to be granted to any entity is that, the particular entity in consideration should have effective and independent government control. This government control is currently not being exercised, which presents the Palestinians with a great question mark on their ability to get statehood. Whereas there Palestinians do have a government in place, however, we must see that it is not effective and independent. Infact, even their governments are split between the areas of Gaza and the West Bank (News 2012). If the Palestinians are granted the statehood for which they ask, it would technically mean that this issue has been resolved. In order for the Palestinians to be granted the statehood they seek, they would have to have a unified government in place along with a well structured political framework upon which these governments would run. This fact itself makes the Palestinians in a much favorable and better position than they currently are in (Falk 2012). The second criterion which has been set internationally for an entity to get itself the status of being a state is that the entity must have power over, or should possess a “defined territory” over which the government can exercise its control. Despite the fact that the Palestinians believe that this is they have fulfilled this particular condition and do have the defined territory for the State of Palestine, some of the other countries tends to disagree. Whereas it is understandable and acceptable internationally that the boundaries defined are not accurate to perfection, they must however be accurate enough. Even though this is highly relative and acceptable to a certain degree, the international forum does not deem the Palestinian area under this acceptable relative range. The assertions made by the Palestinians fail when it comes to the situation and the legal aspect of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank which the Palestinians claim under their Declaration (Quigley, Palestine's Declaration of Independence: Self-Determination and the Right of the Palestinians to Statehood 1989). It is necessary for the entity to possess a sovereign title over the territory as part of this criterion, which is believed that the Palestinians cannot sustain. This is because the General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, in the Partition Resolution recommended the partition into a Jewish and an Arab State. Despite the fact that the Palestinians allege that the Palestine Mandate was illegal, it does not hold in the face of the international law which finds the mandate consistent and as a result, the conclusion that the Palestinians are not in possession of these lands as a sovereign nation (Hertz 2947). Acceptance of the Palestine as a state would mean the acceptance of the fact that both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are under the sovereign rule of the Palestinians. This would be a favorable aspect for the Palestinians, as they would gain control and the international laws would protect these areas from the conflict which currently devours it. In terms of the condition to act as an entity which is free to engage in foreign relations, the Palestinians have failed it. This is primarily because as part of the provisions in the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, it was clearly stated the Palestinian council would not have the power in the circle of foreign relations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This would mean that there may be no consulates or embassies or any form of foreign activity taking place in these areas which the Palestinians claim as part of their declaration. If granted statehood, this would mean that this issue has been resolved and the Palestinians overcome this particular hurdle, and as a result more foreign activity can take place, providing the Palestinians with the ability to get foreign assistance when it comes to the development of the state. Whereas the above points show that the criteria of the statehood would have a positive impact on the Palestinians, there are also certain repercussions which must be kept in mind. With the recent peace process, Israelis and the Palestinians agreed on a conflict resolution, for the first time. The agreed formula of the conflict resolution was signed under D.O.P. framework. There are two main elements in this formula. First is that it is essential to accommodate the rights of both the Palestinians and the Israelis. Second element is that it should be achieved by the good bilateral negotiations and not by the actions of one party. The Palestinians demand the declaration of statehood which is a unilateral action and would undermine both the principles on which the conflict resolution is based upon. It would result in lack of trust between Israel and Palestine for any future negotiations. Also, if the State of Israel decides to not accept this and takes military action, the consequences could be much worse than they already are. Also, if the Palestinians are recognized as the State of Palestine, on a unilateral basis, it would cause the international community a considerably high cost, not just would the region be uncertain due to the break between the peace talks between Israel and Palestine, but also the solution which would be achieved would not be one which is very viable. The Palestinians lack the economic infrastructure as well as the political framework to make this solution one which is viable and sustainable. The Palestinians would be highly dependent on the foreign assistance to develop them, and unless that is provided, they would not be able to function effectively as a sovereign state. This would mean that there would be great instability inside the state itself, as once it gains the status of state, internal conflicts would arise. Without the support of the international community to help develop it, the state might just collapse and consequently result in greater chaos and uproar than present. Taking into consideration, all the factors which have been mentioned above, it can be deduced that there are both positive and negative aspects to the unilateral solution of Palestine being awarded the status of a state. However, in my opinion, the positive elements seem to outweigh the possible issues which may arise as a result. This is also not to mention that the issues which might subsequently arise are those which are already being faced by the Palestinians. Thus, I believe that had the Palestinians been granted the statehood, they would have achieved a more peaceful and prosperous future for tomorrow. Bibliography AFP. More than 100 countries recognize Palestine as a state. Paris: Al Arabiya News, 2011. Boyle, Francis A. "The Creation of the State of Palestine." European Journal of International Law, 1990. Crawford, J. "The creation of states in international law." 2006. Crawford, J. "The criteria for statehood in international law." British Yearbook of International LAw, 1977. Falk, Pamela. Is Palestine now a state? CBS News, 2012. Hertz, Eli E. "UN Resolution 181 – The Partition Plan." 2947. Johnson, Robert. China Warns The U.S. Against Vetoing Palestine's UN Request. Business Insider, 2011. Mohammed, Arshad. U.S. vows to veto Palestinian statehood bid at U.N. Washington: Reuters, 2011. Neff, Donald. The Current Situation in Israel/Palestine. The Council for the National Interest, 2011. News, CBS. Palestinian vote at U.N. brings recognition, but is a far cry from practical statehood. CBS News, 2012. Quandt, William B. "Lyndon Johnson and the June 1967 War: What Color Was the Light?" Middle East Journal (M), 1992. Quigley, John. "Palestine's Declaration of Independence: Self-Determination and the Right of the Palestinians to Statehood." Boston University International Law Journal, 1989. Quigley, John. The Statehood of Palestine - International Law in the Middle East Conflict. Cambridge University Press, 2010. Weiner, JillAllison. "Israel, Palestine, and the OSLO Accords." Fordham International Law Journal, 1999. Read More