Sample Model United Nations (MUN) Position Paper

Committee: Sixth Legal

Topic: The Question of Palestine

Country: Botswana

A. The undertaking of the Balfour Declaration by the British in 1917 created a Jewish establishment within Palestine, resulting with mass immigration of Jewish settlers which caused much unrest within the Palestinian territory by both sides. By 1947, Britain felt it was no longer capable to control the situation in Palestine and gave the responsibility over to the United Nations. In 1947, the UN divided the two nations into independent states which were soon divulged in war in 1948. The Palestinians failed to obtain their statesmanship and Israel dominated the majority of the territory. During this war, half of the Palestinian population fled or was expelled. The war in 1967 resulted similarly with Israel the dominant nation which resulted in another Palestinian migration. In 1987, a huge rebellion against Israeli occupation resulted with high civilian causalities within the civilian population of Palestine. The Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements of 1993 established the Palestinian Authority and allowed elections to the new Palestinian Council. Beginning within the last year of 2001, the rise in tensions was escalated by a series of suicide bomber attacks against Israel. The resulting Israeli response brought about military force upon Palestine which has been yet to be resolved today.