UN Votes to Adopt Two-State Solution for Palestine in Historical Move
In a monumental decision, the United Nations has adopted the principle of a two-state solution for Palestine. This historic vote took place in November 1947 and marked a pivotal moment in the history of the Middle East conflict. The plan, which proposed the division of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state with Jerusalem as an international city, found support from both the United States and the Soviet Union, despite their differences during the Cold War.
The approval of this plan by the Zionist leadership, representing the Jewish population who constituted only a third of the total population, was considered a significant victory. However, it faced strong opposition from the Arab side, which denounced the dispossession of the indigenous majority in favor of Jewish immigrants and expressed concerns about the fate of the Arab minority residing in the future Jewish state.
The adoption of the partition plan by the UN triggered a war for Palestine, initially fought between Zionist and Arab militias. Following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine in May 1948, the conflict escalated into a full-scale war between the newly established State of Israel and the Arab armies. The repercussions were profound, with more than half of the 750,000 Palestinians forced to leave their homes even before the Declaration of the Establishment of Israel. This mass exodus, known as the Nakba or the catastrophe, witnessed the destruction or conversion of numerous Palestinian settlements into Israeli territory, encompassing 77% of the former Mandate Palestine.
Israel was later admitted as a member of the UN in May 1949, while the Arab states denied the Palestinians any autonomous representation. For decades, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yasser Arafat, sought the destruction of the State of Israel. However, a turning point came in December 1987 with the emergence of the nonviolent uprising known as the Intifada, which led the PLO to endorse the two-state solution a year later.
During his visits to Israel in March 1982 and November 1992, French President François Mitterrand conveyed his support for a Palestinian state and referred to the UN partition plan for Palestine. He emphasized the equality in rights between Israel and the future Palestinian state. These visits coincided with the opening of secret negotiations between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the PLO.
The adoption of the two-state solution by the UN marked a significant step toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It aimed to secure self-determination for both the Jewish and Arab populations and create a peaceful coexistence. While the road to achieving this vision has been fraught with challenges, the international community continues to strive for a sustainable and just solution that ensures peace, security, and prosperity for all parties involved.
