Unmarked route on a fragile map: the UNSC resolutions on the question of Palestine

Abstract

A comprehensive analysis of the UNSC resolutions on the question of Palestine provides a normative framework for a just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. There is a perception that this approach has been tried and has failed. However, to the detriment of the peace process, there has been an almost complete absence of reference to international law and an overriding insistence on negotiations between the two parties that are highly asymmetrical. The international will to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict has not subsided but increased. It has also coincided with the failure of yet another phase of the US-brokered peace process, on the one hand, and renewed support for the UN as the world's principal organisation for conflict resolution, on the other. A likely consequence is that Western governments will be pressured to find an alternative, which may lead them to the 'neutral' position of endorsing the normative framework established by the UNSC resolutions. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the UNSC resolutions on the question of Palestine and examines their potential for contributing to a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.