Download Mexico Delegation Notre Dame High School Special Political and

Mexico Delegation
Notre Dame High School
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Special Political and Decolonization
Palestinian Refugee Crisis
POSITION PAPER
Dean H. Miller & Michael J. Polanski
As a result of the atrocities of the Second World War and the Holocaust, along
with centuries of injustice and turmoil, the United States, the United Kingdom, and
numerous other European powers, decided to create the state of Israel in 1948 to serve as
a Jewish homeland for 25,000 Jews (International Crisis Group). The refugee question
has formed a core of the Middle East conflict since the late 1940s, when hundreds of
thousands of Palestinian Arabs were driven from or fled their towns and villages during
the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and were prevented from returning to their homes after the
end of hostilities. While there is considerable controversy over the statistics, the number
of Palestinian refugees today, if defined to include the descendants of 1948 refugees and
those displaced from the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of the 1967 war, probably
stands at between four and six million, comprising some two-thirds of the Palestinian
people (International Crisis Group). Sentiments of injustice among the Palestinian people
exuberated the growing distrust, serving as a catalyst that would result in a paramount
religious conflict between the Muslim Palestinians and the Jewish Israelites.
Once Israel was established in 1948, the Civil War between the Jews and Muslims
in the region grew in violence, causing other neighboring states to become involved.
Numerous Arab states including Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt began to provide
humanitarian and military assistance to the Palestinian people (Gillespie 6). The
continued fighting between nations caused more and more Palestinian territories and
settlements to become uprooted, leaving more and more Palestinians unable to reside in
their native towns and villages. For 55 years, the refugee question has by default and
design played a central role in virtually every aspect of Palestinian life and politics. The
guerrilla movements, particularly the dominant Palestinian National Liberation
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Movement (Fatah), initially emerged under militant refugee leadership, whose agenda
focused on the return of exiled communities (Susskind). Even after the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) began its strategic shift toward acceptance of a negotiated
two-state settlement in the mid-1970s, participated in the 1991 Madrid Middle East Peace
Conference and signed the 1993 Oslo accords, it never repudiated its official commitment
to the right of return (Susskind).
The United Nations attempts to aid the Palestinian people through the work of the
United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), which began its work in 1950. As a
result of the political power of the UNRWA, the organization has chosen to focus on
humanitarian aid as opposed to negotiating with host states. Many Palestinians live
outside of Palestine in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon in UNRWA camps (Gillespie 9).
These refugees are unable to attain legal status in the states in which they reside, and are
therefore unable to secure appropriate educational opportunities, healthcare, and certain
jobs, while they experience discrimination, poverty, and insufficient basic supplies to
carry on normal lives (Gillespie 10).
The government of Mexico does not have an explicit position on Palestinian
refugees dispute the rapidly changing public opinion of the Middle East. As a result of
the spread of Islam and the more frequent occasions of terrorist activities throughout the
world, Mexico, like many other nations of the international community, believe that a
solution to the problem must be reached until the situation spreads even more. Mexico
would like the United Nations to focus upon the humanitarian well fare of the refugees,
throughout the Middle East as well as in the world. Mexico has played host to numerous
Palestinian refugees individually, but has not enacted specific programs for the country to
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officially harbor refugees as other nations have. However, Mexico City has played host to
Palestinian delegations who seek to speak out against the Israeli opposition (Abdulghani).
One widely covered delegation was when Mexico City entertained the Palestinian
Ambassador to Mexico, Fawzi al-Mashanni, by celebrating a Palestinian Solidarity Day
(Abdulghani). The positions of Mexico’s neighbors are diverse, therefore leading to the
lack of explicit opinions of the Mexican government. To the north, the United States
remains as ally of Israel as well as a proponent of human rights, while many Latin
American countries have either acted indifferent to the situation or have enacted small
refugee harboring programs. The Mexican government will not take an explicit opinion
for months or even years to come, as the situation continuously does not affect Mexico as
it does other nations. However, Mexico can contribute as a proponent of human rights
and activism as the United Nations seeks to move forward in the development of the
Middle East and the well being of the Palestinian population (Abdulghani).
The Mexican government would, however how previously indifferent to the
Middle Eastern situation, would like to continue the notion of creating a Palestinian state
for the refugees. Mexico believes that the establishment of Israel for the Jewish people
was, in theory a wonderful idea, but the lack of planning and considering the
consequences has left the world with a large problem on its hands. Mexico believes that
the Arab nations of the Middle East should work together by contributing a small portion
of land, a contribution to the new Palestinian state. The 75% of the current Palestinian
population that has been uprooted as a result of the wars with Israel would return to this
site and the United Nations would help the Arab nations relocate the current Arabs who
live in the region. The process would have to be very thought out and organized so that
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each Arab nation contributes what they can and the people who live in the contribution
zones would be moved peacefully and gradually so that violence does not ensue.
Although this process sounds similar to the original establishment of the Israeli
state, it would be much different because this time because we are uprooting Islamic
Arabs for the sake of their fellow Islamic Arabs. Last time, the establishment of the
Hebrew nation in the middle of the Arab world was a lot more complex as soon after
religious nations clashed (Gillespie 6). It has been proven since the beginning of warfare,
that a Holy War, the fighting of religions, is the most deadly and prolonged methods of
fighting (Susskind). Whether it was the Romans and the Persians, the Crusaders and the
Arabs, or the present struggle between the Arabs and the Israelis, religious Holy Wars
cannot end or be resolved until one army completely annihilates the other. This is due to
the simple fact that in a Holy War, everything is at stake. During the First or Second
World War, different sides fought for different reasons, but eventually one side
triumphed. In the struggle between the Israelis and the Palestinians, every single aspect of
their daily lives are at stake each and every day of the conflict. Their traditions, cultures,
heritages, religions, and Gods are thrown into the violence of the battlefield. Therefore,
the establishment of a Palestinian state would ultimately allow the Palestinian people to
regain a piece of land to call their own in the Middle East. Over time Hebrews and Arabs
will learn to live together as there will no longer be a need for fundamentalist groups or
the insane violence they use to plaque the region.
This plan of action would be very difficult to oversee and the work of both the
United Nations and the international community would take a lot of time and effort. The
establishment of a new state would, in concept follow the same idea of the original
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establishment of Israel, in the fact that it is creating a land for a displaced, abused
population. This time, the state would be combined work and effort of the Middle Eastern
international community along with the help of the United Nations and the western
powers. It would be a chance for the Arab world to unite together, focusing upon the well
fare and well being of fellow Islamic Arabs. Once the Palestinians and the Israelis each
have a state to call their own, bordering each other in the Holy Land, fundamentalist
groups would no longer have to plaque the region with violence and civilian directed
suicide attacks. Another possible factor in the process would be the relocation of the
people who already live in the new Palestinian state. This would not be a necessary
problem like it was in the establishment of Israel because most of the people who live
there and would have to be relocated are relocated Palestinian refugees to begin with,
therefore it would not create the sentiment that it did before.
This task would be a great undertaking, not only for the Middle Eastern nations
and the United Nations, but also for the entire international community. The United
Nations would continue to work for the humanitarian needs of the refugees through the
UNRWA while the international community and the Arab world work together to
designate the land and region for the new state. Arabs across the region would unite and
work together in the establishment of this state, the final solution to the growing cycle of
resentment and violence that has plagued the Middle East for thousands of years.
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Works Cited
Background Resource: The Crisis of Palestinian Refugees and the Right of Return. Ed.
Yifat Susskind. Oct. 2004. Madre Inc. 10 Oct. 2007.
<http://www.madre.org/articles/me/rightofreturn.html>.
Gillespie, Brianna. “Palestinian Refugee Crisis.” Rutgers Model United Nations
Director’s Brief for the Special Political and Decolonization Committee. The
Institute for Domestic and International Affairs. 2007. 10 Oct. 2007.
<www.idia.net>.
“Mexico Sparks Palestine’s Solidarity Day.” Ed. Mudar Abdulghani. 1 Jan. 2006. Islamic
Online. 10 Oct. 2007. < http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/200311/30/article03.shtml>.
“Palestinian Refugee and the Politics of Peacemaking.” International Crisis Group. 5 Feb.
2004. 10 Oct. 2007.
<http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=1194>.
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