UN Security Council Resolution 242 on the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: UN Security Council Resolution 242 is one of a cluster of documents that chart the history of Judaism, the state of Israel, and Israel's relations with the Arab states and the Palestinians. Among them are Theodor Herzl's essay “A Solution to the Jewish Question,” the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, the Gamal Abdel Nasser order on the Nationalization of the Suez Canal, and the Palestinian National Charter. Using these documents, prepare a consolidated time line of key events in this troubled region of the world and be prepared to justify the inclusion of each item.
• 2.: Why were the Arab states and the Palestinians so adamantly opposed to the existence of a Jewish state in Palestine, particularly from the 1940s through the 1960s?
• 3.: How do you think the history of events in the Middle East might have evolved differently if Palestine had not been declared a British mandate and if Britain had played no role in the politics of the region during the 1920s into the 1940s?
• 4.: Documents such as a UN Security Council resolution attempting to establish peace after an armed conflict are the result, generally, of intensive negotiations and are potentially fraught with problems involving language: what the document actually says and means. What problems of this nature did the United Nations face in drafting Resolution 242?
• 5.: The conflict between the Arab nations and the Palestinians on the one hand and Israel on the other has been long and complex, with other nations often feeling forced to choose a side. Based on your reading of this document and others associated with the conflict, prepare an outline for a debate in which each side in the conflict would present its case as to why its actions have been justified.