Palestinian Statehood Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Palestinian Statehood - Research Paper Example The statement to which I agree is that the situation in terms of peace and prosperity shall be better than it is now. In order to gauge the complete understanding of the situation in Palestine, it is highly important that we look at it in context of its history and not just in isolation. The land of Palestine is the one region in the world which has experienced probably one of the most troublesome times. Throughout the various eras which have passed, it has been at the core of conflicts between various elements, with each believing that the land rightfully belongs to them as per their history and religion (Weiner 1999). Looking through the last century which has gone by, this land was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. However, after the First World War, the Ottoman Empire was broken and parts of it were given over to the victorious countries for administration by the League of Nations. The lands of Palestine were awarded to the Great Britain for their services during the First World War. From 1939 to 1945, the Second World War raged across the globe, during which the holocaust occurred. By the time the war ended, thousands of Jewish people had been displaced from Germany and were spread all around the region. The Great Britain gave up on its hold of Palestinian land, dividing it between the Jews, Egypt and Jordan. Thus, in the year of 1948, the independent and sovereign State of Israel was established (Quigley 2010). By the end of the â€Å"Six Day War† between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt Jordan and Syria, Israel had captured and taken full control over the lands of Palestine which had been given to Egypt and Jordan. These areas included the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip from the Egypt, the West Bank, Jerusalem from Jordan, while the Golan Heights were snatched from the Syrians (Quandt 1992). In 1988, the Palestinians announced that they were not just a piece of land, but officially the state of Palestine. This statement came from the Palestine National Council, which is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This proclamation by the Palestinians was based primarily based on the norms of the international law, relying on the right of the self determination. This is a primary right which is awarded to the people to chose their political status (Quigley, Palestine's Declaration of Independence: Self-Determination and the Right of the Palestinians to Statehood 1989). Till date at least 130 countries have formally recognized Palestine as a state, with over 150 of them maintaining diplomatic relations with the Palestinians in one or another form (AFP 2011). This makes about 2/3 of the member countries of the UN General Assembly. Those countries which do not recognize the status of Palestine as a nation or a state, call these lands, the â€Å"Palestinian Occupied Territory† (Neff 2011). Despite this every time this comes under consideration, this is vetoed out by the United States of America, which has explicitly refused the Palestinian bid to attain the full membership of the United Nations (Mohammed 2011). Despite the international pressure from various countries such as China, the United States maintains its stance stating that only negations with Israel would achieve the Palestinians to form a state (Johnson 2011). In order for an entity to be recognized as a state, there are certain conditions which are in place and need to be fulfilled. These criteria of