This day, every year | The United Nations observance in solidarity with the Palestinian people

The United Nations has set aside November 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Every year since 1977, the United Nations calls for the observance of November 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The General Assembly passed a resolution to that effect in 1977, selecting this particular day as this was when, in 1947, the Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning the Palestinian territory into an Arab State and a Jewish one.

Also read: ​Moral stain: On Israel and the ICC arrest warrants

Following a resolution in 2005, the General Assembly directed the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights to continue organising an annual exhibition or cultural event pertaining to Palestine or Palestinian rights, in collaboration with the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the UN.

This year, an exhibition titled “Gaza, Palestine: A Crisis of Our Humanity,” organized by the Committee and the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, is being held in the General Assembly building in New York. It is open from November 26, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Also see: GAZA: A year on- a worsening humanitarian crisis

What was the resolution partitioning Palestine?

The configuration of present-day Israel and Palestine, as well as the roots of the present conflict date back to the early 20th century. Palestine was a former Ottoman territory, which was placed under a British mandate in 1922 by the League of Nations. But before this, in 1917, the British made the Balfour Declaration which had expressed support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The Declaration, however, also clarified that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.” 

From 1922 onwards, there were waves of immigration of Jews from Europe, mainly from Eastern Europe. Persecution by the Nazis and the horrors of the Holocaust in the 1930s only increased the number of Jewish migrants to the area. Local Arabs resisted immigration and pressed for independence, engaging in a revolt from 1936 to 1939. British troops were sent in to quell the unrest, but violence by armed Arabs, primarily peasantry, continued. Zionists too armed local Jews and were vociferous in their demands for a Jewish national home.

Several committees were formulated and attempts made to arrive at an acceptable solution, the process further complicated by World War 2. The British sought to restrict immigration of Jews to the territory during the war, considering it central to the war effort, but this was not acceptable to Zionists. Towards the end of the War, neighbouring Arab nations took more interest in Palestine. In 1944, heads of Arab nations issued the Alexandria Protocol, indicating that althought they regretted the hardships inflicted by European dictatorships on European Jews, this issue should not be conflated with Zionism. The Arab League was formed in March 1945; its covenant comprised an annexure emphasizing the Arab character of Palestine.

The post-war period saw a conflict between many forces-- attempts to restrict Jewish immigration to the territory by the British, resistance to such immigration by the Arabs, including threats to British and American interests in the territory, and demands for a seperate Jewish state and unrestricted immigration by Zionists, who also engaged in underground attacks.

Also Read: Permanent status: on Palestine and the UN 

The UK approached the UN to solve the Palestine problem in 1947. “In 1947 the United Nations accepted the responsibility of finding a just solution for the Palestine issue, and still grapples with this task today,” the UN website notes.

The General Assembly mulled over potential solutions, eventually proposing a termination of the British mandate. Vide resolution 181 (II), adopted by a two-thirds majority, the General Assembly decided to partition Palestine into one Arab state and one Jewish one, with Jerusalem put under a special international regime.

What is Palestine’s current status in the UN?

The General Assembly formulated the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in 1975. It also granted the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the representative of the Palestine people, the status of observer in the General Assembly and United Nations nd conferences. On 29 November 2012, the Assembly granted Palestine non-member observer state status in the UN. 

Several UN agencies work in Palestine, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), UN OCHA - occupied Palestinian territory, UNDP in Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the United Nations Country Team in Palestine.

The UN General Assembly has demanded that Israel cease the occupation of Palestine on multiple occassions in 2024, including several resolutions demanding a ceasefire. Yet, conflict rages on.

Published - November 29, 2024 04:42 pm IST