The Only Way Out

by Ghassan Khatib

United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 was passed immediately after the 1967 war when the rest of historical Palestine--the West Bank including east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip--was occupied by Israel. To this day, UNSCR 242 remains the core of any peace effort or proposal between Israelis and Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular.

In its preamble, UNSCR 242 starts by reiterating one of the fundamental premises of international law, namely the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by force. It thus goes on to call for the end of the illegal Israeli occupation of the territories that were taken in 1967. It also alludes to another significant proponent of the conflict, the refugees, and calls for a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

So, part of the significance of UNSCR 242 is that it deals with the different components of the conflict, particularly the core aspects, i.e. occupation, territories, borders and refugees. But the resolution is significant for another reason: it was unanimously ratified by the international community. It's very rare to find any resolution regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that enjoys the support and acceptance of almost every single country in the world.

Because of the above features of UNSCR 242 it has become a necessary component in every single initiative, plan or effort that aims at solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem. UNSCR 338 embodied UNSCR 242. The initiative behind the Madrid peace conference was based on UNSCR 242. The Oslo agreement was based on UNSCR 242. Since Oslo, you will find UNSCR 242 in the preamble of every single agreement. Most recently, the Quartet-sponsored road map, the only game in town right now concerning the conflict, also included UNSCR 242 as its legal base.

In spite of all this, however, UNSCR 242 has never been implemented and consequently peace has never been realized. There are several reasons for this. First among those is that international legality, including UNSCR 242, has never been respected or taken seriously by Israel, which depends rather on its military superiority and the support of the United States.

In addition, the international community never exerted serious, collective efforts or showed enough political will to support the negotiations that had UNSCR 242 at their center. This was mainly due to the insistence of successive US governments to protect Israel and the Israeli occupation from international legality, something that reflected negatively on American-Arab relations in general. It also embarrassed the United States because it exposed double standards in US foreign policy, particularly evident when Washington called for a solution to the Iraqi problem during the Saddam Hussein era by enforcing the relevant UN resolutions on Iraq.

Thirty-seven years after it was passed, UNSCR 242 remains valid as a basis for a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In fact, it is the only way out. If the experience of the past 37 years has taught us anything, it has taught us that the continuation of the Israeli occupation is the source of conflict and violence. The only way to achieve peace, reconciliation and a comprehensive and lasting peace is to end the occupation that started in 1967 and find a just solution to the refugee problem exactly as UNSCR 242 stipulated.

- Published 30/8/2004 (c) bitterlemons.org. Used here with permission.

Ghassan Khatib is coeditor of bitterlemons.org and bitterlemons-international.org. He is the Palestinian Authority minister of labor and has been a political analyst and media contact for many years.