When: Annually, November 29.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is a day established by the United Nations to draw attention to the Palestinian people. The day has existed since 2003. This day is on November 29.
Resolution 181
The day commemorates United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, adopted on November 29, 1947. This resolution dealt with the Mandate Territory of Palestine. After the end of the British mandate over this territory, the area was to be divided into an independent Arab state and an independent Jewish state. While the former never happened, the latter did.
The resolution was the basis for the creation of the state of Israel on 14 May 1948. It was just never the basis for the formation of an independent Palestinian state. This while the resolution assumed a second independent state no later than October 1, 1948. That was also the same date held for the foundation of the state of Israel.
The city of Jerusalem would come under the Special International Administration of the UN. Only in extreme cases, there would be village splits. Two months after the withdrawal of the last British troops, free elections would be held in both the Arab and Jewish parts of Jerusalem/al-Quds for both Arab and Jewish statehood. The borders would be in force no later than 10 years after that (i.e. from October 1, 1948). After that, a review would take place by the Governing Council. Through a referendum, residents would then be allowed to express what they would like to change when it came to the city government.
Palestine was divided into eight parts, creating an Arab state (three parts) and a Jewish state (three parts). The seventh part, the city of Jaffa, became an enclave in Jewish territory for the Arab part of the population. This partition was especially welcomed by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, a Zionist organisation also known as the Palestine Zionist Executive. This organisation regulated the immigration of Jews to the area. It had been doing so since its establishment on August 11, 1929, during the 16th World Zionist Congress in Zurich. Today, the organisation still exists. At the time, it considered itself the representative of the Jewish population in the area. In 1922, the British already recognised the organisation as the representative. This, incidentally, was not to say that it represented everyone. It took until the late 1920s to represent everyone (Zionists and non-Zionists).
United Nations Charter
On the other side were the Arab leaders. They pointed to the United Nations Charter. This now included a section on self-determination. That was being violated thanks to this. It threatened to split the country where they had lived for centuries. Moreover, this would result in them becoming a minority in some parts. It also meant they would lose their capital, Jerusalem. The port city of Haifa would be given away to Israel, which had very large economic consequences. It was home to oil refineries and a major oil pipeline to Iraq. They did get access to another port city, Jaffa, only it was of much lesser economic value. What was further argued to be economically unfair was: that access to the Red Sea was lost forever.
1948 Palestine war
Even before all this was to take effect, tensions had mounted. Things were supposed to be set in motion by October 1. Only outbreaks of violence caused escalations back and forth. This was mainly caused by territory already claimed by Zionist Jews. Nothing stood in the way of war anymore. On May 15, 1948, it came to the 1948 Palestine War of 1948. The state of Israel did not comply with the agreements based on Resolution 181 and took 50 per cent more territory, along with West Jerusalem. Egypt occupied Gaza and Jordan occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Founding their state for the Arab part of the population had thus become impossible. This period is known as the Nakba (the Disaster). In an attempt to retake the occupied territory, Israeli forces made such gains that through Operation Dani (from July 8, 1948), led by Yigal Allon and his deputy Yitzhak Rabin (later Israel’s prime minister), Operation Dekel and Operation Kedem, a whole series of Arab villages were eventually captured. Sometimes with gruesome results. One may speak of a complete depopulation of areas, as in the towns of Lydda and Ramleh. Each time, the strategy was the same: inflicting carnage and driving out inhabitants, destroying homes. Apart from the West Bank and Gaza, Israel eventually gained 78% of the territory of Palestine through this offensive. Egypt and Jordan retained the West Bank and Gaza Strip (including East Jerusalem). The 1947 resolution proved to be of little value as Israel had not complied with it. In addition, Egypt and Jordan took territories belonging to the Palestinians during the post-war period. It would ultimately never lead to a fully-fledged Palestinian state.
Instead of this day
Instead of calling this day the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine People, perhaps it would have been better to have called it something else. A day that does more justice to what happened. A marker of the never-fulfilled Resolution 181. At least not for the Palestinians. For the Jewish state, it was a welcome gift. That it is an international day established by the UN helps the cause very little for the Palestinians in this case. It perhaps puts the issue back on the agenda a bit. It shows the injustice and unreasonableness. The most important question only remained unanswered since 1947: why was the resolution never complied with?
More information
More information on the day can be found at the United Nations website on the subject.
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