By Adrian Serieyssol
The focus of this project is: what have the effects, both positive and negative, been of Palestine’s integration into the United Nations International System, and the responses of the Israeli and United States governments to it. This topic is quite important today as in the modern world to be recognized as a fully legitimate state one must be a member of the United Nations, and its accompanying institutions. These include the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Court of Justice, and the World Bank, which are directly part of it, and related institutions such as the International Criminal Court. Currently there is not a good source that lays out the ways in which Palestine has integrated itself into the United Nations and other International Institutions and the effects of that integration. This is quite important as for many international institutions are very nebulous entities at best, and shadowy at worst. I want to clear up some of that confusion here.
To examine this, I pinpoint what has been done since Palestine began entering these institutions, how its entrance into those institutions could impact US and Israeli activity, both within the various United Nations related institutions, and in general, and I shall examine how those institutions could be vehicles towards peacebuilding or the impetus for future conflict. Overall, I want to show how international institutions are not just abstract entities that the naïve bring up offhand, but rather are real things that do have on the ground impacts and provide specific details to bring that up.
Organizations of the United Nations and the Broader International System Looked At:
The United Nations: Israel become a member a full member of the United Nations in 1949, just after it won the Independence War or the Nakba. However, the State of Palestine, while being currently recognized by 145 out of 193 member states of the United Nations only has the status (since 2012) of a “non-member observer state.” Before this Palestine was only an “observer organization.”
International Court of Justice: One of the six organs of the United is the International Court of Justice whose role is to adjudicate disputes between states, and as Israel is a full member of the United Nations they are, by treaty, under the full authority of ICJ rulings. The Palestinians are likewise subject because of their own declaration reading, “the State of Palestine declares that it accepts all the obligations of a Member of the United Nations under Article 94 of the Charter of the United Nations.”
Currently, there are two cases either directly or indirectly involving both Israel and Palestine. The first is the International Court of Justice case called, “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” which address issues involving the settlement policies and practices of Israel and their legality. The second is a case brought against Israel by South Africa considering the October 7th War, this case is, in some ways, far more severe as South Africa accuses the Israeli State of committing genocide in Gaza.
International Criminal Court: The International Criminal Court is a different entity from the International Court of Justice and not a direct part of the United Nations, being only established in 2002 with the signing of the Rome Statute. It has the authority to prosecute individuals with the crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, however it can only do so if the person committed actions within a country that is a signatory of the Rome Statute. The State of Palestine became one such signatory in 2015, Israel, however, is not.
Palestine signing the Rome Statute should be considered a victory for them as it shows how another international player recognizes them as a state and has allowed for the recent arrest warrants to be issued for the leaders of both Israel and Hamas regarding alleged crimes against humanity committed by both states. Israel has had a strong reaction to this as they are not signatories to the Rome Statute and the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Israel has acted, “in accordance with international law, while taking unprecedented measures to facilitate humanitarian aid.” Furthermore Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the lead prosecutor in this case, Karim Khan, on of the “great antisemites in modern times.” In some ways this outrage does make sense as Israel never signed the Rome Statute and its leaders are now being prosecuted because a state whose existence they don’t even recognize became a signatory of it.
While this is not technically a United Nations organizations it is still a very relevant point to cover when address the intersection between the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and International Law.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: This organization is, as the name implies, an integral part of the United Nations and helps fund and protect sites of deep cultural heritage. As one Portuguese tour guide put it, “this [a part of the University of Coimbra] would not be preserved without funding from UNESCO.” Even in a relatively rich country UNESCO dollars play a key role in keeping the wonders of humanity alive, this would be especially true with far poorer countries like Palestine.
Currently Israel has nine properties inscribed on United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s world heritage list and has received $15,000 in assistance to facilitate the preservation of those sites. Palestine has four properties on that list but has received $370,000 in assistance. However, that money which Palestine requires to maintain those sites could be threatened by any American Administration, as seen under the Trump Presidency when they withdrew funding from UNESCO over disputes involving Israel.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees: UNRWA is another organization threated by American actions as this organization, which has supported those refugees since its formation in 1949, lost temporarily lost funding from the United States also during the Trump Administration.
The World Bank: Also, regarding funding threats, the World Bank recently approved a $35 million relief package to Gaza which could massively help the people there, and much more funding along these lines would be required to rebuild the territory when the war ends. While $35 million is a lot of money, it is only a drop in the bucket to alleviate the estimated $18.5 billion in infrastructure damages Gaza has endured as of April 2024 as a result of this current war.
Closing Thoughts: The greater integration of Palestine into these institutions does mean that Palestine has received more recognition and opportunities for funding, however this integration does make the dichotomy between Palestine and Israel much more evident and reduces the opportunity for a one-state solution to happen. One negative of these new opportunities for funding is that Palestine is more dependent on the continuation of these international intuitions and the continued funding of the United States, the biggest financial supporter of these institutions. As previously mentioned, that vital American support could be revoked in an instant if it is politically convenient for the sitting President to do so. Likewise, the recent arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu has not resulted in his arrest has resulted in him being “unable to vacation in Europe anytime soon,” according to one member of the United States Department of State, and only generating more vitriol. This points to how much tension organizations like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court can bring while achieving not all that much on the ground.
Should Palestine’s integration continue along these lines and prove fortuitous, it would be a massive boon towards the current world order structured around the United Nations as it could prove it can help solve disputes and nation build. If integration fails, and the rulings and decisions of these institutions be ignored by the parties involved, then irreparable harm could be done to the standing of these institutions.
Perhaps the most hopeful thing in regards to all this has been the success of more practically focused organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Bank in their efforts to alleviate human suffering and preserve humanities wonders.
Sources
“5 Reasons Why Unilateral Recognition of Palestinian Statehood at the UN Would Be a Major Setback for Peace | AJC.” Www.ajc.org, American Jewish Committee, 17 Apr. 2024, https://www.ajc.org/news/5-reasons-why-unilateral-recognition-of-palestinian-statehood-at-the-un-would-be-a-major.
Aamodt, Emilie. “Palestine’s Accession to the Rome Statute: An Analysis of the Legal Issues of Investigating the Palestinian Situation.” University of Oslo – Faculty of Law, 10 Apr. 2015.
Akram, Susan, and S Lynk. The Arab-Israeli Conflict and International Law the Arab-Israeli Conflict and International Law. 2013.
Bowen, Jeremy. “What ICC Arrest Warrants Mean for Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas.” BBC, 20 May 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw4490z75v3o.
Darty, Shane, and John Reynolds. ““Otherwise Occupied”: The Status of the Gaza Strip from the Perspective of International Humanitarian Law.” Journal of Conflict & Security Law, 2010.
Elgindy, Khaled. “Palestine Goes to the UN.” Foreign Affairs, 2011.
International Court of Justice. “Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).” https://ww.icj-cij.org/case/192.
International Court of Justice. “Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, In.” https://www.icj-cij.org/case/186.
International Court of Justice. “States Not Parties to the Statute to Which the Court May Be Open.” https://www.icj-cij.org/states-not-parties.
Johnson, Larry D. “Palestine’s Admission to UNESCO: Consequences within the United Nations?” University of Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, vol. 40, 2011.
Lederer, Edith M. “UN Assembly Approves Resolution Granting Palestine New Rights and Reviving Its UN Membership Bid.” AP News, 10 May 2024, https://apnews.com/article/un-resolution-palestinians-membership-rights-us-assembly-875560e897f27d6600090420f36404e4.
Orth, Taylor, and Kathy Frankovic. “The Share of Americans Who Say the U.S. Favors Israel over Palestine Has Fallen since 2017.” Today.yougov.com, 17 Mar. 2023, https://today.yougov.com/international/articles/45435-who-americans-favor-israel-vs-palestine-poll.
Sinwar, Yahya, et al. “Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for Arrest Warrants in the Situation in the State of Palestine.” International Criminal Court, 20 May 2024, https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-state.
The World Bank. “Joint World Bank, UN Report Assesses Damage to Gaza’s Infrastructure.” World Bank, 2 Apr. 2024, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/04/02/joint-world-bank-un-report-assesses-damage-to-gaza-s-infrastructure#:~:text=WASHINGTON%2C%20April%202%2C%202024%20. Accessed 15 July 2024.