The Declaration of Independence, written primarily by then-designated Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, included seven references to the United Nations (UN). Among others, the significant and well-known paragraph states: “Accordingly we, members of the People’s Council… on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel… by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”
Three elements constituted the legitimacy for the declaration of independence and the establishment of the state on May 14th: the first related to the circumstances of that day – the British departure; the second to natural historical circumstances – the return of the Jewish people to the land of the Bible and the realization of Zionist values; and the third – international legitimacy, which was so critical for the establishment of the state, in the form of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (from November 29, 1947), known as the “Partition Plan.”
As recalled, this resolution established the two-state solution: the creation of two states for two peoples, a Jewish state and an Arab state. A resolution for which my parents went out to dance in the streets of Tel Aviv, while the Arabs, unfortunately, still clung to the approach that there was no room to talk about a Jewish state in the Middle East. Here, the necessity that Ben-Gurion understood for that vital “seal of approval” was expressed: international legal legitimacy, in order to declare the establishment of the State of Israel at that time.
Nearly 80 years have passed since then, and once again that “seal of approval,” the critical international legitimacy, is required to establish a state. This time, a Palestinian state. Let me explain: Recently, we have seen many plans written regarding the end of the war in Gaza, including the Saudi-French plan, which also spoke of the two-state vision, and the American plan. I will note in principle that the two-state solution is still the only possible way out of the cycle of endless wars, as the one-state solution is not feasible at this stage.
The two-state solution is based on all original Zionist values and will lead to a situation of a Jewish state with an Arab minority and a Palestinian state alongside it, within a broad context of building a Middle East with new partners and significant players who will be guarantors for the agreement’s implementation. What President Trump has done now, contrary to all the government’s expectations and in a way that surprised many—but with much justice—is that he turned to the UN Security Council. This is the only body in the UN system that adopts binding resolutions that can be monitored through various legitimate means, to ensure that the decision on ending the war in Gaza, which mentions the two-state vision, receives international legitimacy.
The UN was established in 1945 at the end of World War II, with the goal of promoting world peace and creating a platform that fosters dialogue and negotiation to end hostilities and build peace and reconciliation between nations. The central forum established for this purpose was the General Assembly, where every country has one vote and is equal among equals. In the UN’s early years, the Assembly was very significant, and, among other things, it was the body that determined the Partition Plan.
The Assembly adopted the recommendations of the inquiry committee it established (UNSCOP) to propose a solution to the Palestine/Eretz Israel problem upon the British departure and the end of the Mandate. The committee stayed in the land for several months while its eleven members (from Australia, Uruguay, Iran, Guatemala, India, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Peru, Czechoslovakia, Canada, and Sweden) toured the country and met primarily with members of the Jewish Yishuv. They reached historic conclusions and passed them to the General Assembly plenary. The Assembly then adopted them and established Partition Resolution 181.
The building of international legitimacy occurred in stages, orchestrated by the President of the Assembly at the time (then-Brazilian Foreign Minister Oswaldo Aranha), and was critical for the orderly and legitimate process required for the establishment of the two states. The rest of the story is well known. I will only mention that the Arab leadership did not cooperate with the process from its inception, they did not meet with these committee members, Arab states opposed the resolution at hand, and a war of destruction was launched against the Jewish Yishuv.
Nearly 80 years later, an actual orderly process has begun, as the American administration decides to make use of that same body which is the sole source of international legitimacy for global political processes. This is the body that constitutes global legitimacy not only for political processes, of course, but also for many others: economic and commercial, the fight against climate change, coordination of vaccines and combating pandemics, regulation of satellite and cellular frequencies worldwide, and much more.
The political process that is intended at its conclusion to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state is being moved by the Trump administration to the UN, this time to the Security Council. The resolution at hand (at least as of November 16) includes as an integral part of it, as an annex, “President Donald J. Trump’s Comprehensive Plan for Ending the Conflict in Gaza.” In it, the important verse (19) appears, stating that assuming Gaza’s development progresses as planned, and reforms in the Palestinian Authority also progress reliably, it is very possible that the conditions will be created for a process of self-determination for Palestinians, with statehood, which we recognize is the aspiration of the Palestinian people. Although the explicit words “Palestinian state” or “Palestine” do not appear in the annex, the direction is clear.
Once again, the world needs the only legitimate international body in existence, just as it did in 1947 for the establishment of a Jewish state, and just as 25 years ago we established through it International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Thanks to international legitimacy, it became a memorial day observed almost worldwide, including in several countries in the Arab world, as countries effectively implement the General Assembly resolution.
