The United Nations and the Question of Palestine
Rule by Law and the Structure of International Legal Subalternity

The UN is the guardian of international law. But what does its handling of Palestine reveal about this lofty claim?

Ardi Imseis (Author)

9781009074957, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 February 2025

310 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.47 kg

'This is a much-needed contribution to a fragmented literature from a scholar who is deeply familiar with the history of the UN's approach to the Palestinian question. Given the many debates, actors, laws, institutions and procedures involved - these are so broad that it has been observed that the conflict has formed the UN itself (Makdisi and Prashad 2016) - this book represents a significant accomplishment. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the role of the UN in the conflict while also setting the stage for future research, speaking to the disciplines of international law, global history and international relations.' Daniela Huber, The International Spectator

Contrary to conventional wisdom, there has been a continuing though vacillating gulf between the requirements of international law and the UN on the question of Palestine. This book explores the UN's management of the longest-running problem on its agenda, critically assessing tensions between the organization's position and international law. What forms has the UN's failure to respect international law taken, and with what implications? The author critically interrogates the received wisdom regarding the UN's fealty to the international rule of law, in favour of what is described as an international rule by law. This book demonstrates that through the actions of the UN, Palestine and its people have been committed to a state of what the author calls 'international legal subalternity', according to which the promise of justice through international law is repeatedly proffered under a cloak of political legitimacy furnished by the international community, but its realization is interminably withheld.

List of maps
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Table of Cases
Table of Treaties and International Instruments
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. The Interwar Period
3. 1947: The UN Plan of Partition for Palestine
4. 1948 and After: The UN and the Palestinian Refugees
5. 1967 and After: The UN and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
6. 2011 and After: Membership of Palestine in the UN
7. Conclusion
Postscript.

Subject Areas: Public international law [LBB]