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The situation in the Middle East

Background

Various aspects of the situation in the Middle East have been dealt with by the United Nations, particularly by the General Assembly and the Security Council, since 1947. Following the hostilities of June 1967, the Security Council, in November 1967, set forth principles for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East (resolution 242 (1967)).

The General Assembly considered the item on the situation in the Middle East at its twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh sessions, from 1970 to 1972 (resolutions 2628 (XXV), 2799 (XXVI) and 2949 (XXVII)), and at its thirtieth to sixtieth sessions, from 1975 to 2005 (resolutions 3414 (XXX), 31/61, 31/62, 32/20, 33/29, 34/70, 35/207, 36/226 A and B, 37/123 A to F, 38/180 A to E, 39/146 A to C, 40/168 A to C, 41/162 A to C, 42/209 A to D, 43/54 A to C, 44/40 A to C, 45/83 A to C, 46/82 A and B, 47/63 A and B, 48/58, 48/59 A and B, 49/87 A and B, 49/88, 50/21, 50/22 A to C, 51/27, 51/28, 51/29, 52/53, 52/54, 53/37, 53/38, 54/37, 54/38, 55/50, 55/51, 56/31, 56/32, 57/111, 57/112, 58/22, 58/23, 59/32, 59/33, 60/40 and 60/41).

At its sixty-first session, the General Assembly reiterated its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem were illegal and therefore null and void, and called upon Israel to cease all such illegal ad unilateral measures; welcomed the decision of those States that had established diplomatic missions in Jerusalem to withdraw their missions from the city, in compliance with Security Council resolution 478 (1980); and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its sixty-second session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 61/26).

At the same session, the General Assembly declared that Israel had failed so far to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981); also declared that the Israeli decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and had no validity whatsoever, as confirmed by the Security Council in its resolution 497 (1981), and called upon Israel to rescind it; reaffirmed its determination that all relevant provisions of the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of 1907, and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, continued to apply to the Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, and called upon the parties thereto to respect and ensure respect for their obligations under those instruments in all circumstances; determined once more that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its de facto annexation constituted a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region; called upon Israel to resume the talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and to respect the commitments and undertakings reached during the previous talks; demanded once more that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions; and requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its sixty-second session on the implementation of the resolution (resolution 61/27).

Documents
References for the sixty-first session (agenda item 13)

[Source: Annotated preliminary list of items to be included in the provisional agenda of the sixty-second regular session of the General Assembly (A/62/100, Corr. 1 and Add.1)]