UNMIA

This is a fascinating account of something probably most of us don’t remember very clearly. If you are middle aged now, you were a child or a teenager in 1970, and you probably remember there were many hijackings in those days, and maybe something about Palestinians and Jordan and fighting in the Mideast, but chances are you don’t remember the circumstances and details…maybe you don’t remember the events at all. And if you are American and haven’t reached middle age, you would only know about the events surrounding Black September if you had a really good history class. But they were very important events whose effects are still felt today. Here is the riveting account of someone who knew first hand what happened, and has never forgotten.

by David Raab
Middle East Quarterly
Fall 2007
http://www.meforum.org/article/1768

On September 6, 1970, terrorists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked TWA flight 741 from Frankfurt to New York and Swiss Air flight 100 from Zurich to New York, diverting them both to a disused airfield in the Jordanian desert. Terrorists also hijacked Pan Am flight 93 from Amsterdam and diverted it to Beirut and then Cairo. El Al officials thwarted another …

Jordanian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement,
April 3, 1949

Preamble

The Parties to the present Agreement,

Responding to the Security Council resolution of 16 November 1948,2 calling upon them, as a further provisional measure under Article 40 of the Charter of the United Nations and in order to facilitate the transition from the present truce to permanent peace in Palestine, to negotiate an armistice;

Having decided to enter into negotiations under United Nations chairmanship concerning the implementation of the Security Council resolution of 16 November 1948; and having appointed representatives empowered to negotiate and conclude an Armistice Agreement;

The undersigned representatives of their respective Governments, having exchanged their full powers found to be in good and proper form, have agreed upon the following provisions:
Article I

With a view to promoting the return of permanent peace in Palestine and in recognition of the importance in this regard of mutual assurances concerning the future military operations of the Parties, the following principles, which shall be fully observed by both Parties during the armistice, are hereby affirmed:

1. The injunction of the Security Council against resort to military force in the settlement of the Palestine question shall henceforth be scrupulously respected by both Parties;

2. No aggressive action by the armed forces-land, sea, or …

Resolution 242 (1967)
of 22 November 1967

The Security Council,

Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East,

Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,

Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,

1. Affirms that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:

(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;

(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;

2. Affirms further the necessity

(a) For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area;

(b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;

(c) For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of …

The Qibya (Israel-Jordan) Incident: United Nations Security Council Resolution, November 24, 1953

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions on the Palestine question particularly those of 15 July 1948, 11 August 1949,(2) and 18 May 1951 concerning methods for maintaining :the armistice and resolving disputes through the Mixed Armistice Commissions,

Noting the reports of 27 October 1953 and 9 November 1953 to the Security Council by the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization and the statements to the Security Council by the representatives of Jordan and Israel,

A

Finds that the retaliatory action at Qibya taken by armed forces of Israel on 14-16 October 1953 and all such actions constitute a violation of the ceasefire provisions of the Security Council resolution of 15 July 1948 and are inconsistent with the parties’ obligations under the General Armistice Agreement and the Charter;

Expresses the strongest censure of that action, which can only prejudice the chances of that peaceful settlement which both parties, in accordance with the Charter, are bound to seek, and calls upon Israel to take effective measures to prevent all such actions in the future;

B

Takes note of the fact that there is substantial evidence of crossing of the demarcation line by unauthorized …