Executive Summary

Didn't the UN create the State of Israel? Why not a state of Palestine too? Why doesn't it now?

The UN did create the State of Israel after Britain gave up responsibility for it. The proposition declared that two states would be created, one Jewish and one Arab. But the state of Palestine never seceded due to the nonstrategic placing of the borders. The places the UN reserved for Israel was heavily populated with Arabs. The UN now can't create a Palestinian state because the US keeps the issue off the agenda.

Why is Israel so often criticized in the UN? Aren't other countries just as guilty of human rights violations?

Israel is so often criticized because they are considered to be forcefully occupying Palestine, so their attacks on civil ins directly go against universal law. Israel also considers themselves a "Western State" thereby comparing themselves to high standards, such as the standards the United States has. If the U.S. attacked civilians daily they would be harshly criticized as well.

What is the role of the UN in the Middle East these days? Why isn't the UN in charge of the overall peace progress?

Currently the UN has no role in the Middle East. This is due to United States. Israel and the United States have economic and political relations. This began when the United States accepted Israels demand that the UN stay out of the Oslo peace conference. In later peace negotiations the UN was said to be irrelevant because they were not needed in the Oslo peace conference. The United States continues to prevent the UN from involving themselves in the Israeli and Palestinian problem, vetoing bills that would help and changing the itinerary of meetings.