Strategic Assessment

How do the most powerful actors in the UN Security Council perceive the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the resolution of the conflict, and what, if any, are the differences of opinion between them? Furthermore, which issues attract the most debate and fiercest criticism in Council discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? To address these two central questions, discourse analysis is performed on the protocols of UNSC meetings under the agenda item "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question" from 2012 to 2016 (n=70 items). Findings show that there are crucial issues on which key players appear to be in full agreement with Israel, alongside eight central issues that draw unrelenting criticism.