United Nations Security Council Resolution 242

UN Security Council Resolution 242
Territories occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War, including the Sinai
Date	22 November 1967
Meeting no.	1,382
Code	S/RES/242(1967) (Document)
Subject	Territories occupied by Israel
Voting summary	15 voted for None voted against None abstained
Result	Unanimously approved
Security Council composition
Permanent members	China  France  United Kingdom  United States  Soviet Union
Non-permanent members	Argentina  Brazil  Bulgaria  Canada  Denmark  Ethiopia  India  Japan  Mali  Nigeria
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United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242) was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on November 22, 1967, in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. It was adopted under Chapter VI of the UN Charter.^[1] The resolution was sponsored by British ambassador Lord Caradon and was one of five drafts under consideration.^[2]

The preamble refers to the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in which every State in the area can live in security".^[3]

Operative Paragraph One "Affirms that the fulfillment 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 Israeli 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."^[4]

Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon entered into consultations with the UN Special representative over the implementation of 242.^[5] After denouncing it in 1967, Syria "conditionally" accepted the resolution in March 1972. Syria formally accepted^[6] UN Security Council Resolution 338, the cease-fire at the end of the Yom Kippur War (in 1973), which embraced Resolution 242.^[7]

On 1 May 1968, the Israeli ambassador to the UN expressed Israel's position to the Security Council: "My government has indicated its acceptance of the Security Council resolution for the promotion of agreement on the establishment of a just and lasting peace. I am also authorized to reaffirm that we are willing to seek agreement with each Arab State on all matters included in that resolution."

Resolution 242 is one of the most widely affirmed resolutions on the Arab–Israeli conflict and formed the basis for later negotiations between the parties. These led to peace treaties between Israel and Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), as well as the 1993 and 1995 agreements with the Palestinians.