Jarring Mission

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The Jarring Mission refers to efforts undertaken by Gunnar Jarring to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors following the Six-Day War in 1967. He was appointed in late November 1967 by United Nations Secretary General, U Thant, as the special representative under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242.

Jarring was the Swedish ambassador to the Soviet Union at that time and he maintained his ambassadorship during the mission. His report was presented to the public on January 4, 1971.

The impasse in Jarring's efforts appears to be related to differing interpretations of the security council resolution. Israel insisted that any efforts should be undertaken with the goal of direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Arab states; and that no territory concessions could be contemplated without the prospect of a lasting peace; Arab states and the Soviet Union maintained that there would be no direct talks with Israel (in keeping with the Khartoum Resolution), and that withdrawals were a pre-condition for any further talks.

Critics since then have pointed out that Jarring had to manage a difficult conflict of interest since he had to maintain his duties as Swedish ambassador to the Soviet Union while trying to facilitate talks in which the Soviet Union had its own interests.

[edit] Further reading

  • Finkelstein, Norman G. (2003). Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (2nd edition). Verso. ISBN 1859844421. 
  • Touval, Saadia (1982). The Peace Brokers: Mediators in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948-1979. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691101388. 
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