Towards the end of World War I, the 'Palestine problem' became an international issue with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Palestine was among several former Ottoman Arab territories which were placed under the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the League's Covenant (Article 22). All but one of these Mandated Territories became fully independent States, as anticipated. The exception was Palestine, where, instead of being limited to "the rendering of administrative assistance and advice," the Mandate had, as a primary objective, the implementation of the Balfour Declaration issued by the British government in 1917, expressing support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." Since the 1990's, violence in the region has spread again. The assassination of Prime Minister Rabin and the tensions in the occupied territories kept the 'Question of Palestine' on the international agenda. This present series provides a collection of documents which offer a complete overview of the United Nations' efforts to establish a peaceful situation in the region. This 13th volume presents the developments of the years 1996-1998.