United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine

UN General Assembly
Resolution 181 (II)
UNSCOP (3 September 1947; see green line) and UN Ad Hoc Committee (25 November 1947) partition plans. The UN Ad Hoc Committee proposal was voted on in the resolution.
Date29 November 1947
Meeting no.128
CodeA/RES/181(II) (Document)
Voting summary
  • 33 voted for
  • 13 voted against
  • 10 abstained
ResultAdopted

The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Resolution 181 (II).[1]

The resolution recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish States linked economically[2] and a Special International Regime for the city of Jerusalem and its surroundings. The Arab state was to have a territory of 11,100 square kilometres or 42%, the Jewish state a territory of 14,100 square kilometres or 56%, while the remaining 2%—comprising the cities of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the adjoning area—would become an international zone.[3][4] The Partition Plan, a four-part document attached to the resolution, provided for the termination of the Mandate, the gradual withdrawal of British armed forces and the delineation of boundaries between the two States and Jerusalem. Part I of the Plan stipulated that the Mandate would be terminated as soon as possible and the United Kingdom would withdraw no later than 1 August 1948. The new states would come into existence two months after the withdrawal, but no later than 1 October 1948. The Plan sought to address the conflicting objectives and claims of two competing movements, Palestinian nationalism and Jewish nationalism, or Zionism.[5][6] The Plan also called for Economic Union between the proposed states, and for the protection of religious and minority rights.[7] Jewish organizations collaborated with UNSCOP during the deliberations, and the Palestinian Arab leadership boycotted it.[8]

The plan’s detractors considered the proposed plan to be pro-Zionist, with 56%[9] of the land allocated to the Jewish state although the Palestinian Arab population numbered twice the Jewish population.[10] The plan was celebrated by most Jews in Palestine[11] and reluctantly[12] accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine with misgivings.[13][8] Zionist leaders, in particular David Ben-Gurion, viewed the acceptance of the plan as a tactical step and a stepping stone to future territorial expansion over all of Palestine.[14][15][16][17][18][19] The Arab Higher Committee, the Arab League and other Arab leaders and governments rejected it on the basis that in addition to the Arabs forming a two-thirds majority, they owned a majority of the lands.[20][21] They also indicated an unwillingness to accept any form of territorial division,[22] arguing that it violated the principles of national self-determination in the UN Charter which granted people the right to decide their own destiny.[8][23] They announced their intention to take all necessary measures to prevent the implementation of the resolution.[24][25][26][27] Subsequently, a civil war broke out in Palestine,[28] and the plan was not implemented.[29]

  1. ^ "A/RES/181(II) of 29 November 1947". United Nations General Assembly. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. ^ Galina Nikitina, The State of Israel: A Historical, Economic and Political Study / By Galina Nikitina / 1973, Progress Publishers / p. 56.
  3. ^ Палестина / Л. А. Беляев, С. Б. Григорян, П. А. Рассадин (с 1939), М. Ю. Рощин // Большая российская энциклопедия : (в 35 т.) / гл. ред. Ю. С. Осипов. — М. : Большая российская энциклопедия, 2004—2017.
  4. ^ Galina Nikitina, The State of Israel: A Historical, Economic and Political Study / By Galina Nikitina / 1973, Progress Publishers / p. 56.
  5. ^ William B. Quandt, Paul Jabber, Ann Mosely Lesch The Politics of Palestinian Nationalism, University of California Press, 1973 p.7.
  6. ^ Part II. – Boundaries recommended in UNGA Res 181 Molinaro, Enrico The Holy Places of Jerusalem in Middle East Peace Agreements Page 78
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference undocs.org/A/364 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference UN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "BBC NEWS". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. ^ Ben-Dror 2007, pp. 259–260: "The Arabs overwhelmingly rejected UNSCOP’s recommendations. The Arabs’ list of arguments against the majority’s conclusions was indeed a long one. A Palestinian historian summarized it by saying ‘Everything about it was Zionist’. When one takes into consideration the majority’s recommendations and the enthusiasm with which these recommendations were accepted by the Zionist leadership, then one can indeed affirm that claim. UNSCOP recommended an independent Jewish state, although the Arabs firmly objected to the principle of independence for the Jews, and did so in a way very generous to the Jews. More than half of the area of Palestine (62 percent) was allocated to be a Jewish state and the Arab state was supposed to make do with the remaining area, although the Palestinian Arab population numbered as much as twice the Jewish population in the land. The pro-Zionist results from UNSCOP confirmed the Arabs’ basic suspicions towards the committee. Even before the onset of its inquiry in Palestine, argued the Arabs, most of its members took a pro-Zionist stand. In addition, according to the Arabs, the committee’s final object – the partition – was pre-decided by the Americans. According to this opinion, the outcome of the UNSCOP inquiry was a foregone conclusion. This perception, which led the Palestinian Arabs to boycott the committee, is shared by some modern studies as well."
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference trove1947-11-30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "1923-1948: Nationalism, immigration, and "economic absorptive capacity"".
  13. ^ Sabel, Robbie, ed. (2022), "The 1947 Partition Plan", International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 93–101, doi:10.1017/9781108762670.006, ISBN 978-1-108-48684-2, retrieved 31 October 2023
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference TEOP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Sean F. McMahon, The Discourse of Palestinian-Israeli Relations, Routledge 2010 p. 40. "The Zionist movement also accepted the UN partition plan of 1947 tactically. Palumbo notes that “[t]he Zionists accepted this scheme [the UN partition plan] since they hoped to use their state as a base to conquer the whole country.” Similarly, Flapan states that “[Zionist] acceptance of the resolution in no way diminished the belief of all the Zionist parties in their right to the whole of the country [Palestine]”; and that “acceptance of the UN Partition Resolution was an example of Zionist pragmatism par excellence. It was a tactical acceptance, a vital step in the right direction — a springboard for expansion when circumstances proved more judicious.”
  16. ^ Michael Palumbo (1990). Imperial Israel : the history of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Bloomsbury. p. 19. ISBN 9780747504894. The Zionists accepted this scheme [the UN partition plan] since they hoped to use their state as a base to conquer the whole country
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference myths was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Baruch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morris2008p75 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Eugene Rogan (2012). The Arabs: A History – Third Edition. Penguin. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-7181-9683-7.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morris2008p66 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morris2008p73 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Sami Hadawi, Bitter Harvest: A Modern History of Palestine, Olive Branch Press, (1989)1991 p.76.
  24. ^ Perkins, Kenneth J.; Gilbert, Martin (1999). "Israel: A History". The Journal of Military History. 63 (3): 149. doi:10.2307/120539. ISSN 0899-3718. JSTOR 120539.
  25. ^ Best, Antony (2004), International History of the Twentieth Century and beyond, Routledge, p. 531, doi:10.4324/9781315739717-1, ISBN 978-1-315-73971-7, retrieved 29 June 2022
  26. ^ Live by the Sword: Israel's Struggle for Existence in the Holy Land, James Rothrock, p.14
  27. ^ Lenczowski, G. (1962). The Middle East in World Affairs (3rd Edition). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 723
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britannica2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Galnoor1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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