UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PALESTINE

UN on Partition DAy

In the Spring of 1947, Britain, in frustration over the question of Palestine, turned to the UN for help. The UN appointed a special committee to investigate the situation. The committee was made up of representatives of 11 neutral states. It recommended partition of the country into two states on November 12, 1947.

On February 18, 1947, British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin announced in the House of Commons that the British government saw no prospect of a solution to the problems in Palestine. On April 2, the British delegation to the United Nations requested that the UN Secretary-General convene a special session of the UN General Assembly as soon as possible to determine the future of Palestine. The British decision to entrust the issue to the United Nations was reached for several reasons, and it should be understood within the context of a post-World War II British Empire in decline. Although Britain had emerged as one of the victors, the economic and human costs of the war were immense, and the British increasingly relied on the United States for economic support. Negative publicity arising from Britain's rejection of illegal immigrants made it harder to secure desperately needed financial aid. Additionally, the occupation of Palestine became increasingly burdensome, both economically and militarily. Having endured devastating casualties during World War II, the British public was unwilling to bear such hardships in this matter.

A special session of the United Nations commenced on April 27. The first item on the agenda concerned whether the Jewish Agency should be permitted to represent the Jewish people's case. Despite initial objections that there was no provision for non-governmental organizations to present before the UN, Jewish Agency representatives were allowed to address the United Nations' first committee. Abba Hillel Silver, Moshe Shertok, and David Ben-Gurion presented the case for the Jewish Agency. The primary agenda item was determining the composition of the special committee of inquiry. Following extensive debate, it was decided that the United Nations committee would consist of representatives from eleven small states, excluding the five major countries.

Throughout the summer of 1947, the United Nations committee conducted numerous hearings and meetings in Palestine to evaluate the situation there. Thirteen public meetings and 18 closed sessions took place in Palestine, with 34 witnesses called upon. From Palestine, the committee proceeded to Beirut, where it listened to the perspectives of the Arab governments. The final stop for the committee was Geneva, where subcommittees visited camps for displaced persons and reported that nearly all displaced individuals desired to relocate to Palestine. The committee produced two reports: a majority report and a minority report. The majority report, supported by representatives from Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, and Uruguay, advocated for the creation of two independent states in Palestine – one Jewish and one Arab. The minority plan, backed by India, Iran, and Yugoslavia, proposed the establishment of a confederation comprising two subordinate states – one Arab and one Jewish.