User:Trahelliven/sandbox

On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending to the United Kingdom, as the mandatory Power for Palestine, and to all other Members of the United Nations the adoption and implementation, with regard to the future government of Palestine, of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union as Resolution 181 (II). The Plan contained a proposal to terminate the British Mandate for Palestine and partition Palestine into Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem.

On May 14, 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved a proclamation which declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.

The Arab states marched their forces into what had been until the previous day been the British Mandate for Palestine. In a Cablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the Secretary-General of the United Nations 15 May 1948, the former justified the action in the opening words of the Cablegram, On the occasion of the intervention of Arab States in Palestine to restore law and order and to prevent disturbances prevailing in Palestine from spreading into their territories and to check further bloodshed, On the other hand, {other explanations for the intervention of the Arab forces}

UNSCOP

The British Mandate over Palestine was due to expire on 15 May, but Jewish leadership led by Ben-Gurion declared independence on 14 May (because 15 May was a Shabbat). The State of Israel declared itself as an independent nation, and was quickly recognized by the United States, Iran, the Soviet Union, and many other countries.

In the introduction to thecablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the UN Secretary-General on 15 May 1948, the Arab League gave reaons for its intervention, On the occasion of the intervention of Arab States in Palestine to restore law and order and to prevent disturbances prevailing in Palestine from spreading into their territories and to check further bloodshed,. Clause 10.(a) of the Cablegram provided:-

10. Now that the Mandate over Palestine has come to an end, leaving no legally constituted authority behind in order to administer law and order in the country and afford the necessary and adequate protection to life and property, the Arab States declare as follows:

(a) The right to set up a Government in Palestine pertains to its inhabitants under the principles of self-determination recognized by the Covenant of the League of Nations as well as the United Nations Charter;.In the Arab League's official declaration, they announced their intention to fulfill their responsibilities to restore order in Palestine and establish a single democratic state, which they proclaimed as being the only solution to the conflict, proclaimed Palestine to be an Arab country, and subsequently recognized the independence of the State of Palestine. They claimed that partition was illegitimate, as it was opposed by Palestine's Arab majority, and maintained that the absence of legal authority made it necessary to intervene to protect Arab lives and property. The Israelis maintain that the plan was not illegitimate, since Jews were a majority in areas assigned to the Jewish state. Israel, the United States and the Soviet Union called the Arab states' entry into Israel illegal aggression. China, meanwhile, broadly backed the Arab claims. The United Nations secretary-general Trygve Lie wrote in his memoirs "The invasion of Palestine by the Arab states was the first armed aggression the world had seen since the end of the [Second World] War. The United Nations could not permit that aggression to succeed and at the same time survive as an influential force for peaceful settlement, collective security and meaningful international law".

On 15 May 1947, the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations resolved that a committee, (United Nations Special Committee on Palestine), be created to prepare for consideration at the next regular session of the Assembly a report on the question of Palestine. The Committee was to consist of the representatives of Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, India, Iran, Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, Uruguay and Yugoslavia.

The Introduction to the Report of the Committee dated 3 Septembe 1947 to the UN General Assembly best summarises its contents:

INTRODUCTION This volume contains the report and recommendations submitted by the Special Committee on Palestine to the second session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. It comprises a preface, eight chapters, an appendix and a series of annexes. The factual information presented in the first four chapters is intended to illustrate the various phases of the Committee’s work and to serve as a background to the problem with which it dealt.

Chapter I describes the origin and constitution of the Special Committee and summarizes its activities as Lake Success, Jerusalem, Beirut and Geneva.

Chapter II analyses the basic geographic, demographic and economic factors, and reviews the history of Palestine under the Mandate. The Jewish and Arab claims are also set forth and appraised.

Chapter III deals with the particular aspect of Palestine as the Holy Land sacred to three world religions.

Chapter IV Consists of an analysis and recapitulation of the most important solutions put forward prior to the creation of he Committee or presented to it in oral or written evidence.

Chapters (V, VI, VII) contain the recommendations and proposals which are the main result of the work of the Committee during its three months of activity.

Chapter V - eleven unanimous recommendations on general principles are put forward. A further recommendation of a similar nature, which was adopted with two dissenting votes, is also recorded.

Chapter VI and VII contain respectively a majority plan and a minority plan for the future government of Palestine, including provisions for boundaries.

Chapter VIII provides a list of the reservations and observations by certain representatives on a number of specific points. The text of these reservations and observations will be found in the appendix to the report.

The report of the Committee dated 3 Septembe 1947 to the UN General Assembly presented alternative sets of recomendations to be considered by the General Assembly, in particular-

CHAPTER VI. RECOMMENDATIONS (II): Part I. Plan on partition with economic union

A. Partition and independence

1. Palestine within its present borders, following a transitional period of two years from 1 September 1947, shall be constituted into an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem.

Seven members of the Committee (Canada, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Peru, Sweden and Uruguay), expressed themselves, by recorded vote, in favour of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union

CHAPTER VII. RECOMMENDATIONS (III): Federal State plan

1. The peoples of Palestine are entitled to recognition of their right to independence, and an independent federal State of Palestine shall be created following a transitional period not exceeding three years.

This proposal was voted upon and supported by three members (India, Iran, and Yugoslavia).

[http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/2248AF9A92B498718525694B007239C6 UNITED NATIONS: ST/DPI/SER.A/47: 20 April 1949: Background Paper No. 47: Lake Success, New York: PALESTINE]

On 15 May 1947, the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations resolved (Resolution 106) that a committee, United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), be created to prepare for consideration at the next regular session of the Assembly a report on the question of Palestine.

This was done in response to a United Kingdom government request that the General Assembly "make recommendations under article 10 of the Charter, concerning the future government of Palestine". In July 1947 the UNSCOP visited Palestine and met with Jewish and Zionist delegations. The Arab Higher Committee boycotted the meetings. At this time, there was further controversy when the British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin ordered an illegal immigrant ship, the Exodus 1947, to be sent back to Europe. The migrants on the ship were forcibly removed by British troops at Hamburg after a long period in prison ships.

The principal non-Zionist Orthodox Jewish (or Haredi) party, Agudat Israel, recommended to UNSCOP that a Jewish state be set up after reaching a religious status quo agreement with Ben-Gurion regarding the future Jewish state. The agreement would grant exemption to a quota of yeshiva (religious seminary) students and to all orthodox women from military service, would make the Sabbath the national weekend, promised Kosher food in government institutions and would allow them to maintain a separate education system.

In the Report of the Committee dated 3 Septembe 1947 to the UN General Assembly, the majority of the Committee in Chapter VI proposed a plan to replace the British Mandate with an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem.., the last to be under an International Trusteeship System.

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union as Resolution 181 (II). The Plan attached to the resolution was essentially that proposed by the majority of the Committee in the Report of 3 September 1947. The plan was to replace the British Mandate with Independent Arab and Jewish States and a Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem administered by the United Nations. The withdrawal of British armed forces was to be completed as soon as possible.

The Plan of Partition in Part 1 A. Clause 2 provided that Britain should use its best endeavours to ensure than an area situated in the territory of the Jewish State, including a seaport and hinterland adequate to provide facilities for a substantial immigration, shall be evacuated at the earliest possible date and in any event not later than 1 February 1948. Clause 3. provided that Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem...shall come into existence in Palestine two months after the evacuation of the armed forces of the mandatory Power has been completed but in any case not later than 1 October 1948.

Mention in poetry

The Dauntless Three by Banjo Paterson, who was married to Walker's niece, Alice Emily Walker