UN involvement

• UN proposed the partition of Palestine to create 2 states.

  • One state for Arabs and another for Jewish.

  Jerusalem would be a holy place for both religions, as well as Christianity

  • Jerusalem to be an international city under UN authority.
• The UN's plan to resolve the issue was passed but was not popular amongst General Assembly in other countries.

  • Arabs would not accept it

  Said that it contradicted the UN's charter of the principle of self determination, as the plan gave unprecedented rights to a minority

  The violence between Jews and Arabs increased.
• The state of Israel was proclaimed on May 14 1948.

  • Next day Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt attacked Israel.

  On May 29 1948, UN resolution called for a ceasefire which was supervised by UN meditator.
• United Nations truce supervision organization assisted

  • Palestine was thus the UN's first peacekeeping mission
  • No truce lasted for long, situation remained dangerous through 1948

  Israel pushed back Arab forces

  • Lost control of Gaza, the west bank and East Jerusalem.
  • 750,000 Palestinian Arabs made refugees.
• In December 1948

  UN adopted Resolution 194 to deal with Palestinian Arabs, it called for;

  1. Refugees to be allowed to return home
  2. Refugees who did not wish to return home to be compensated for their lost property
  3. Jerusalem to be demilitarised and protected access to all holy places to be guaranteed.
• UN Conciliation Committee set up: (failed)

  • May 1949, Israel allowed to become member of UN
  • 1 million Arab refugees fled Israel, UNRWA set up. (work still ongoing)
• The UN's involvement in Palestine was significant for the following reasons:

  1. It was the first time the UN were asked to intervene in what potentially could've been an international threat
  2. Led to the UN's first peacekeeping force being established
  3. Necessary resolutions passed without veto

  However this was not enough to guarantee success

  • Ultimately Palestine was a failure of the UN