ABSTRACT
The special committee appointed by the United Nations rendered its report on 1 September 1947. This recommended that the mandate be terminated and that Palestine be partitioned between the Arabs and Jews, but as an economic union. British administration was to continue for two years after which the separate Arab and Jewish states would be fully independent. A further recommendation was that 150,000 Jewish immigrants should be admitted immediately. Since this solution was not acceptable to either the Arabs or the Jews, HM Government declared that it was not prepared to impose it by force of arms and would make an early withdrawal. On 11 November the UN General Assembly agreed that the mandate should end on 15 May 1948 with the British withdrawing their administration and forces by 1 August. The final UN vote was taken on 29 November and the prospect of a reasonably early establishment of the Jewish state led to a noticeable lessening of hostility and resistance by illegal immigrants. It helped that on 11 November the United Nations General Assembly agreed (33 votes to 1) Resolution 2, calling on member states ‘not to accord aid and protection to individuals or organisations which are engaged in promoting or operating illegal immigration, or activities designed to promote illegal immigration’. The resolution went on to call for the early return of ‘repatriable’ refugees. Britain, the Arab states and indeed America supported the resolution, whilst the Soviet ‘bloc’, bent on undermining the British position in the Middle East, was amongst 12 nations which abstained.
