NOVANEWS
Written by Dewi
www.aspacpalestine.com
The tragedy of the partition of Palestine comprehensively reveal some important things, such as: the UN resolution 181, the role of the United Nations, Zionist maneuver, Arab stance, the Arab League statement, the PLO stance, the response of the Jewish and the Palestinian struggle.
Partition Plan for Palestine
The decision to divide Palestine was set in 1947 by the United Nations (UN). It is based on UN Resolution 181 issued on November 29, 1947.
Despite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine and the creation of an independent Jewish state. This resolution was ratified by a majority of 33 members, while 13 members objected and 10 abstained, with total 56 UN members. With the approval of the Palestinian division resolution Britain withdrew with the expiration of its mandate, and the State of Israel was proclaimed by Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion.
The resolution stated that Palestine divided into three parts. The first quarter is inhabited by the native Palestinian Arabs, the second quarter controlled by the Jews and the third quarter includes Al-Quds city and Bethlehem under control by the International.
The UN claimed that its idea to divide Palestine was the perfect solution to end the conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine.
Historical background
Partition of Palestine into three quarters: Arabs, Jews and Al-Quds as the International Zone cannot be separated from the Peel Committee report in 1937 and 1938. Peel committee led by the Earl Peel. The Committee’s tasks were to investigate the Palestinian revolution against the British invaders in 1936 and 1939 at the same time to find a solution.
After the outbreak of World War II and the establishment of the United Nations, the United Nations reviewing the British mandate in Palestine. And since then, the international community has a great attention to end the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine which flares up
The Partition of Palestine
The UN General Assembly tried hard to end the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine. The UN created a Palestinian special committee named UNSCOP (United Nations Special Committee on Palestine); UNSCOP was made up of representatives of 11 nations. It was decided that the committee should be composed of “neutral” countries in finding a solution to the conflict in Palestine.
From the meeting held by UNSCOP, there were two proposals as solution. The first solution, establish two independent states, namely the state of Israel and Palestine. The solution stated that the Jerusalem district should be internationally administered. The second solution, Palestine should be divided into two states (Arab and Jewish), provided that they form some kind of economic federation.
The majority of UNSCOP committee members supported the first proposal; to establish two independent states side by side. The UN General Assembly then approved the results of the special committee’s proposal and agreed to divide Palestine into three parts. Then impose territorial boundaries for both sides; Palestinians and Jews. Simultaneously with this result, then the British mandate over Palestine ended.
In detail the results of the resolution are: Palestinians forced to give 55% of their land to the Jews to be the state of Israel. Based on this resolution, the land given to the Jews started from Ashdod to Haifa, not including the city of Jaffa. Then the whole part of Negev desert, excluding the city of Beersheba. Then small part area near Egypt border. At that time the Negev desert was barren, could not be cultivated and uninhabitable. The territories where occupied by Jews before the implementation of this resolution remain the Jewish territory. In contrast, Palestinians should face expulsion.
The partition of Palestine-Resolution to the partition of Palestine in 1947 AD
On November 1947, when the UN members amounted to 57 States, 56 countries participating and voting, but one, namely Thailand.
The super power countries at that time; USSR, USA and France approved the resolution partition of Palestine, except Britain which controlled their mandate over Palestine. Among the countries that rejected the resolution were: the Arab countries, Greece, India and Cuba.
The Zionist leadership was working hard through diplomatic at the United Nations in order to postpone the voting time, so that they could convince the countries who doubt to support the resolution. Arab countries rejected the delay, but the US delegation insisted to postpone the voting sessions until after the US Thanksgiving Day celebrations on 27 November.
Zionist politicians did not waste time to recruit and lobby wavering delegates. Intensive efforts were made by the Zionist leadership around the world to gain crucial votes: the French altered their position from abstention to supporting the resolution; Liberia, as a result of economic promises, offered support; the direct lobbying of President Truman and pro-Zionist senators and congressmen secured the votes of 12 out of 20 Latin American countries.
Not to be forgotten, the President of the General Assembly for that session was Oswaldo Aranha who is known to have lobbied as fiercely as the Zionists to sway the vote for acceptance. He even postponed the voting session for 3 days to ensure passage.
On Saturday morning, 29 November 1947, and against the will of the Palestinian people, the General Assembly in New York voted for the partition of Palestine and accepted Resolution 181. It was supported by 33 votes with 13 opposed and 10 abstentions including Britain, whose prime minister Clement Attlee saw to it that Britain’s Commonwealth partners voted for it.
The roll-call vote was as follows:
For the Resolution (33) – Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, South Africa, Uruguay, the Soviet Union, the United States, Venezuela, White Russia.
Against (13) – Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.
Abstentions (10) – Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.
Absent (1) – Thailand.
After the announcement of the voting resultsthe Arab delegation walked out of the forum and expressed a joint rejection of the resolution.
Response and Reaction
Zionist response
Majority of Jewish was supporting this resolution, especially the Jewish Agency is totally support the UN Resolution 181, however some extremist Jewish against the resolution, such as Menachem Begin who led the Irgun, a Zionist underground military organization. This moment was very encouraging for the Jewish entity, so the Zionists happily to record this painful events of 29 November 1947 in their history books.
Arab countries response
With the exception of the leadership of the communist party, the leaders of Arab countries rejected the resolution, they call it a robbery against Arabs as the majority (67% of the Palestinians, 33% of Jews), 56.5% of the Palestinian territory seized to Jews. At that time, Jews owned just 7 percent of the land of the proposed Jewish state.
The Arab leaders rejected the plan to partition Palestine by any outside power. The stage was thus set for the Zionists to make their dream a reality.
Their rejection was also based on their concerns in the future. According to them, the resolution 181 was the first step to expand the Zionist power in the Arab region.
Their concerns reasoned. In June 1938, 10 years before the draft resolution, Ben Gorion, the first Israeli prime minister, once said in the presence of the Jewish Agency leadership, about his desire to remove the project division between Jews and Palestinians, in order to control the entire land of Palestine when the Jews have the power to do it. Another fact, a day after the declaration of UN resolution 181, on 30 November 1947, Menachem Begin, who was a leader of the Zionist opposition, rejected the project division and insisted that any Palestinian land belonging to Jews. Forever.
Arab League reaction
As reaction of the ratification of the UN resolution 181 the Arab League issued some policies, such as:
1. Strongly condemned against the US and Britain
2. Set up military training camp for the Palestinians in Qatanna near Damascus.
3. Creating Arab forces called Rescue Forces
4. To raise funds for the Palestinian cause
When the policies started, Britain protested and assessed that the military exercises in Qatanna was a step that could make the friendship relations between nations broken. Finally, the Arab League issued a new policy to close the military training camp, and enough to prepare the rescue forces that were as many as 7700 soldiers, with enough weaponry. The Palestinians only got small portion from the funds that have been collected.
Popular Resistance and Jihad the Mufti
Palestinian Mufti, Amin al-Husaini, who lived in Lebanon, returned to his country. The Mufti led the jihad against the Jews along with Abdul-Qadir al-Husayni. The Palestinian people joint the line of jihad the Mufti. In order to get the support of Arab countries, he flew to the Arab League to submit proposal about the establishment plan of the Palestinian National Government led by him based on the aspirations of the people. Unfortunately the Arab League rejected the proposal for no apparent reason.
The Zionists keep lobbying the United States, Britain and other countries to mobilize power. They sent ship containing weapons for war from the United States, Britain and Eastern Europe. The commanders of the US armies, Czechoslovakia and Russia were sent to train the Jewish forces how to use the latest and greatest weapons of the time. Thus, 70,000 Jewish forces prepared for war.
On the battlefield, the mufti-led Palestinian Arab forces fought bravely, but the rescue forces refused to join. In some locations Palestinian Arab forces won the battle, such as in Zohrul Hujjah, Ain Bahil, Sya’fath and Dahisyah. Nevertheless the lack of sophisticated weaponry of Palestinian Arab forces against the Jewish weaponry, made the Jewish more control the battle.
Thus, the youth of the Arab countries, especially from Egypt and Syria prepared to go to Palestine to join the jihad. In the beginning, all the government of Arab countries prohibited them, but the insistence of the people forcing them to open the border. The youth made the jihad armies stronger. They won the battle at an early stage and successfully besieged Al-Quds. However some locations were controlled by Jews, one by one, until the Deir Yassin massacred happened. In that condition, the Arab countries prevented the delivery of logistics and arms to the mujahideen, finally the conditions was turned over, until the war broke out in 1948.
After the Resolution
After the resolution, the Israeli territories were increasingly widespread. Regardless of incessant of Israeli attempts and maneuvers, the PLO increasingly made Israel free to control the land of Palestine.
In 1968, the PLO has set article 19 of the Palestinian National Charter, which reads: The partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of Israel is null and void from the very beginning, whatever time has elapsed because it was done contrary to the wish of the people of Palestine and their national right to their homeland and contradicts with the principles embodied in the charter of the UN, the first of which is the right of self- determination.
However, the Charter Declaration of Independence by the PLO in November 1988, revealed a kind of recognition that legitimate partition project in 1947: In the middle of the facts of crime history that has made the Palestinians were expelled and deprived of the right of self-determination after the adoption of UN resolution 181 in 1947, the resolution was meet the requirement of international legitimacy that guaranteed Palestinians to have power and national independence.
In a letter of Yaser Arafat to Isaac Rabin regarding the recognition of the PLO and the State of Israel, Arafat reiterated the PLO consistency against the two UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and stated that the articles of the Palestinians National Charter that deny the right of the State of Israel has expired.
And on the Oslo accords, September 1993, explained that the independence parts of the Palestinians only the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
