UNSCOP and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Road to Partition

Description

This book provides the first comprehensive account of the work of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), constituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 to study the situation in Palestine at the end of the British Mandate and make recommendations about its political future. Utilizing a wealth of archival documentation, some of it never before studied, Elad Ben-Dror explores the various aspects of UNSCOP’s activity to understand how it came to determine the fate of the country’s inhabitants. The book analyzes the methods and motivations of the various members, with special attention given to the personal viewpoint of each member of the committee. Through this Ben-Dror shows that the partition recommendation emerged after a long process of study, debate, and compromise that was very much dependent on the characters and circumstances of the individual members of the committee. UNSCOP and the Arab-Israeli Conflict will be a key text in understanding the role of UNSCOP in shaping the modern Middle East. It will be appropriate for scholars and students of political science, Palestine and Israeli history, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the UN and diplomacy, and conflict resolution. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Notes 1 “Without Recommendations”: Handing the Palestine Question Over to the United Nations The Special Session: The Agenda Fight and Public Deliberations The Special Session: The Composition of the Committee of Inquiry and Its Terms of Reference Notes 2 UNSCOP: First Steps “A Strange Assortment”: The Committee’s Eleven Members The UN’s First Big Test: Putting UNSCOP Together Inaugural Meetings in New York Notes 3 The Encounter With Palestine A Cold British Shoulder and the Shadow of the Gallows The Arab Boycott Notes 4 With Their Own Eyes UNSCOP Tours Palestine Personal Encounters “The British Made a Terrible Mess”: The Summer of 1947 Notes 5 The Hearings in Palestine “We Need a Jewish State”: Testimony From the Jewish Agency “A Great Misfortune for Both Arabs and Jews”: The Opponents of Partition Testify The Testimony of the Religious Communities “A Thankless Task”: The British Testimonies The “Special Series”: Testimonies in the Informal Channel Notes 6 The Testimony of the Arab States “The Arabs Will Not Stand By and Do Nothing”: The Testimony in Lebanon Divide and Annex: The Visit to Transjordan Notes 7 The Inquiry in the DP Camps The Decision to Visit the Camps “I Was in Hell Tonight”: UNSCOP Visits the DP Camps Notes 8 Decision Point: Drafting the Report The Members Reveal Their Views Arabs, British, and Jews: The Home Stretch “Stuck in the Mud”: A Consensus Proves Elusive The Vote Notes 9 UNSCOP’s Report The Fight Over Borders and the Signing of the Report The Decisions: Why They Were Made and What They Meant Jewish and Arab Reactions to the Report Notes 10 “Eleven Committees of One Man Each”: The Personal Views of UNSCOP’s Members The European and Commonwealth Countries Sandström Rand Blom Hood The Latin American Countries Granados and Fabregat Salazar The Muslims Entezam Abdur Rahman The Soviet Bloc Simic and Brilej Lisicky The Influencers: Mohn and Bunche Notes 11 The Great Powers and UNSCOP The Soviet Union The United States Notes Conclusion Notes Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index