The termination of the British Mandate

[United Nations - UNSCOP]. Report to the General Assembly by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine.

€ 650.00

Historical report of the UN Special Committee on Palestine, supporting the termination of the British Mandate. Completed only three months after the Committee was founded on 15 May 1947.

UNSCOP was created to investigate the cause of the conflict in Palestine, and, if possible, devise a solution. Made up of representatives of eleven countries, the committee visited Palestine and the neighbouring states in the summer of 1947, gathered testimony from Zionist organisations both in Palestine and in the U.S., toured displaced persons camps in American and British occupation zones in Germany and Austria, and held twelve public hearings from 4 to 17 July, during which 31 representatives from twelve Jewish organizations gave testimony and submitted written depositions, totaling 32 tonnes of material. In August the Committee set out to Geneva to write their report, a process complicated by Jewish, Arab, and British pressure. Eventually, the report, present here, supported the termination of the British Mandate in Palestine. It contains a majority proposal for a plan of partition into two independent states with economic union (chapter VI) and a minority proposal for a plan for one federal union with Jerusalem as its capital (chapter VII). The majority plan was supported by eight of the eleven members, with Iran, India and Yugoslavia voting against. The Zionist side accepted the partition plan, while the Arab side rejected both proposals.

The plates in volume 2 (Annexes, Appendices & Maps) show proposed boundaries of Jerusalem, the Committee's itinerary through Palestine during their enquiry, a map for a two-state solution, and a map for a single federal state.

Stamps of ownership and shelfmarks of the Bolton Reference Library. An admission card for a Jewish Agency representative to an UNSCOP public hearing (surname deleted) is loosely enclosed.