Also known as the 1947 UN Partition Plan. This General Assembly Resolution divided the territory of British mandate
Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state, with
Jerusalem as an internationalized city. It was the first instance of overt international support for a Jewish state in Palestine, although previous British documents and declarations paved the way for international recognition. The plan passed on November 29, 1947 with 33 in favor, 13 against, 10 abstentions and one absent, made possible by support of both the United States and the Soviet Union, and their cold war allies. Zionist leaders actively lobbied for the plan, which they stood to gain from as the minority population striving to build a Jewish nation-state, while the
Arab League and
Palestinian leaders rejected it and called for a General Strike, considering the establishment of a Jewish State to be illegitimate and an injustice to the majority Arab population. See "
UN Partition Plan," BBC, Nov 29, 2011. For text of the Resolution, see "
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181," UNISPAL, Nov 29, 1947.