Having met in special session at the request of the mandatory power
to constitute and instruct a Special Committee to prepare for the
consideration of the question of the future government of Palestine
at the second regular session;
Having constituted a Special Committee and instructed it to
investigate all questions and issues relevant to the problem of
Palestine, and to prepare proposals for the solution of the
problem, and
Having received and examined the report of the Special Committee
(document A/364) including a number of unanimous recommendations
and a plan of partition with economic union approved by the
majority of the Special Committee,
Considers that the present situation in Palestine is one which is
likely to impair the general welfare and friendly relations among
nations;
Takes note of the declaration by the mandatory power that it plans
to complete its evacuation of Palestine by 1 August, 1948;
Recommends to the UK, as the mandatory power for Palestine, and to
all other members of the UN the adaptation and implementing, with
regard to the future government of Palestine, of the plan of
partition with economic union set out below;
Requests that:
(a) The Security Council take the necessary measures as provided
for in the plan for its implementation;
(b) The Security Council consider, if circumstances during the
transitional period require such consideration, whether the
situation in Palestine constitutes a threat to peace. If it decides
that such a threat exists, and in order to maintain the
international peace and security, the Security Council should
supplement the authorization of the General Assembly by taking
measures under articles 39 and 41 of the charter, to empower the UN
Commission, as provided in this resolution, to exercise in
Palestine the functions which are assigned to it by this
resolution;
(c) The Security Council determine as a threat to the peace, breach
of the peace or act of aggression, in accordance with article 39 of
the Charter, any attempt to alter by force the settlement envisaged
by this resolution;
(d) The Trusteeship Council be informed of the responsibilities
envisaged for it in this plan;
Calls upon the inhabitants of Palestine to take such steps as may
be necessary on their part to put this plan into effect;
Appeals to all governments and all peoples to refrain from taking
any action which might hamper or delay the carrying out of these
recommendations, and
Authorizes the Secretary General to reimburse travel and
subsistence appropriate in the circumstances, and to provide the
Commission with the necessary staff to assist in carrying out the
functions assigned to the Commission by the General Assembly.
B The General Assembly,
Authorizes the Secretary General to draw from the working capital
fund a sum not to exceed $2,000,000 for the purposes set forth in
the last paragraph of the resolution on the future government of
Palestine."
Summary of the Partition Plan:
To solve the problem of the future of Palestine that was under
British mandate, the General Assembly of the UN decided in its
Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947 to divide the territory of
Palestine as follows:
* a Jewish State covering 56 percent of Mandatory Palestine
(excluding Jerusalem) with a population of 498,000 Jews and 325,000
Arabs;
* an Arab State covering 43 percent of Palestine, with 807,000 Arab
inhabitants and 10,000 Jewish inhabitants;
* an international trusteeship regime in Jerusalem, where the
population was 100,000 Jews and 105,000 Arabs.
The partition plan also laid down:
* the guarantee of the rights of minorities and religious rights,
including free access to and the preservation of Holy Places;
* the constitution of an Economic Union between the two states:
custom union, joint monetary system, joint administration of main
services, equal access to water and energy resources, ...
The General Assembly also planned:
* a two month interim period beginning August 1, 1948, date of
expiry of the mandate when the British troops were to be evacuated,
with a zone including a port to be evacuated in the territory of
the Jewish State by February 1;
* a five-country Commission (Bolivia, Denmark, Panama, Philippines,
Czechoslovakia) in charge of the administration of the regions
evacuated by Great Britain, of establishing the frontiers of the
two states and of setting up in each of them a Provisional Council
of Government; the gradual take-over of the administration by the
Provisional Council of Government in both States, and the
organization of democratic elections for a Constituent Assembly
within two months.
Adopted by 33 votes to 13, with 10 abstentions.
(Summarized by MEMRI, The Middle East Media Research Institute. The
full text of UN Resolution 181 is available at
http://domino.un.org)
Resolution 242 of 22 November, 1967
The Security Council:
Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the
Middle East,
Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by
war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which
every State in the area can live in security,
Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of
the Charter of the UN have undertaken a commitment to act in
accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,
1. Affirms that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the
establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which
should include the application of both the following
principles:
(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in
the recent conflict;
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and
respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial
integrity and political independence of every State in the area and
their right to live in peace within secure and recognized
boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
2. Affirms further the necessity:
(a) For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international
waterways in the area;
(b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;
(c) For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political
independence of every State in the area, through measures including
the establishment of demilitarized zones;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to designate a Special
Representative to proceed to the Middle East to establish and
maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to promote
agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted
settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles in this
resolution;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council
on the progress of the efforts of the Special Representative as
soon as possible.
Adopted unanimously at the 1382nd meeting.
Resolution 338 of 22 October, 1973
The Security Council:
1. Calls upon all parties to the present fighting to cease all
firing and terminate all military activity immediately, no later
than 12 hours after the moment of the adoption of this decision, in
the positions they now occupy;
2. Calls upon the parties concerned to start immediately after the
cease-fire the implementation of Security Council resolution 242
(1967) in all of its parts;
3. Decides that, immediately and concurrently with the cease-fire,
negotiations shall start between the parties concerned under
appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and durable peace
in the Middle East.
Adopted at the 1747th meeting by 14 votes to none.
