Why did the UN fail to create a Palestinian state in the late 1940s?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The UN partition plan of 1947 offered Palestinians 45 percent of the land; Palestinians rejected that offer too and six Arab countries.

Answer 2

The phrasing of the question misconstrues the authority of the United Nations Resolution 181. Most people incorrectly believe that the UN Resolution "created" a Jewish State (Israel) and an Arab State (Palestine) on the map. This is not the case. What the UN Resolution does provide for is the permission for the different ethno-religious groups in Mandatory Palestine to declare a state. In the case of most mandates, the understanding was that the mandate would eventually become independent as one new state, like Iraq or Syria had. The case of a Palestine was therefore unique and needed the permission to deviate from the traditional path of independence. Because of their being two states, provisional borders had to be provided, which is why a map was used, but those borders would only come into play if both sides decided to remain at peace.

The Jews acted on the permission granted to them by UN Resolution 181 by declaring independence on May 14, 1948 (nearly six months after the Resolution was passed) and therefore creating the State of Israel. The Arabs, believing that they could wipe Israel off of the map, delayed the declaration of an independent Arab State (Palestine) until "victory" in the war. Therefore, the boundaries of the Arab State would be the entire territory. Unfortunately for the Palestinians not only did the Arabs lose the war, but other Arab nations occupied what little of Palestine remained. This effectively prevented the declaration of a Palestinian State. The Palestinian Authority finally declared the Palestinian State in absentia in 1988, in-keeping with the permission granted by UN Resolution 181. Understandably, since this was after several wars and conflicts, the borders instituted by the UN Resolution were no longer viable, but the right for two states to declare independence was not in any way quashed.