How was Israel Created? – A timeline of Palestine
January: The Irgun plants a bomb in the British Administrative Headquarters at Haifa, killing 4 people (2 British, 2 Palestinian). The postponed Round Table conference from the previous year takes place with Arab delegations, joined this time by Palestinian representatives. The British present a plan for partition known as the “Morrison-Grady Plan”. Both Zionists and Palestinians reject the proposal, as each group want an independent state.
February: Having failed to reach any conclusion, Britain announces that the Palestine issue would be submitted to the newly formed United Nations. Between February-March, 20 British security officials are killed by Zionist militia groups.
April-May: United Nations General Assembly hold a special session for the Palestinian issue. Henry Cattan, a Palestinian Lawyer, presents the Arab case on behalf of the Arab Higher Committee (AHC). The United Nations forms UNSCOP (United Nations Special Committee on Palestine) to propose a solution to the entire issue. Two Palestinians are killed by the Haganah (Zionist militia group) near Tel Aviv.
June: UNSCOP members arrive in Palestine and meet Zionist officials. The AHC boycott the meetings on the basis that they believed Palestine belonged to the native Arabs living there for centuries and that their given rights had been constantly ignored by the international community. The Stern Gang (Zionist militia group) send letter bombs to London targeting British officials.
August: UNSCOP propose to divide Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem and its surrounding area to be governed internationally. The Haganah attack an orange farmer near Tel Aviv, killing 12 Palestinians, including a woman and six of her children.
28th November: Zafrullah Khan, first Foreign Minister of the newly formed state of Pakistan, delivers a detailed address before the UN General Assembly, scrutinising every aspect of the proposed division by the UN and highlighting the gross inequality of the proposal which completely favoured the Jewish state in land size, produce and overall resources.
29th November: The UN passes “Resolution 181” to divide Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state, with Jerusalem to be governed internationally. Under the UN division, 55.5% of Palestinian land is allotted to the Jewish state and 44.5% to the Arab state. The Arab state would have a Jewish minority population of 1%, however, the Palestinians will account for 47% of the population in the proposed Jewish state. The UN proposal is voted with a two-third majority, including both USA and Soviet Union in favour of the division. The Zionists welcome the decision, but the Arabs vehemently reject it and put their case to the International Court of Justice, questioning the legitimacy of how the UN can partition a country against the wishes of the majority of the native population. This triggers a civil war between Arabs and Zionist militias resulting in deaths of countless Palestinian and Jewish civilians.
December: Palestinians declare a three day strike in opposition to the UN partition plan. The Irgun and Haganah (Zionist militia groups) launch violent attacks on Palestinian villages throughout the country. In the entire month, 59 Palestinians and 41 Jews are killed. The Haganah implement “Plan Gimmel”, where they take up strategic positions throughout Palestine. Every Jewish male aged 17-25 called up to serve in the armed militia group. Declaring the partition to be illegal, the Arab League gather in Cairo pledging 3000 volunteers, 10,000 rifles and £1,000,000 for the Palestinian cause.