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UNSCOP Report (1947)

The final report issued by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) on 3 September 1947. UNSCOP was established at the request of Britain in order to address the future political status of Palestine. The committee was composed of 11 members, and only heard testimonies from Zionist representatives, as its work was boycotted by the Palestinian Arabs. The committee’s report recommended the termination of the Mandate for Palestine, and introduced two proposals. The majority proposal, endorsed by 7 members, suggested the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state with an economic union between them, with Jerusalem constituting a corpus separatum falling under a special international regime. The minority proposal, endorsed by 3 delegates, suggested a federal state made up of Jewish and Arab cantons. One delegate abstained. The majority proposal, as altered by an Ad Hoc Committee, was adopted as UNGA Resolution 181 on 29 November 1947. However, it was never implemented, due to the outbreak of the 1948 War.