Following the birth of lsrael, why was it important that Jerusalem was placed under UN supervision?
1 Answer
The city of Jerusalem was never under UN supervision. The Partition plan. envisioned an international enclave of Jerusalem .
Explanation:
Under the UN Partition plan the British Mandate was to be divided into a Jewish State and an Palestine Arab State and an international enclave of Jerusalem.
The idea was that Jerusalem sacred to both the Jews, and Muslims was to be administered by the UN. This was to ensure that all religions would have equal access to the city of Jerusalem and its sacred sites. Restriction of access to Jerusalem had been the cause of crusades and wars between rival Muslim Empires. Retaining UN control was hoped to prevent future conflicts.
Sadly the British withdrew their military forces before the UN forces could occupy Jerusalem. The Grand Mufti declared a war of elimination of the Jewish state and led Muslim forces in a takeover of Jerusalem and the intended UN enclave.
During the ensuing Civil War the Jewish forces took Western Jerusalem by force. The Jordanian army took control of the Old City, the Eastern half of Jerusalem. The Arab people who had lived in the British Mandate were left with nothing. The UN control of Jerusalem never happened.
It wold have been important to World Peace if Jerusalem had been under UN supervision. The conflicts of 1948, 1956 1967, 1973 and numerous smaller conflicts may have never happened. The sacred city of Jerusalem would have been open to all people of all faiths.
