In November 1947, the General Assembly endorsed a plan for the partition of Palestine. It provided for the creation of both an Arab state and a Jewish state; Jerusalem would be placed under international control. However, the plan was not accepted by the Palestinian Arabs or several Arab states. On May 14, 1948, the United Kingdom relinquished its mandate over Palestine and the State of Israel was proclaimed. On May 15th, the Palestinian Arabs, along with several Arab states, commenced hostilities against Israel.
On May 22nd, the Security Council adopted resolution 49 which called for an immediate cease-fire. It also directed the Truce Commission for Palestine, which had been established in April, to pursue negotiations between the parties. On May 29th, the Security Council adopted resolution 50, which reiterated the call for a cessation of hostilities in Palestine. It requested all parties to cease hostilities for a period of four weeks. In addition, it instructed the UN Mediator in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, to supervise the observance of the cease-fire. This mission became known as the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).
A temporary cease-fire went into effect on June 11th. On that date, the first group of UNTSO military observers arrived in the region. Originally, 36 observers were deployed in Palestine and several Arab countries. That number would gradually increase to 93. Observers were initially drawn from the three members of the Truce Commission (Belgium, France and the United States). When the original cease-fire expired on July 9th, an extension was proposed by the UN Mediator. While the provisional Government of Israel accepted the extension, the Arab states did not. Once the truce expired, large-scale fighting resumed. On July 15th, the Security Council ordered a cease-fire and implied that it would use the enforcement procedures of Chapter VII of the Charter if the parties did not comply. A new cease-fire went into effect on July 18th. However, sporadic fighting continued.
On September 18th, the UN Mediator, Count Bernadotte, was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Stern Gang. Ralph Bunche was appointed Acting Mediator. On November 16th, the Security Council adopted resolution 62 which stated that an armistice was to be established throughout Palestine. It called upon the parties to seek agreement on the delineation of permanent armistice demarcation lines and the withdrawal of their armed forces. In 1949, Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and the four Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria). Accordingly, on August 11th, the Security Council adopted resolution 73 which relieved the Acting Mediator of any further responsibilities. UNTSO was ordered to supervise the implementation of the General Armistice Agreements.
Since then, UNTSO has performed various tasks, including the monitoring of the cease-fires in the Suez Canal area and the Golan Heights following the Arab-Israel war of June 1967. UNTSO has also provided military observers to UNIFIL in the Israeli-Lebanon sector and UNDOF on the Golan Heights.
Approximately 50 years after it was established, UNTSO continues to operate, an indication of the intractable nature of the conflict in the Middle East.
