On 2 April 1947, in response to the escalating conflict and complexity of the Palestinian issue, the United Kingdom requested that the United Nations General Assembly handle the question of Palestine. The General Assembly established the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) to examine and report on the situation.

During UNSCOP's deliberations, the non-Zionist Orthodox Jewish party, Agudat Israel, recommended the establishment of a Jewish state under certain religious conditions. They negotiated a status quo agreement with David Ben-Gurion, which included exemptions from military service for yeshiva students and Orthodox women, observance of the Sabbath as the national weekend, provision of kosher food in government institutions, and permission for Orthodox Jews to maintain a separate education system.UNSCOP's majority report proposed the creation of an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and an internationally administered City of Jerusalem.^[174] This recommendation was adopted with modifications by the General Assembly in Resolution 181 (II) on 29 November 1947, which also called for substantial Jewish immigration by 1 February 1948.^[175]

Despite the UN's resolution, neither Britain nor the UN Security Council took steps to implement it. The British government, concerned about damaging relations with Arab nations, restricted UN access to Palestine and continued to detain Jews attempting to enter the territory. This policy persisted until the end of the British Mandate, with the British withdrawal completed in May 1948. However, Britain continued to detain Jewish immigrants of "fighting age" and their families in Cyprus until March 1949.^[176]