United Nations General AssemblyIntergovernmental organization organUnited Nations General Assembly Hall at the UN Headquarters in New York City in 2006AbbreviationUNGAGAAGNUAGFormation1945; 81 years ago (1945)TypePrincipal organLegal statusActiveHeadquartersNew York City, U.S.PresidentKhalilur RahmanParent organizationUnited NationsWebsiteun.org/ga African Group (54) Asia and the Pacific Group (54) Eastern European Group (23) Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) (33) Western European and Others Group (WEOG) (29)The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ.Palestinian refugeesIn 1949, UNRWA formally defined the term "Palestine refugee" to refer to any Palestinian citizen or the descendant of any male Palestinian citizen who—if their regular place of residence was located within Mandatory Palestine between 1 June 1946 and 15 May 1948—was found to have "lost both home and means of livelihood" during the 1948 Palestine war.
1948 Palestine warFirst Israeli–Arab warBelligerentsYishuv(before 14 May 1948)Israel(after 14 May 1948)Before 26 May 1948:HaganahPalmachHishHIMIrgunLehiDruze militantsAllied Bedouin tribesAfter 26 May 1948:Israel Defense ForcesSword BattalionForeign volunteers:MahalArab Higher Committee(before 15 May 1948)Arab League(after 15 May 1948)Arab League:EgyptAll-Palestine Protectorate (after 22 September 1948)TransjordanSyriaIraqLebanonSaudi Arabia YemenIrregulars:Al-NajjadaHoly War ArmyArab Liberation ArmyMuslim BrotherhoodForeign volunteers: United KingdomMandatory Palestine (before 15 May 1948)Commanders and leadersDavid Ben-GurionChaim WeizmannYigael YadinYaakov DoriDavid ShaltielMoshe DayanYisrael GaliliYigal AllonYitzhak RabinMoshe CarmelAharon RemezMickey Marcus †Gershon ZakShlomo ShamirAmin al-HusseiniAbdul Qadir al-Husayni †Hasan Salama †Azzam PashaFawzi al-QawuqjiAbdullah IJohn Bagot GlubbHabis MajaliFarouk IAhmed Ali al-MwawiMohamed NaguibGordon MacMillanStrengthIsrael: c. 10,000 initially, rising to 115,000 by March 1949Arabs:c. 2,000 initially, rising to 70,000 Egypt: 10,000 initially; later 20,000Iraq: 3,000 initially; later 15,000–18,000Syria: 2,500–5,000Transjordan: 8,000–12,000Lebanon: 1,000Saudi Arabia: 800–1,200Arab Liberation Army: 3,500–6,000British Security Forces: 70,000Casualties and lossesUSSOC historian Stanley Sandler estimates 6,373 killed (about 4,000 troops and 2,373 civilians) Benny Morris writes that 5,700– 5,800 were killed.
IsraelIsrael, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaches the Red Sea, and to the east is Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea.
United Nations SystemThe United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal bodies (the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Secretariat), and the specialized agencies and related organizations. The UN System includes subsidiary bodies such as the separately administered funds and programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary entities.
1948 Palestinian expulsion and flightDuring the 1948 Palestine war, more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs – about half of Mandatory Palestine's predominantly Arab population – were expelled or fled from their homes. Expulsions and attacks against Palestinians were carried out by the Zionist paramilitaries Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi, which merged to become the Israel Defense Forces after the establishment of Israel part way through the war.
JordanCountry in West AsiaJordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and both Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border within the Jordan Rift Valley.
SyriaSyria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north and northwest, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It is a republic under a provisional government and comprises 14 governorates. Damascus is Syria's capital and largest city.
Gaza StripAutonomous territory in the Middle EastThe Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank) that make up the State of Palestine in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest, Israel on the east and north, and the to the west. Its capital and largest city is Gaza City.
LebanonLebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi).
NakbaEthnic cleansing of PalestiniansThe Nakba (Arabic: النَّكْبَة, romanized: an-Nakba, lit. 'the catastrophe') is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs by Zionists through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their society and the suppression of their culture, identity, political rights, and national aspirations.Human development (economics)The concept of human development expands upon the notion of economic development to include social, political and even ethical dimensions.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.