Rejection by Arab leaders: The partition plan, proposed by the United Nations in 1947, envisaged the division of Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency, representing the Jewish community in Palestine, but was rejected by most Arab leaders, including the Arab Higher Committee and the Arab League. They saw the plan as unfair and unacceptable, as it gave a significant portion of Palestinian land to the Jewish state while leaving a smaller, non-contiguous territory for the Arab state.
Outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Following the rejection of the partition plan, violence escalated in Palestine between Jewish and Arab militias. In May 1948, the British Mandate over Palestine ended, and the State of Israel declared independence. This led to the outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, with Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq invading the newly-formed state of Israel. The war ended with an armistice agreement in 1949, but it resulted in significant territorial changes and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Failure to implement the partition plan: The fighting during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War made it impossible to implement the partition plan as originally envisioned. Israel gained control over more territory than allocated to it under the plan, while the West Bank was occupied by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt. As a result, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state envisioned by the partition plan did not materialize.
Continued conflict and occupation: In the decades following the 1948 war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continued, with Israel maintaining control over the occupied territories and expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This occupation, along with ongoing violence and the failure to reach a comprehensive peace agreement, further complicated the prospects for implementing the partition plan.
In summary, the failure of the partition plan can be attributed to the rejection by Arab leaders and the subsequent 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which made the full implementation of the plan impractical. The ongoing conflict and occupation have further hindered any attempts to revive the partition plan as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.