Why did Britain ask the United Nations to address the future of Palestine in 1947?

By 1947, Great Britain sought to refer the future of Palestine to the United Nations primarily because it was exhausted by the aftermath of World War II and lacked the political will and financial resources to maintain its mandate.12

The British administration faced an intractable impasse between the conflicting national aspirations of the Jewish and Arab communities, which had resulted in increasing violence and instability. Following the failure of a diplomatic conference in London in February 1947 to resolve these tensions, Britain—already in the process of withdrawing from India—sought to decrease its costly military presence in the region. By involving the UN, Britain aimed to relinquish its responsibility for a situation that had become increasingly difficult to govern.132