Short answers, pulled from the story.
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, also known as Resolution 181, proposed dividing British Mandate territory into an Arab state and a Jewish state linked by economic union. The General Assembly adopted this resolution on the 29th of November 1947 after receiving recommendations from the Special Committee on Palestine in September.
Key figures included British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin who announced the termination of the mandate, US President Harry S. Truman who lobbied for partition, and Zionist leaders Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion who supported the plan. Palestinian Arab leadership rejected the proposal while Azzam Pasha led Arab League opposition to the resolution.
Sub-Committee 2 criticized original population figures and found that Bedouin populations were greatly understated with approximately 127,000 people counted in 1947. Boundary changes placed 54 Arab villages on the opposite side of the border from their farmland despite adding areas like Jaffa to the Arab State.
Pressure tactics included threats of aid cuts against Liberia, recalls of representatives from the Philippines, and implied threats regarding American reconstruction aid to France. A telegram signed by 26 US Senators sought support from wavering countries while Iraq reportedly offered millions to bribe delegates according to some reports.
Arab leaders and governments immediately rejected the partition resolution and walked out of the assembly claiming the vote occurred under great pressure and duress. Outbreaks of violence known as the 1947, 48 Civil War began between Palestinian Jews and Arabs before Britain disengaged its forces on the 14th of May 1948.