On 17th September, 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte, a United Nations Mediator for Palestine, was murdered in Jerusalem by a Zionist militant organization.

Count Bernadotte's presence in Palestine followed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and the subsequent unilateral Israeli Declaration of Independence.

In this capacity, he succeeded in achieving an initial truce during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and laid the groundwork for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.