As the British Mandate for Palestine was coming to an end, and following the United Nations General Assembly vote recommending the Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which took place on 29 November 1947, Jewish leaders proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. The declaration of independence was followed by the establishment of a provisional government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The process of absorbing all military organizations into the IDF proved complicated, and several paramilitary groups continued to be active outside the IDF. One of the largest groups, Irgun, planned to ship weapons and fighters to the newly formed state. The plans included a ship renamed "Altalena" (a "nom de plume" of Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky) and a target date for the ship's arrival from Europe was set to mid May 1948. The "Altalena", former landing ship tank USS LST-138, organized by Hillel Kook (a.k.a. Peter Bergson) purchased by Irgun members Gershon Hakim, Abraham Stavsky, and Victor Ben-Nachum, was originally intended to reach Israel on 15 May 1948, loaded with fighters and military equipment.