1.3 British mandate to 1945

League of Nations Mandate (1922)​

• ​Formal Start:​​ Britain officially received the Mandate for Palestine from the League of Nations in 1922, putting the Balfour Declaration into policy. the terms were clear: Britain had to protect the right of Palestinian Arabs, establish a homeland for Jews and prepare the country for independence. ​

• Contradiction Realized:​​ This formalized the contradiction with the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, the Arabs were furious that they had not been granted independence immediately, and they had not been consulted about making their land - Palestine - a Jewish homeland.

Jewish development in Palestine

• Population Data:​

  • by 1922, 84,000 Jews were in Palestine (~11% of the total population)

  • by 1931, the figure increased to 175,000 (~17% of total)

  • from 1933-35, another 135,000 arrived due to Nazi persecution.

• ​Jewish Agencies: the agencies was set up to encourage immigration, help new arrivals to buy land and organise schools. a defence force (the Haganah) was formed to protect mew settlements.

Clashes Between Jews and Palestinians

• ​Root Cause:​​ Tensions escalated due to rising Jewish immigration and land purchases, which displaced Arab peasants and fueled resentment.

• ​1921 Jaffa Riots:​​ Clashes erupted after a Jewish May Day parade(which made the Arabs believe that the Jews were attacking them); 47 Jews and 48 Arabs killed.

• ​1929 Western Wall Riots:​​ Aug. 1929, angry classes occurred over holy sites in Jerusalem, which soon grew into bloody riots and mob violence. 133 Jews and 116 Arabs were killed. Some Jews blamed Britain not to provide enough protection, and one group formed Irgun, a terrorist dedicated to forming a Jewish state by violence if necessary.

The Arab Strike (April–October 1936)

• ​Call for Action:​​ Arab Higher Committee declared a general strike in April 1936, demanding:

  1. End to Jewish immigration.

  2. Prohibition of land sales to Jews.

  3. Establishment of an independent Arab government.

• ​Duration:​​ Lasted six months (April to October 1936).

• ​Methods:​​ Strikes, boycotts of Jewish goods, and refusal to pay taxes.

• ​End of Strike:​​ Called off in October 1936 by neighbouring Arab states following Britain’s request

The Peel Commission (July 1937)

• ​Purpose:​​ British Royal Commission (led by William Peel) sent to investigate the causes of unrest and to propose a solution.

• ​Findings:​​ Declared the Mandate unworkable because Jewish and Arab were irreconcilable (as they are so different regarding culture, religion, and most importantly their plans for Palestine's future).

• ​Recommendation – Partition Plan:​​

  • Proposed dividing Palestine into three zones:

    1. ​Jewish State:​​ in the north, approx. 20% of land.

    2. ​Arab State:​​ Remainder of Palestine in the south

    3. ​British Mandate Zone:​​ in the middle, including Jerusalem, and Jaffa.

• Reactions:​​

  • ​Jews:​​ Accepted the principle of partition (though disappointed by size) as a step toward statehood.

  • ​Arabs:​​ Rejected entirely, believed that giving any land to the Jews was unjust. Almost 30,000 Arabs would have to live in the Jewish state, and the most fertile land and ~90% of the orange groves was in the Jewish side.

• ​Outcome:​​ Partition proposal abandoned by Britain in 1938 due to Arab rejection and lack of practical feasibility.