Partition of Palestine

Types of partitions

1. Cold war

   1. Korea

   2. Vietnam

2. Ethnic

   1. Palestine

   2. India

Factors in the gradual collapse of the British empire

• Previous devolutions (e.g., Canada)

• Exhaustion of wars

• Japanese empire and pan-Asianism

  • Defeat of “white” powers

• Failure of decolonization → partition

Theodor Herzl

• late 19th C

• Austro-Hungarian

• Founded Zionism & orgs.

• Idea: no central geographic idea for Jews

• Settled on Palestine (in Ottoman)

• Nationalist over Colonial ideas

Jewish immigration to Palestine

Increase over 1920-1946

Mostly from Europe

Also major Arab population growth simultaneously

Sykes Picot Agreement

• 1916, WW1

• Secret treaty between UK & France, with assent from Russia & Italy

• Would divide the Ottoman Empire

Belfour Declaration

• 1917

• Lobbied British for national Jewish home in Palestine

• No infringements on rights of inhabitants

• Deliberately vague

  • National home not state

The Mandate System

• League of nations forms and allows certain mandates

• Syria & Lebanon - French

• Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan - British

• Was always supposed to be temporary

  • Not settler colonies like Canada

How did the British administer in mandated areas?

• through elites

• preferred to deal with elites in Transjordan over Palestine

• Divide & rule

Jewish immigration and land purchases

• Absentee landlords selling land to Jewish settlers/Zionists

• Class problems: tenets being replaced (local Palestinian farmers)

• Rise of both Israeli and Palestinian nationalist movements

  • riots and revolts

Zionist strategies

• Immigrate and settle

• began to form idea of a state

• After holocaust, survival logic

Israeli proto-state

• Military: Yishuv & Haganah (dissolved into IDF)

• Rejects independent Palestinian state

• Arab Question: what to do with Arab population in a Jewish state?

Chaim Weitzmann

1st Israeli PM

Ze’ev Jabotinsky

Revisionist Zionism

• Expanding territory

• Removing Arabs

Amin Al-Hisseini

• Palestinian nationalist

• Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

  • title given by British

• Some power over Palestine

Raghib al-Nashashibi

• Moderate

• Open to administering Palestine into Jordan

• Sympathetic with some aspects of partition

Causes & outbreak of Arab Revolts

• 1936-1939 (“War of Palestinian Liberation”)

• Causes: Frustrations, uneven/aggressive British handling, land loss

• Outbreak: Starts against British

Phases of Arab Revolts

• First phase: General strikes

• Second phase: Peasant war & harsh repression

Consequences of Arab Revolts

• 20 000 Arab casualties

• 700 Jewish casualties

• Fragmentation/destruction of Palestinian movement

• White paper

Peel commission

• 1936

• “Two-state solution”

• Partition by population and transfer

• Zionists: Amicable to partition

• Arab: Reject

  • Why? Indigenous and leadership repressed

White paper

• 1939

• Policy until end of mandate (1945)

• within 10 years, Jewish national home within independent Palestine

  • not a state

  • to be governed jointly

• Rejected peel commission

• Limit immigration, land transfers

• Why? Britain wants good relations w/ Saudis & Egypt (Suez)

Responses to the white paper

• Amin al-Husyani: Rejects (prof: mistake)

• Zionists: Reject, launch attacks against British rule

WW2 dynamics for Zionists and Palestinians

• Destruction of Jews in Europe

• British limit immigration

• Al-Husyani alligns with fascist powers (Italy, Hitler to go against Brits)

• Zionists alliance with Britian

  • Serve in their military (military experience and stronger alliance)

US perspective (pre-partition)

• presses Britain to let refugees into Palestine

• Sympathetic to Jews

• Raises money to send to Zionist troops

USSR perspective (pre-partition)

• Sympathetic to Jews (politically)

• See Arab states as too aligned with Brits

• See Zionism as bourgeoise, but power politics more important

Palestine Partition Plan

• 1947

• British preference: Jewish state & Palestine absorbed into Jordan

• Not fully accepted by anyone

• Messy territories & borders

  • 60% Jewish, 40% Arab

  • Even though mainly Arab population

Consequence of the partition plan

Civil war breaks out

• Mobilization for war by Haganah

• Arabs split between different factions (Arab Liberation Army) sent from nations outside

Palestine Civil War

• Attacks on Jewish bus and general strikes

  • Revenge attack on revenge attack etc etc

• Village massacres (both)

• ~1000 death toll by 1948

British authorities during Palestinian Civil War

• Doing nothing

• Want to get out and protect themselves/their areas

Siege of Jerusalem

• Early Palestinian tactic

• Jerusalem had few roads, isolated,

• 1948 Plan D - Jewish wanted to secure roads

• Palestinian forces almost destroyed

• Mass exodus of Palestinians

  • Flee to other Arab states

1948 war: origins

• US: propose trusteeship

• Britain: seeks Transjordan merger

• Arab states: privately petition Britain to hold off another year

• May 14: Israel declares independence

Key themes of 1948 war

• Israel ongoing state building + mobilization

• Israel more military experience

• Evolving war aims of Israel

• Arab states had unclear objectives b/w factions

Phase 1: Arab offensive

• Some gains

  • territory for Egypt & Jordan

• 4 week truce

Phase 2

Israel counter offensive

Phase 3

• Israel victories

• separate armistices

• Egypt: Gaza strip

• Jordan: West bank, East Jerusalem

David Ben-Gurion

1st president of Israel

Result of 1948 ear

• Partition of Palestine b/w Israel, Egypt, Jordan

• Huge increase in Israel borders

• Palestinian refugees flee to neighbouring states

• Israel wins

Why did Israel win the 1948 war?

• Superior political strategy

• Divisions + failures of Palestinian leadership

• Lack of commitment from Arab states

• Growth of arms/international support for Israel (debated)

Israel/Palestine Civil war massacres

• 10-70 (both sides)

• Israel: Biological warfare (poisoning Arab wells)

Deir Yassin Massacure

• by zionists

• split in Israeli command

• emptying of homes, use of guns/grenades, killings, rape, mutilations

• Haganah: slightly involved, officially apologize, mainly far right

The Nakba

• Ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

• 750 000 displaced

• 400-500 Arab villages depopulated

Key themes in the partition of Palestine

1. Decay of British empire

2. Founding of Israel

3. Problem of Israeli borders

4. Destruction of Palestinian statehood

5. Indefinite refugee issue