Build Up of Tension in Palestine, 1917-46 » Clashes in Palestine and the Peel Commission

Rising tension in the 1920s

Britain ruled Palestine under a Mandate, and Jewish immigration was growing. Many Palestinian Arabs, the Arab people who lived in Palestine, feared losing their land and their future. Jewish settlers feared for their safety and wanted to keep building a national home. Violence broke out.

Key terms:

• Arab Revolt: the Palestinian Arab uprising against British rule and Jewish immigration, 1936-39.
• General strike: workers across a country or region stopping work together as a protest.
• Royal Commission: a group of experts appointed by the government to investigate a problem and make recommendations.
• Partition: dividing a territory into separate parts.
• White Paper: an official government statement of policy.

• 1920 and 1921: riots in Jerusalem in April 1920 and Jaffa in May 1921. Arabs attacked Jewish people and Jewish communities, and people on both sides died.
• 1929: the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, is the holiest place where Jews can pray. It stands next to the Temple Mount, which Muslims call al-Haram al-Sharif and hold holy as well. In August 1929 a dispute over who had rights there led to riots. More than 130 Jews and over 110 Arabs died. In Hebron more than 60 Jews were killed, and most of the Arabs who died were killed by British police and troops.

These clashes showed that the two peoples were deeply divided, and that Britain, caught between its promises, could not easily keep order.

The Arab Revolt, 1936-39

The biggest clash came in the 1930s, when Jewish immigration surged (see the lesson on the Balfour Declaration and Jewish Immigration). In April 1936 violence broke out, and Arab leaders formed the Arab Higher Committee under Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem. It called a general strike that lasted about six months.

Britain crushed the revolt harshly. It banned the Arab Higher Committee, arrested or exiled many leaders (the Mufti fled in 1937), and used troops, executions and the demolition of houses. Thousands of Arabs and hundreds of Jews died, along with some British. The Jewish defence force, the Haganah, helped the British. The revolt ended by 1939, but the Palestinian Arab leadership had been badly weakened.

The Peel Commission, 1937

In 1936 Britain sent a Royal Commission, led by Lord Peel, to find out why the violence had happened. Its report in July 1937 said the Mandate could not work because the two peoples wanted different things and could not live together.

• Arab leaders: rejected it. They did not accept losing any land to a Jewish state, or having people moved. The revolt flared up again after the report.
• Zionists: divided. Many wanted a larger state, but others, including David Ben-Gurion, were ready to negotiate on the basis of a smaller state.
• Emir Abdullah of Transjordan: supported it, as his territory would grow.

In 1938 another British commission, the Woodhead Commission, decided partition would be impractical, and the idea was dropped for now.

The 1939 White Paper

By 1939 war with Germany looked likely. Britain badly needed Arab and Muslim goodwill, and could not afford a revolt in Palestine. Talks between British, Arab and Jewish leaders in London failed, so in May 1939 Britain published a White Paper that changed its policy:

• Jewish immigration limited to 75,000 over five years, after which Arab agreement would be needed.
• Strict limits on Jews buying land.
• An independent Palestine within ten years, with the Arab majority in control.

Zionists were furious, because the limits came as Jews in Europe were trying to flee persecution. Arab leaders also rejected it, as independence was not guaranteed. Britain had upset both sides. The next lesson, Arab and Jewish Terrorism and the King David Hotel, looks at the armed groups.

Change and continuity

Between 1917 and 1939 Britain moved from backing a Jewish national home to restricting it. What stayed the same was the central dispute over who should control the land, and the fact that an outside power was struggling to settle it. Violence became more organised and deadly, from riots in the 1920s to a revolt in the 1930s.

Exam-style question

Explain TWO causes of the Arab Revolt of 1936-39. [8 marks]

Remember: one cause on its own cannot score more than half marks, so write two paragraphs, one per cause.