British Mandate of Palestine

The British Mandate of Palestine was a swathe of territory in the Middle East, formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire, which the League of Nations entrusted to the United Kingdom to administer in the aftermath of World War I as a Mandate Territory.

Great Uprising

Main article: Great Uprising

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1937, the Peel Commission proposed a partition between Jewish and Arab areas that was rejected by both the Arabs and the Zionist Congress.

Related Topics:
1937 - Peel Commission - Zionist Congress

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1936-1939 the mandate experienced an upsurge in militant Arab nationalism that became known as the Great Uprising and, "The Arab Revolt." The revolt was triggered by increased Jewish immigration, primarily Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany as well as rising antisemitism in Eastern Europe. The revolt was led or coopted by the Grand Mufti, Haj Amin Al-Husseini and his Husseini family, and is strongly suspected to have been financed by the Fascist government of Italy. The Arabs felt they were being marginalized in their own country, but in addition to non-violent strikes, they resorted to terrorism, leaving hundreds of Jews dead. Husseini's men killed more Arabs than Jews, using the revolt as an excuse to settle accounts with rival clans. The Jewish organization Etzel replied with its own terrorist campaign, with marketplace bombings and other violent acts that also killed hundreds. Eventually, the uprising was put down by the British using draconian measures. After he was implicated in killing the British district commissioner for the Galilee, Haj Amin El Husseini fled to Iraq where he instigated a pro-axis coup.

Related Topics:
1936 - 1939 - Haj Amin Al-Husseini - Terrorism - Etzel

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The British placed restrictions on Jewish land purchases in the remaining land, directly contradicting the provision of the Mandate which said "the Administration of Palestine... shall encourage, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency... close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not acquired for public purposes." A similar proposal to limit immigration in 1931 had been termed a violation of the mandate by the League of Nations, but by 1939 the League of Nations was defunct. According to the Israeli side, the British had by 1949 allotted over 8500 acres (34 km²) to Arabs, and about 4000 acres (16 km²) to Jews.

Related Topics:
British - Jewish Agency - 1949

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~