Palestinian Revolution Dbq

Between 1936 and1939 there was a revolt by Palestinian Arabs in Palestine that was targeted mainly against the British but also the Jews. During this period each side had various aims. To address the rising discontent the British proposed a partition of Palestine, but partition would not avoid the emerging conflict.

There were three main players in the revolt: the British, the Palestinians and the Jews. The British, as rulers of the mandate, would have wanted to establish their authority and power. However, due to the emerging possibility of conflict in Europe, Britain was also looking to improve relations with the Arabs in order to protect their interests and position in the Middle East. This can be discerned in the 1939 White Paper, which

The revolt caused the Jews to develop greater self sufficiency in the region. For example, when the British destroyed the Port of Jaffa, the Zionists were able to obtain permission to build their own port, increasing their influence and limiting the Palestinians’. M.J. Cohen notes the uncompromising nature of the Zionists to Palestinians demands shows their commitment to their goal. His analysis of the political interactions between the two groups reveals that negotiations were unsuccessful because the leaders on both sides were unwilling to make sacrifices, particularly in regards to continued Jewish immigration and the number of Jews in Palestine. This shows that the main political bodies of both groups had greatly opposing views to the point that compromise was unable to be made between

Subsequent events reveal that if the plan came into fruition, conflict would not be averted. At the time prominent Palestinians, most importantly the Mufti, had an extremist version of Palestinian nationalism that would not allow for the existence of a Jewish state in Palestine. Others feared that a Jewish state was the first step towards the Jews taking over Palestine. Thus if a Jewish state had resulted from the 1937 partition, in all likelihood it would have been immediately attacked. In the aftermath of the 1948 Israeli declaration of independence, the Arabs immediately attacked. The same factors in play in 1937 were the same as those that in 1947-1948 led to conflict. The Plan also called for the transfer of 200,000 Arabs out of the land designated for the Jewish state. This would have created a further problem. It was acknowledged that force would be needed to remove the Palestinians and this would only stir up further resentment amongst the Palestinians. Wider world history has also revealed that when partition occurs, extreme violence and displacement follows, which is greater than if partition had not occurred. If the Palestinians had been merged into Trans-Jordan, it is likely that they would have had continued resentment towards the Jewish state, particularly in light of forced removal of Palestinians. Ethnic tensions would not have been resolved, as evidence from past