Colonial Policy and Administration of Palestine

Question 1

How did Britain get hold of Palestine ?

Answer 1

• it became a British mandate

Question 2

What was the Balfour Declaration

Answer 2

• A letter from Arthur Balfar to Walter Rothschild which expressed sympathy with the Jewish Zionist aspirations which was released to the press and promised British support for a “ national homeland “ for Jews in Palestine

Question 3

What did the British promise to the Jews in the Balfour Declaration ?

Answer 3

• promised British support for a ‘ national homeland ‘ for the Jews in Palestine

Question 4

Who wrote and received the Balfour Declaration ?

Answer 4

• Arthur Balfar ( the foreign secretary ) to Waltar Rothschild, the leader of the British jewish community.

Question 5

What was the motives behind the Balfour Declaration ?

Answer 5

• partly out of sympathy for the Jews
• mainly to secure the support of the Jews for the US support of the war effort

Question 6

What was the impact of the Balfour Declaration ?

Answer 6

• Zionist Commission was set up in Palestine in 1929 to campaign for Jewish rights
• In response the Muslims and Arabs formed the Muslim - Christian Association
• Between 1918 and 1920, there were violent crashes between Arabs and Jews, with deaths on both sides.

Question 7

Why did the British make the McMahon Hussein Agreement ?

Answer 7

• made in an effort to create a third front against the Central Powers, the Allies encouraged the Arab people in the Ottoman Empire to ruse up against their Turkish overlords

Question 8

Why did the Palestinians accept the McMahon Hussein Agreement ?

Answer 8

• the British promised that land previously held by the Turks would be returned to the Arab nationals who lived in that land.

Question 9

Impact of the McMahon Hussein Agreement ?

Answer 9

• seemed to directly clash with the Balfour Declaration, 1917
• the Palestinian Problem rose

Question 10

What was the Palestinian Problem ?

Answer 10

That two distinct schools of thought had developed regarding Palestine
- British had promised Palestine to the Arabs after the war had returned for their wartime support
- That the Balfour Declaration of 1917 had agreed to give British support to the Jews for a homeland in Palestine

Question 11

Impact of the Palestinian Problem ?

Answer 11

• Meant that it would be difficult for the British to please both which would make administration very difficult

Question 12

Why was colonial administration for the British difficult in Palestine ?

Answer 12

• the Palestinian Problem
• huge financial strain after the First World War and its aftermath
• Issues between Arabs and Jews

Question 13

Why was it difficult to coordinate the Jews and Arabs in Palestine ?

Answer 13

• reconciling the growing Jewish community with the established Palestinian Arab community, many of whom resented and feared the newcomers was not easy for the civil government

Question 14

What were the issues between Jews and Arabs in Palestine ?

Answer 14

• Herbert Samuel tried to bring both Arabs and Jews into elected represented bodies, but his efforts were plagued by eruptions of ethnic tensions which prevented cooperation

Question 15

Land issues between the Jews and Arabs ?

Answer 15

• Rich Jewish settlers bought land, with the help of the Jewish National Fund, growing number of Palestinian Arabs were evicted from their farms

Question 16

What was the problem between the government in London and the British authorities in Palestine ?

Answer 16

there was disagreement between the government in Lindon and the authorise in Palestine
- the government I London tended to be pro Jewish
- authorities in Palestine were more sympathetic to the Arab population

Question 17

What jobs did Palestinian Arabs have ?

Answer 17

• were poor farmers who rented land from absentee landowners

Question 17

What was the impact of Hitler becoming Chancellor ?

Answer 17

• Jewish immigration into Palestine accelerated

Question 18

Result of the enquiry into Jewish policy of land acquisition ?

Answer 18

• the enquiry recommended restrictions on jewish land acquisition but pro Jewish feeling in Britain and the US forced the government to back down

Question 19

Why did Britain send more troops to Palestine in 1936 ?

Answer 19

• to deal with Arab insurgency and attacks on Jews

Question 20

How many troops did Britain send to Palestine in 1936 ?

Answer 20

• Britain sent 20,000 troops

Question 21

How did the war leave Britain under pressure in Palestine ?

Answer 21

• the prospect of more Jewish immigrants

Question 22

Why were British reluctant to accept stateless Jewish refugees into Palestine ?

Answer 22

• Whilst President Truman and the weight of American and international opinion favoured Jewish settlement, Britain wanted to retain allies among Arab leaders, because of its need for oil

Question 23

Why did Britain want to retain allies with the Middle East ?

Answer 23

• its need for oil in the area

Question 24

Why did the prospect of more Jewish refugees present difficulty in Palestine ?

Answer 24

• There was outbreaks of Jewish terrorism in Palestine against British troops. Britain forced the prospect of having to police a country in turmoil at a time of financial strain

Question 25

What was the Peel Report ?

Answer 25

• recommended that Palestine should be partitioned into separate Jewish and Arab states but this was opposed by the Arabs

Question 26

When was the Peel Report ?

Answer 26

• 1937

Question 27

What was Britain’s policy in 1937-39 ?

Answer 27

• a policy of repression
• to deal with escalating violence, 100 Arab terrorists were hanged

Question 28

When did British policy in Palestine change ?

Answer 28

• 1939

Question 29

What did Britain’s policy in Palestine change to

Answer 29

• it called for a Palestinian state in which Jews currently living in the country would have the right to “ national homeland “

Question 30

Why did Britain’s policy in Palestine change ?

Answer 30

• due to war being imminent and fears of an Italian attack on Egypt