Britain betrays | Britain betrays the Palestinians and the Jews |
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1905 Anti-semitic Britain
1905 Alien act : The antisemitic British Government under Balfour limited the number of Jews coming to
Britain promised all Arabs independence in 1915 ahead of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WW1.
It then betrayed that promise by 1) in 1916 agreeing colonisation plans with
Churchill wrote in 1919 "There are Jews whom we are pledged to introduce into Palestine and who take it for granted that the local population will be cleared out to suit their convenience. Curchill was speaking about committed Zionists. Most Jews fleeing persecution were seeking safety and a new life . They were not seeking to expel the Palestinians . Palestine was the only refuge left open to them. This is the origin of a long lasting conflict in Palestine and was entirely predictable. It set two peoples in conflict with one another over the same land and one homeland. Britain betrayed both the Jews fleeing persecution seeking a safe haven and the Palestinians in their own country. What followed: From 1918 Britain occupied Palestine. In 1919 the First Palestinian National Congress in Jerusalem demanded independence and self determination , a demand the Palestinians made to the British all through the British occupation of their country. In 1936-1938 Britain crushed a Palestinian revolt with 'brutal and ruthless attacks on the Palestinian countryside' (Ilan Pappe). During this period Zionist forces trained with the British Army and learned to use their methods for attacking and 'punishing' entire villages .
In 1937 Britains Peel Commission recommended partition of Palestine with 33% of the country to be a Jewish state. Part of the Palestinian population would be transferred (forcibly removed) from this state. Though never adopted this set the scene for later. In Feb 1947 Britain handed over to the UN saying it would leave Palestine in 1948.In Nov 1947 The UN adopted Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine. The Jewish state would be 55% of the area. It would include 400 Palestinian villages. Within the Jewish state Palestinians would be 40% of the population. The Zionist leadership accepted the proposal but Ben-Gurion its leader said on Dec 3rd 1947 'only a state of 80% Jews is a viable and stable state' . Soon afterwards in Jan 1948 'Mass expulsion by the Jews of the indigenous Palestinian Arabs' began ( Ilan Pappe). Between Dec 1947- May 15th 1948 British forces, with 75,000 personnel stood aside and ignominously failed to prevent Zionist forces expelling Palestinian populations. Before Britain had left Zionist forces had driven out 250,000 Palestinians and emptied of their Palestinian populations 200 villages and the towns of Haifa, Jaffa and Western Jerusalem. 1948 -1949 The Nakba including before and after the British left when in total "half of the indigenous people living in Palestine were driven out , half their villages and towns were destroyed and only very few among them ever managed to return' Pappe (for more see Separation and Loss link above) )
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