Palestine: A Modern History (ص 105)

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Palestine: A Modern History (ص 105)

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220 The Great Palestine Revolt: 1936-1939
Arab traffic and travel were imposed’ and a strike was observed in
Jerusalem «as a protest against the establishment of a Police post’in the
Haram in January 1939. Atab protests against British troop brutality
and futhlessness’ avounded!*? and the Palestinian propaganda offites in
Damascus and London (The Arab Centre) were busily ‘efigaged in
distributing pamphlets and photographs in this connectioni!™
During February 1939, however, London became the centre of
attraction as people followed the news of the-Conference with interest
and-hope.
As the Arabs refused-to'tonfe? with tle Jews, Chamberlain opened
negotiations with the Arab Delegations in the morning of 7 February
1939, and with the Jewist Delegations‘in the aftefnoon of the same
day. On 9 February Jamal.Husseini put forward the Arab ‘demands
which called for the recognition-of'the Arab right to independence, the
abandonment of the JNH,“the immediate cessation of Jewish immigra-
tion and Jand sales, the abrogation‘of the Mandate and‘its replacerhent
by 4 treaty of alliance with an independent Arab Palestine.
Weizmann on thet other hand :called-‘for the maintenance of the
status quo, i.e: the continued implementation ‘of the Mandate and the
Balfour Declaration and thet refusal.of the Yishuv and the Zionists to
accept-a minority status in Palestine. «
Spurred by a feeling that Britain was about td jettison the JNH
policy “largely becatisevof ,the strategic necessity to Great ‘Britain of
Arab friendship and:alliances in the Near East’"*® the Zionists directed
a great deal of argument ‘to showing the usefulness to Great Britain ofa
loyal, industrious and progressive ally, narnely the Zionists, in this part
of thé world’. Thé Zionists also began to look more and more
towards the United States, and the -Arats began ‘to-regard America as
their enemy’! # *
In the coutse of" the -discussions the Government put forward
proposals embodying the termination of the Mandate cand the ‘eon-
vening of a Round Table conference in the autumn avhich would lay
down: the constitution of an ihdependeht Palestine ‘under British
protection in which the Jewish minority would be safeguarded: by
guarantees.
The Arabs demanded. the -imshediate implementation of «he
proposals, as they were: apprehensive that the- proposed delay: would
give the Jews an opportunity: to ‘pressure the Government into abandon-
ing a scheme«acceptable to the Arabs yet again. Not unexpectedly, the
Jews angrily rejétted the proposal and the Government withdrew the
proposal on the ground*that it had: been ‘misunderstood’.
The Great Palestine Revolt: 1936-3939 = #
Toward the end of February, .Cairo,s‘al-Ahram published a repart
that as a résult of the London iConference, Palestine would become
independent ,and that a treaty would be concluded with Great Britain
on the lines of the-Anglo-traq, Tréaty,. Spontaneous demonstrations of
jubilation took ‘place; Chamberlain’ and Hajj Amin,were cheered; in
some villages bonfires were lit and inthe Nazareth areahe rebel leaders
ordered ‘a temporary cessation @f,.terrorism’. The Arab fellah saw in
Palestinian independence a guaranteeagainst, eviction and‘subservience
tothe Jews. ‘What the fellah wants’, wrote MacMichael, ‘is a severe
restriction of immigration and land sales‘and some safeguard to prevent
the Jews from ever securing a political or economic mastery ‘over
him’,#3* ie i x
rArab election was matched :by: violent Jewisly opposition: ‘Om the
morning -of 27 February a'seriesof,homb outrages occurred almost
simultancously, throughout théacduntry.-38 ‘Arabs avere killed or fatally
wounded and'44 were injured’.'®? ‘The:Zionist: ‘moderates’ became. as
militant and:as uncompromising as the Revisionist’ extremists. te
As the Conference went omit betame clear.that mo agreement: woflld
be reached as the Arabs wanted independence while they were-in the
majority (two-thirds of the population) and tthe Jews opposed
Palestinian independence as long as they were in the minority.
Attempts*to ‘save? the Conferericesbywattempts to obtain concessions
and compromises from the Muftiteqded ir failure. re
4
The 1939 White Paper F .
The: failure to arrived at:an agreed solttion -paved the way for ‘the
British to.announce their own solution, In their Palestine Statemént of
Policy of 1939 the British:Government declared ‘unequivocally’ that it
was not part of their policy that Palestine should become a Jewish
State. Similarly, HM Government’ ‘cannot agree’ that: the MacMahon
correspondence-forms ‘a just basis for:th¢ claint that Palestine-strould be
converted into an Arab State’. What HMG desired. to see established
‘ultimately’ was an independent Palestine state ‘in which the two
peoples in Palestine, vArabs.and Jews, share authority in government:in
sucht a way that.the essential interests-of each are secured: . .The object
of HMGwis thé establishment within ‘ten years-of ansindependent
Palestine State in such treaty relations with U.K. as ‘will provide
satisfaction for all commercial and strategic interests of both countties’.
The British Government further declared that the'transitional period of
mandatory rule ‘would prdmote- gradual self-government. Jewish
immigration during the next five years was fixed'at 75,000 after which

تاريخ

1978

المنشئ

Abdul-Wahhab Kayyali

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