Year 11 Modern History: Case Study – The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

British Outbreaks of violence between Arabs

and Jews had been frequent since the
response to beginning of the mandate period. In
1920, Arabs attacked Jewish settlements
increasing in the north of Palestine, causing four of
these settlements to be abandoned. This
tensions in resulted in the establishment, in March
1921, of the Haganah, or Jewish Defence
the lead-up Force, a secret organisation operating
without the approval of the British,
to the dedicated to maintaining the security of
the settlements. As the violence mounted,
Second the British would eventually fail to
subdue the Arab resistance. In April
World War 1921, mob violence broke out in Jerusalem when Arabs attacked the Jewish
quarter of the Old City. In four days of bloodshed, nine people were killed
and 244 wounded. This was followed in May by further riots in Jaffa, leading to the deaths of almost a
hundred Arabs and Jews. The authorities reacted by temporarily suspending Jewish immigration, but
following protests from Jews abroad, the suspension was lifted. In 1921, the British also appointed Haj
Amin al-Husseini as Mufti (chief judge) of Jerusalem. Al-Husseini had been prominently involved in the
anti-Jewish riots of the previous months. If the British hoped to curb his anti-Jewish actions by appointing
him to responsible office, they miscalculated.

The Arab riots, 1929

In the early months of 1929, Jewish religious observances at the
Wailing Wall in Jerusalem became a focus for Arab protests. Tensions
grew over the following months, until matters came to a head in
August 1929. Arab mobs attacked Jews in Jerusalem and other
settlements, killing 60 Jews in Hebron and driving the ancient Jewish
community out of the city. By the time British troops were able to
bring the riots under control, 116 Arabs had been killed, mostly by the
British police, and 133 Jews had died at the hands of the Arabs.One
result of the 1929 riots was the increasing division between Zionists
who still sought compromise with the Arabs, and those who believed
that military confrontation was the only option. In 1931, the militant
ultra-nationalist Zionist group Irgun was founded as a result of
growing dissatisfaction among members of the Haganah, who felt
that their interests were not being defended. Many observers also see
the riots of 1929 as marking the emergence of a particular Palestinian
nationalism, which expressed itself from April 1936 through the
workings of the Arab Higher Committee under the leadership of the
Mufti, which worked to mobilise all sections of the Arab community
to halt Jewish migration and land purchase.

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 Year 11 Modern History: Case Study – The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Arab strikes and protests, 1930s

In 1936, the Arab leadership, under the direction of the Mufti, organised a general strike where Arabs
refused to pay taxes and businesses were closed. The strike lasted six months, during which time more than
300 people were killed, mostly Arabs. This was followed by the Arab Revolt of 1937–39, which involved
attacks on Jewish settlements and individuals. In response, the Jews established more than 50 so-called
‘tower and stockade’settlements in strategic areas (incorporating guard towers surrounded by fencing).

The region was engulfed in violence until the beginning of the Second World War. The Arab Revolt was
eventually put down by British troops after the death of more than 500 Jews and 3000 Arabs, and the arrest
or imprisonment of the major Arab leaders. Haj Amin fled to Damascus and later made his way to
Germany, where he sought support for his antisemitism from Hitler

S O U R C E 16
Wingate reached down and took some sand and grit from the ground. He thrust it into the mouth of the
first Arab and pushed it down his throat until he choked and puked. ‘Now’, he said, ‘Where have you
hidden the arms?’ Still they shook their heads. Wingate turned to one of the Jews and, pointing to the
coughing and spluttering Arab, said ‘Shoot this man.’ The Jew looked at him questioningly and hesitated.
Wingate said in a tense voice: ‘Did you hear? Shoot him.’ The Jew shot the Arab.
An account of an interrogation by Orde Wingate, a British officer, of Arab villagers, by L. Mosley, in
S.J. Houston, The Arab–Israeli Conflict, p. 24

SOURCE 17
I was arrested along with scores of others from my village. They took us in lorries to one of the
concentration camps ... in a place called Akrit. There we had to pass between two lines of soldiers who beat
us as we entered the camp. They used their guns as sticks ... Then we had to crawl through barbed wire
while they hit us all the time. We were herded into a compound. Day after day we sat in the open under the
sun, and in the night we had to endure the extreme cold. We had no blankets.
A Palestinian’s account of his treatment by the British, in Jonathan Dimbleby, The Palestinians, 1980, p. 76

SOURCE 18
For the Jews it was galling to see what little effect the British protection could have. Jews were killed while
travelling in buses, or even sitting in their homes. Whole Jewish communities f led, among them the 94
Jews ... whose families had lived in the predominantly Bedouin town of Beisan since the beginning of the
century ... and all but one Jewish family of the ten families who had lived in the Arab village of Peki’in,
where, according to tradition, their ancestors had lived since Roman times.
Martin Gilbert, Israel: A History, 1998, p. 80

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 Year 11 Modern History: Case Study – The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Questions:
1. From information in Sources 16 and 17, describe the different methods used by the British to subdue
the Arab resistance to the mandate authority.
2. How would you describe the actions of Orde Wingate in Source 16? Does a reading of Source 18 help
to make his actions more understandable or acceptable? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think Martin Gilbert uses the example of the families from Peki’in in Source 18?
4. According to the sources, how effective were the British policies in:
a. reassuring the members of the Jewish community that they would be protected?
b. persuading the Arabs to abandon violence?