British Governments , the Palestinians and the Jews:
Anti-semitic Britain
1905 Alien act : The antisemitic British Government under Balfour limited the number of Jews coming to Britain. Jews were fleeing persecution from Eastern Europe. For the next forty years British policymakers ,using the Alien Act , limited the number of Jews coming to Britain even during the Holocaust .
1915-1917 : Perfidious Albion
Britain promised all Arabs an independent Arab state 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 France for the whole Arab area. 2) in 1917 promising the Palestinian homeland to European Jews as their homeland .
1917 Britain’s Balfour declares Palestine the homeland of the Jews
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 who were seeking a safe haven and the Palestinians in their own country whose antecedents had lived there on the land for centuries past.
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British policymakers have continuously to the present day denied the Palestinains their basic political rights (which Briain under Balfour took from them) and civil rights (which Britain under Balfour promised to protect) :
From 1918 Britain occupied Palestine.
In 1919 the First Palestinian National Congress in Jerusalem demanded freedom, independence and self determination , a demand the Palestinians continuously made to British policy makers all through the British occupation of their country.
In 1936-1938 British forces 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 Britain's 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 the terrible events later on.
In Feb 1947 British Policymakers wanted out of Palestine and handed the issue over to be resolved by 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 Britains policymakers told the UN it would not be reponsible for implementing the partition plan.Thus British forces with 75,000 personnel were stood aside and did not even look to protect civilians over which it still ruled.
Britain 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.
More notes to follow about :
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(more to follow)
Propaganda - narratives co-opting Israelis Jews
1997- todate Blair Brown BBC
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