The British took control of Palestine from the Turks in 1917, and
stayed until 1948. According to Segev, they derived no economic or
strategic benefit from it, and there were early signs that they
were getting themselves into an insoluble political problem. Both
Arab and Jews wished for independence and assumed they would win it
under British sponsorship; however, the two competing national
movements advanced steadily towards confrontation, and outbreaks of
violence were regular features of British rule. In this balanced
account of the Mandate period, Segev, a leading Israeli historian,
has used much previously untapped archival material, and in 519
pages of meticulously researched text (there are also detailed
source notes), he has the space to convey richly varied detail. He
quotes from the diaries of such diverse individuals as Count
Ballobar, the influential Spanish consul of Jerusalem in World War
One; the noted Palestinian educator and writer Khalil al-Sakaini;
Chaim Weizman, the leader of the Zionist movement; and many British
High Commissioners and officers, high-ranking and low. Part One is
entitled 'Illusion' - the British illusion that it was possible to
establish a 'national home' for the Jews without hurting the Arabs.
'From the start,' writes Segev, 'war between the two was
inevitable.' There were riots in 1920, with many more to follow,
rivalries and disagreements between the powerful Husseinis and
Hashashibis, Ben-Gurion and Jabotinsky, High Commissioners and the
Colonel Office. The closest comparison that was often made to the
insoluble problem was Ireland. Part Two, 'Terror', details the
escalation of atrocities and riots as the British authorities tried
to limit Jewish immigration, and to react appropriately to
increased Arab terrorism. Counter-terrorism became a strong force.
One British minister wrote, 'You can't have a secure base on top of
a wasps' nest'. In 1947 the Mandate was handed over to the UN.
Segev clarifies the complex origins and developments of the two
entrenched and passionate nationalisms, and the clarity is deeply
depressing. The war for Palestine began even before its partition
into two independent states. (Kirkus UK)
Great Britain ruled Palestine from 1917 to 1948. The British presence replaced 500 years of Turkish control and led to the State of Israel, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998. The British brought Palestine into the twentieth century. When they arrived the country lay in a Levantine nirvana; by the time they left it had become the arena for one of the century's major international conflicts. Among the personalities who shape this narrative are Lawrence of Arabia, Winston Churchill, the archaeologist Flinders Petrie, King Feisal, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion. One momentous consequence of these 30 years was that the Jewish population increased by a factor of ten.
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