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the Jews on the other. After attempts during which the Colonial Office contacted the Egyptian government to consult the Arab delegations that had returned from London without reaching a conclusive result, the British government decided upon and enacted a new policy for Palestine, set out in a “White Paper” issued on May 17, 1939. In summary, this policy provided for the formation of an independent Palestinian government within ten years, conditional on Arab and Jewish agreement to its formation; for this government to be linked to the British government by a treaty of friendship; and for a legislative council to be formed if circumstances permitted. A transitional period would be defined during which the people of Palestine would be given an increasing share in governing their country. “For the last time,” seventy-five thousand Jewish immigrants would be permitted to enter Palestine over five years, after which no further immigration would be allowed without the consent of the Arabs of Palestine. The land question would be addressed through legislation prohibiting or permitting the transfer of land to Jews according to the circumstances of Palestine’s different regions.

Following the publication of the White Paper, the Arab Higher Committee issued a statement criticizing the policy and principles it contained. The Arab governments participating in the conference likewise did not approve this policy. The Jewish Agency also issued a statement rejecting it because its policy, according to the Agency’s claim, conflicted with natural human rights in Palestine, “the eternal homeland of the Jewish people.”

The revolt continued for several months after the White Paper’s publication. The Central Committee for Jihad and the leaders of the revolt declared their determination to continue jihad until the British government abandoned its devious policy and acknowledged Arab rights.

Meanwhile, in the summer of 1939, the international crisis in Europe intensified, and British and French policies converged in opposition to Nazi Germany. Britain seized the opportunity to induce the French authorities in Syria and Lebanon to increase pressure on the Palestinians, both the mujahidin and those working in political and other affairs. The authorities began pursuing them, intensifying surveillance of them and confiscating their weapons. They then arrested a number of them in Damascus, foremost among them the committee member Professor Muhammad Izzat Darwaza, and imprisoned them after a military trial. The British consulates in Damascus and Beirut played a prominent role in this latest tragedy.

When the last world war broke out in late September 1939, British pressure on France increased to pursue the Palestinians and put an end to the Palestine revolt, which had robbed Britain of its sleep and disturbed it profoundly. Britain pressed its ally France to