Journal Article

BRITISH PLANS FOR THE PARTITION OF PALESTINE, 1929–1938

SINANOGLOU, PENNY

2009

Overview

The 1937 Peel Commission proposal for the partition of British mandatory Palestine has generally been framed as the precursor to the United Nations partition plan of 1947. This article demonstrates the importance of tracing the roots of the 1937 Peel Commission plan back to conversations taking place in the Colonial Office and government of Palestine as early as 1929. A close analysis of dialogues over territorial division and of preliminary partition plans, particularly those drawn up by L. G. Archer Cust and D. G. Harris, leads to the conclusion that Britain's focus on the ideal of representative government played a primary role in the development of partition proposals. This article argues that inter-ethnic violence played a much smaller role in the development of partition proposals than has previously been thought. Instead, partition was proposed as a solution to the political implications of non-representative government in Palestine, a topic constantly in the spotlight thanks to the League of Nations.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: Agricultural land / Cantons / Colonial government / Colonialism / Countries / Decolonization / Democracy / Government / Interwar years / Jewish migration / Jewish peoples / League of Nations / Memoranda / Middle East / Middle Eastern history / Minority & ethnic violence / Palestine / Palestinian people / Partition / Political debate / Political history / Political representation / Politics / Sovereignty / Territorial issues / Territories / Territory / Topic and comment / Tribunals & commissions / United Kingdom / Zionism