British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 52. May - 1939, The Royal Commission, the Partition Commission, and the White Paper of May, 1939.

CHAPTER II.

17th May, 1939.

A Statement of Policy, the White Paper of 1039, was issued *.

This Statement is reproduced in full at the end of this chapter as annexure B. After discussing the implications of the obligations imposed on the Mandatory by the Mandate for Palestine, the Statement pointed out that "the Royal Commission and previous Commissions of Enquiry barn drawn attention to the ambiguity of certain expressions in the Mandate, such as the expression 'a national home for the Jewish people', and they have found in this ambiguity and the resulting uncertainty as to the objective of policy a fundamental cause of unrest and hostility between Arabs and Jews". His Majesty's Government were convinced that, in the interests of the peace and well-being of the whole people of Palestine, a clear definition of policy and objectives was essential. The proposal of partition would have afforded such clarity, but the establishment of self-supporting independent Arab and Jewish States within Palestine had been found to be impracticable. It was therefore necessary to devise an alternative policy consistent with the obligations to Arabs and Jews under the Mandate. The Statement declared unequivocally that it was not part of this policy that Palestine should become a Jewish State as this would be contrary to the obligations to the Arabs under the Mandate, and that His Majesty's Government was unable to agree that the McMahon correspondence formed a just basis for the claim that Palestine should be converted into an Arab State. It declared further that His Majesty's Government desired to see the establishment alternatively of an independent Palestine State in which the peoples in Palestine, Arabs and Jews, would share authority in Government. However, a prerequisite of this was the establishment of good relations between Arabs and Jews and, therefore, a transitional period was required during which the ultimate responsibility for the Government of the country would be retained by His Majesty's Government under Mandate. Meanwhile, it would be "the constant endeavour of His Majesty's Government to promote good relations between the Arabs and the Jews".

Specific proposals were set forth under three beads, the salient points of which were as follows :-

(]) Constitution. The objective was stated to be the establishment of an independent Palestine State within ten years. During the transitional period the people of Palestine would be given an increasing part in the government of their country. As a first step it was proposed that as soon as peace and order bad been restored Palestinians would be placed in charge of Departments of Government
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* Cmd. 6019.

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