Interwar Palestine and British Rule
The British administration of Palestine did not proceed smoothly. The competing nationalist aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs and Jews were manifested in periodic uprisings and riots. The two groups directed violence toward each other, and increasingly toward the British, who were regarded as an unwelcome occupying force. There was a common belief that the period of the British mandate would be brief, and would be followed by an opportunity for the establishment of an independent state.
Riots broke out throughout the mandate period. Arabs rioted against the British presence in 1920 and 1921. In 1929, there were more riots culminating in a massacre of Jews in Hebron. The remaining Jewish population of the city was forced to flee for safety.
The British policy on the number of Jews allowed to enter Israel changed several times in the interwar period. In 1939, the British government released a policy statement, known as the White Paper, which restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine, and limited Jewish ability to purchase land. These restrictions came into effect just as Jews from Germany and Eastern Europe were attempting to flee the persecution of the Nazis. Thus, the White Paper was responsible for a great deal of animosity on the part of Jews toward the British, a sentiment that came to a head after the conclusion of the Second World War.
