Hawkmoon, this statement isn't entirely correct (or at least, the British position had changed by 1922):
If you look back at the history of Palestine, especially the West Bank, after it was captured from the Turks, you'll find that the British intended to permit Jewish settlement in all of Trans-Jordan, the territory that included Israel, the West Bank, and present day Jordan.
The British White Paper of 1922 (the "Churchill White Paper") attempted to resolve the various contradictory promises of the British Foreign office including the wording of the Balfour declaration, which promised a Jewish National Home in Palestine, as opposed to a home encompassing all of Palestine.
From the Introduction:
Owing to Arab pressure and riots that had occurred in Palestine in 1920 and 1921, and
perhaps as part of a plan that they had had in mind in formulating the original mandate,
the British government decided to detach Palestine east of the Jordan river, constituting
most of the area of Palestine, and form the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. The
White Paper of 1922, known as the "Churchill White Paper," or "Command Paper"
alludes somewhat obliquely to this change. It affirms the right of Jews to a homeland in
Palestine, refers to a Zionist resolution of 1921 declaring willingness to build the country
in cooperation with the Arabs and notes:
When it is asked what is meant by the development of the Jewish National Home in
Palestine, it may be answered that it is not the imposition of a Jewish nationality upon
the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole, but the further development of the existing
Jewish community, with the assistance of Jews in other parts of the world, in order that it
may become a centre in which the Jewish people as a whole may take, on grounds of
religion and race, an interest and a pride.
mideastweb.org
Al
P.S. The Transjordan was only east of the Jordan River.<g> |
