By David Singer ——Bio and Archives--November 7, 2017
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"I have no doubt that the only viable solution to the conflict resembles the one first set down on paper by another Briton, Lord Peel, in the report of the Royal Commission on Palestine in 1937, and that is the vision of two states for two peoples."
"... to enquire into the manner in which the Mandate for Palestine is being implemented in relation to Our obligations as Mandatory towards the Arabs and the Jews respectively; and to ascertain whether, upon a proper construction of the terms of the Mandate, either the Arabs or the Jews have any legitimate grievances upon account of the way in which the Mandate has been, or is being implemented;"Significantly the Royal Warrant did not mention or identify the "Palestinians" as being a party to the dispute. There were only two parties--the "Arabs" and the "Jews"--not three. The "two-state solution" - one Jewish, one Arab--first envisioned in article 25 of the 1922 Mandate for Palestine (Mandate)--had restricted Jewish rights to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in just 22% of the territory covered by the Mandate. The Jews had accepted that proposal but the Arabs had rejected it. The Peel Commission after a lengthy and detailed Inquiry confirmed that the "two-state solution" contemplated by the Mandate--one Jewish, one Arab--remained the only solution to end the grievances between Arabs and Jews--concluding that:
"two sovereign independent States would be established-the one an Arab State, consisting of Trans-Jordan united with that part of Palestine which lies to the east and south of a frontier such as we suggest in Section 3 below; the other a Jewish State consisting of that part of Palestine which lies to the north and west of that frontier."Transjordan--renamed Jordan in 1950 - comprised the remaining 78% of the territory contained in the Mandate for Palestine closed to Jewish settlement under the Mandate. Britain still retained full responsibility for Transjordan as Mandatory Power until Transjordan was finally granted independence by Britain in 1946. The Peel Commission's "two-state solution" is shown on the following map (right): The Arabs rejected partition and the creation of any Jewish State. The Jews accepted the principle of partition - but not the borders designated on the map. Boris Johnson has advanced the resolution of the Arab-Jewish conflict by highlighting that:
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David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com