Re Bobyoungbalt's post, above:
The British had two separate mandate territories, I believe: Palestine, and Trans-Jordan. (These territories are roughly the current Israel and Jordan.)
In 1920 or so the British colonial secretary, Winston Chruchill, issued a White Paper stating in part: The nationality to be acquired by all citizens of Palestine would be Palestinian and nothing else. ... But in order that the Jewish community (in Palestine) should have the best prospect of free development it is essential that it should know that it is in Palestine as of right and not on sufferance.* That is the reason why it is necessary that the existence of a Jewish national home in Palestine should be internationally guaranteed." The statement was rejected by the Palestine Arab delegation.
As of 1947 there were 650,00 jews in Palestine. On November 29, 1947 the United Nations adopted a plan to divide Palestine into separate jewish and non-Jewish state, the former receiving the minority of the land. The arabs rejected this. The following May 14 the British simply ended their mandate and pulled out.
That day a Jewish state was declared, effective midnight May 14. By 5:25 on the 15, the surrounding arab nations had declared was and attacked.
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*Note that "Palestinian" is used as denoting a person's geographic locus (and including jews), not as an ethnic group.
