Some ascribed Britain’s overt support to the Zionist aspirations to the delusion that this would persuade the Jews to contribute to the World War I expenses and sway the US to join the war, while others argued that the genuine admiration of Britain’s decision makers for the history of the Jews propelled them to endorse the right to Jewish nationhood of the Holy Land.

In the peace talks that followed the World War I, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned between Britain and France, with Palestine falling under the British mandate. Having joined the Allies in fighting the Turks, the Arabs believed they had earned the right to an independent Arab state and were infuriated over Britain’s failure to keep its word. Unsurprisingly, the situation was particularly bleak in Palestine as the land had already been promised to the Jews. Historical documents revealed later that a number of prominent Arab leaders, including King Faisal of Syria, had known about the scheme brewing between the British and the Jews.

The Jewish immigration to Palestine started to pick up momentum in the early 1920s and the confrontations between the two communities increased notably when the Jews began to purchase large areas of land from absentee Arab landowners, thus forcing the Palestinians out.

Between 1933 and 1939, an unprecedented influx of Jews poured into Palestine, fleeing the Nazi persecution in Europe. The number of emigrants stood at 61,854 in 1935 alone and the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haji Amin al-Husseini, feared that the Jews might outnumber the Palestinians by 1940. This dramatic increase in the number of Jews translated into a serious escalation of violence and urged the British to put restrictions on the number of Jews that could enter Palestine and the amount of property they could buy. However, their attempt to balance the interests of both communities and minimize their resentment for each other did not avail and ended up by Britain withdrawing its mandate, especially following the Kind David Hotel bombing that targeted the central offices of the British Mandatory authorities of Palestine.

The conflict culminated on May 15, 1948 following the proclamation of the State of Israel, in what the Israelis call “War of Independence” and the Arabs call “Al-Nakba”. Despite the alleged numerical superiority of the Arab armies from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq that invaded Israel, the troops weren’t as well organized and equipped as their enemy and ended up sustaining defeat. Not only did this war consolidate the existence of Israel and expand its original territory, but it also gave rise to a full-fledged refugee crisis and set the path for irreconcilable perspectives that are yet to be resolved. 

http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate.php

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/palestine_1918_to_1948.htm