| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
In January 1938, the Woodhead Commission was established to explore ways to implement the recommendations made by the Peel Commission. Its report was published on November 9, 1938. The idea of partition was upheld, but the proposed Jewish state was to be substantially smaller, receiving only the coastal plain.
In February 1939, the St. James Conference (also known as the Round Table Conference of 1939) convened in London; since the Arab delegation refused to formally meet with its Jewish counterpart or to recognize them, proposals were put by the government separately to the two parties, who however were not able to agree to any of them. The Conference ended on March 17 without making any progress.
The White Paper, unilaterally conceived by the British National Government under Neville Chamberlain, was published on May 17 and passed in the House of Commons by 268 to 179 in favour. It called for the creation of a unified Palestinian State. Even though the White Paper stated that it was committed to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, it imposed very substantial limits on both Jewish immigration and ability to purchase land. In terms of the status quoFor the perennial British rock band, see Status Quo (band Status quo is a Latin term meaning the present current, existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep things the way they presently are. Arguing to preserve the "status quo" is u, it was a significant defeat for the Jewish side who viewed this as a great betrayal of British promises for a Jewish National Homeland in Palestine.
Due to impending World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough, opposition from all sides, and the fall of the Chamberlain government, the plan was dropped.