Why did the British oppose Jewish immigration to Palestine?
Early Zionist immigration to Palestine began in the 19th century, while the territory was still under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. After World War I, Britain was awarded the Mandate for Palestine by the League of Nations at the San Remo Conference in 1920, and its terms went into effect by 1923. The terms of the Mandate echoed the Balfour Declaration and Britain was to be responsible for its implementation until the subject region could become a self-governing sovereign country. The Mandate language included the provision that Britain: … shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the [Jewish Agency], close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes The Mandate also recognized the “historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine”. This open-ended commitment to the Zionist cause was modified by the British almost from the beginning. In 1922, the Churchill
