Editorial
Did the Palestinian leadership miss an opportunity when it rejected
UN Partition Resolution 181, November, 1947. The simple answer to
this question is "Yes". Can anyone hold them responsible for this
failure? The serious, responsible answer from the Palestinians
themselves must be "No."
Decisions are always ruled by the circumstances prevailing at the
time they are taken, not a minute after. No one could have
predicted at that time the events that would happen later.
Political analysts could theorise about the future, but no one
could predict it for sure.
At the time of the partition resolution, the Arabs in general, and
the Palestinians in particular, felt that the British government
had betrayed them. Their promise to create an Arab State as a
reward for their part in the rebellion against the Turkish Khalifa
at the beginning of the First World War had proved to be a lie.
Instead, the British had issued the Balfour Declaration, promising
to create a Jewish national homeland
read more ...