[204. Zionists against a Palestinian state

The Arabs do not want a Palestinian state,” wrote Andrew Neff (Feb.27) [203]. His proof is that while the Arabs were in control of the West Bank and Gaza between 1948 and 1967 they didn’t work towards the creation of a state of Palestine.

In 1948, Jordan gave West Bank Palestinians full Jordanian citizenship. No need then for a state of Palestine. The proximity of the West Bank to Jordan and the homogeneity of the population made that possible, which was not the case of Gaza in relation to Egypt.

Before 1948, a period that not surprisingly Mr. Neff totally ignored, European Zionists were also against a state of Palestine. The whole thrust of Biltmore Program of 1942 was that “Palestine be established as a Jewish commonwealth.” Ben-Gurion himself talking to the Histadrut Council about Biltmore Program explained that “this is why we formulated our demand not as
a Jewish state in Palestine but Palestine as a Jewish state.”

In fact, King Abdallah, the great grandfather of the present King Abdallah of Jordan colluded with the Zionists to prevent the emergence of a sate of Palestine. Avi Shlaim’ book Collusion across the Jordan made that clear. Another Israeli historian, Simha Flapan, concluded in his book The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities that “Ben-Gurion had always viewed partition as the first step toward a Jewish state in the whole of Palestine.”

It was the Zionists’ plan all along to prevent the establishment of a state of Palestine.]

March 2, 2001