Map of the Peel Commission Partition Plan

The proposal to partition Palestine divided the region into three areas. The coastal plains and the Galilee were to be apportioned for the Jews. The Arabs, in turn, would rule the West Bank, Gaza, and the Negev. Jerusalem, along with a corridor connecting it to the sea, would remain under the authority of the British Mandate.

Jewish reaction to the proposal was mixed. Ben-Gurion, Weizmann, and Sharett accepted the principle of partition. However, they maintained the right to negotiate the final borders of the two states. Other Zionist leaders such as Jabotinsky, Ussishkin, Katznelson, and Meir opposed partition. While these differences existed, a compromise was adopted in which the Zionist movement would support the division of Palestine.

The vast majority of Arabs rejected partition. Maintaining an extremist position, Arab leaders continued to demand an end to Jewish immigration. Only the Emir Abdullah, king of Transjordan, supported the idea of partition. Renewed Arab rioting as a protest against the proposal led to a further deterioration of relations, and eventually kept the plan from ever being implemented.