Arab nationalist activities become fragmented as tensions…

Arab nationalist activities become fragmented as tensions arise between clans, religious groups, and city dwellers and fellahin (peasants) over the issue of how to respond to British rule and the increasing number of Zionists.

The British Mandate and the intensification of Jewish settlement in Palestine significantly alter Palestinian leadership structures and transform the socioeconomic base of Palestinian Arab society.

British policy in Palestine, as elsewhere in the Middle East, is based on patronage.

This policy entails granting wide powers to a small group of competing traditional elites whose authority will depend upon the British high commissioner.