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The Woodhead Commission (officially the Palestine Partition Commission〔''Palestine Partition Commission Report'', Command Paper 5854, Printed and published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1938 (310 pages and 13 maps)〕) was a British technical commission established to propose "a detailed" partition scheme for Mandatory Palestine, including recommending the partition boundaries and examination of economic and financial aspects of the Peel Plan.〔Mandated Landscape: British Imperial Rule in Palestine 1929-1948〕〔(Policy in Palestine, December 23, 1937 )〕 The Commission was appointed at the end of February 1938 and conducted its investigations from April to early August 1938. It rejected the Peel Commission's plan mainly on the grounds that it required a large transfer of Arabs, and considered two other plans. It preferred a modification of the partition, which forms a satisfactory basis of settlement, if the United Kingdom government accept "the very considerable financial liability involved,"〔 that balances the Arab state budget.〔 In this plan, the entire Galilee and a corridor from Jaffa to Jerusalem would remain under British mandate. It published its conclusions on November 9, 1938, after which the British government rejected the imminent partition of Palestine as involving insurmountable "political, administrative and financial difficulties".〔 Britain called for a conference in London for all relevant parties to work out a compromise. ==Overview== The Arabs renewed their revolt after the publication of the Peel Commission report and the British Cabinet, taking fright, secretly voted against partition on 8 December 1937. The Woodhead commission was appointed with a formal duty of implementation of the Peel proposals but in reality to bury them.〔〔 The Commission comprised Sir John Woodhead, a former civil administrator in India; Sir Alison Russell, a lawyer; Percival Waterfield and Thomas Reid, also Indian civil servants.〔(Conservative Party Attitudes to Jews, 1900-1950, Harry Defries )〕 It was charged with examining the Peel Commission plan in detail, in order "to recommend boundaries for the proposed Arab and Jewish areas and the enclaves to be retained permanently or temporarily under British Mandate" and "to examine and report on the economic and financial questions involved in partition upon which decisions will require to be taken."〔Report, p, 7〕 However, the appointment of the Commission was regarded by the Colonial Office as an instrument to free Britain from its obligation to the partition plan.〔''Palestine: Retreat from the Mandate: The Making of British Policy, 1936-1945'', Michael J. Cohen, pp. 44-45〕 In accordance with a decision of the British cabinet, Woodhead was secretly advised that it was within the commission's authority to decide that "no workable scheme could be produced". Sir George Rendel, head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office, did his utmost to ensure that the Commission would reach the "correct conclusion," by trying to influence the choice of personnel and placing his own memorandum before the Commission as evidence.〔''Palestine: Retreat from the Mandate: The Making of British Policy, 1936-1945'', Michael J. Cohen, pp. 46-47〕 The Commission spent over three months in Palestine, taking evidence from witnesses in 55 sessions. No Arabs came forward to submit evidence, though king Abdullah of Transjordan wrote to Woodhead giving support for partition as well as receiving the Commission in Amman.〔Report, pp. 8–9〕 The Commission found that a self-supporting Arab State could only be established if it "contained a large number of Jews, whose contributions to tax-revenue would alone enabled that state to balance its budget."〔Report, p196.〕 As the Arab State would need the mandated territories for farming and the Jewish State would need them for industry, the Commission proposed a customs union.〔(Britain Drops Partition, Maps Peace Parleys; Agency Rejects Woodhead Report As Talks Basis )〕 In their report, they examined three possible modifications of the Peel Commission proposal, which they called Plans A, B and C. These plans proposed the creation of a Jewish state surrounded by a larger Arab state and a British zone.〔(David Ben-Gurion’s Answer to Kristallnacht )〕 The three plans are as follows: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Woodhead Commission」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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