ABSTRACT
Between the end of World War One and the termination of the Mandate in 1948, Arab and Zionist leaders negotiated periodically in a variety of manners – directly, indirectly, under third party mediation, occasionally publicly and formally, usually secretly and informally. Perceptive Zionist and Arab leaders were quick to recognise the unlikelihood of a negotiated resolution but few were bold enough to speak about the impasse. In the case of Arab-Zionist contacts during the Mandate period, however, the objective of negotiations was seldom about achieving a mutually acceptable accommodation in Palestine. A mercenary instinct often brought Arabs to make overtures in search of Zionist resources, while Zionists often invited or entertained contacts out of a desire to win hearts and minds among the Arabs. The divide between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs was indeed unbridgeable during the Mandate period.
