ABSTRACT
The combined impact of the MacDonald White Paper and the outbreak of World War II on relations between Arabs and Jews in Palestine led to a sharp decline in contacts and attempts to reach an understanding. In some cases this decline was because of a feeling that the outcome of war and the policies which would emerge from a future peace conference would be decisive in determining the form of a settlement to the Palestine dispute. Hence, despite the “double veto” , the tendency was stronger than usual for Arab and Zionist leaders to look more to the powers than to each other for the terms of an acceptable resolution of the problem. Even when tentative feelers were extended between the main protagonists, the discussants invariably stopped short of making any binding commitments, given the fluidity of the wartime political situation.
