ABSTRACT
In Europe, Chamberlain was trying to avert war with Germany by satisfying Hitler's demands on Czechoslovakia. A special Middle Eastern sub-committee of the CID was appointed in order to draw up financial and economic inducements that would secure the loyalty of the Arab states. The sub-committee proposed the establishment of a secret slush fund for buying the friendship of local Arab sheikhs, in the event of hostilities. During the first decade of the mandate, the Zionists had made vain efforts to nurture an Arab opposition to the Mufti. The formation of new political parties by a new generation of Arab middle-class intellectuals reflected their frustration with the barren negotiations of the traditional elites with the British. Some Arab collaborators told their Zionist operatives that they were acting from ideological motivation. The bitterness and mutual hatred between the rival Arab factions remained an indelible stain on Palestinian Arab society.
