ABSTRACT
The Arab-Israeli conflict emerged as one of competing nationalisms laying claim to the same territory – Palestine. Jewish immigration to Palestine beginning at the turn of the century placed Zionists and local Arabs in direct competition with each other. Increased Jewish immigration, land acquisition, and institution-building became the focus of the early part of the conflict. British mandate policy from 1922 to 1948 exacerbated inter-communal tensions further as it was perceived by both Jews and Arabs to be biased in favour of the other. Dissatisfaction with British rule as well as mutual suspicion and fear increasingly led to the use of violence for political ends, while zero-sum perceptions of the conflict resulted in the belief that coexistence was impossible.
