Prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz led the Saudi Arabian delegation to the London Conference on Palestine. He brought with him a letter, addressed to the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, from his father, Ibn Saud. The letter recalled the support Ibn Saud had lent to British interests in the past and invited the British to state clearly their policy on Palestine.

The conference failed to resolve any of the issues raised by the "Palestinian question".

The Balfour Declaration, issued on 2nd November, 1917, had committed Britain to support "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people", while at the same time guaranteeing "the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine". These two commitments were clearly irreconcilable.

• Next