feb 10, 1919 - First Palestine Arab Congress

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In 1919, the first Palestine Arab Congress convened from January 27 to February 10 with 27 delegates, presided over by Aref al-Dajani. The congress, primarily composed of the propertied class and split between pro-British and pan-Arab factions, was held in response to Jewish immigration prior to the war. A cable sent to the Paris Peace Conference demanded the rejection of the Balfour Declaration and the inclusion of Palestine as part of an independent Arab Syria within an Arab Union, free of foreign influence. The congress opposed political Zionism and agreed to accept British help if it respected Arab sovereignty. It envisioned Palestine as part of an independent Syrian state under Faisal of the Hashemite family and declared all foreign treaties about the area as void. The congress resolved to send representatives to the Syrian National Congress and the Peace Conference in Paris, emphasizing Palestine as an integral part of Arab Syria.

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