The situation in Palestine grew more tense in the late 1940s.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] Level 1 One mark for each relevant point; additional mark for supporting detail
2. [1] The Stern Gang was founded by Avraham Stern.
3. [1] Stern was killed by the British in 1942.
4. [1] Stern wanted to drive the British out of Palestine.
5. [1] Stern created the Leh'i which carried out attacks against the British.
6. [1] In April 1946 seven British soldiers were killed in Tel Aviv.
7. [1] In February 1946 20 planes were destroyed in attacks on 3 airfields.
8. [6] Level 4 Explains TWO reasons
9. [4-5] Level 3 Explains ONE reason
10. [4] In July 1946, Irgun attacked the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. It was targeted because it was the British military headquarters in Palestine. Irgun brought down a whole wing of the hotel killing 92 people. This was important because it was one of the events which convinced the British that they could not stay in Palestine.
11. [2-3] Level 2 Identifies AND/OR describes reasons
12. [1] In July 1946, Irgun attacked the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
13. [1] It was targeted because it was the British military headquarters in Palestine.
14. [1] Irgun brought down a whole wing of the hotel killing 92 people.
15. [1] It damaged British morale.
16. [1] It showed the British were not fully in control of Palestine.
17. [1] Level 1 General answer lacking specific contextual knowledge
18. [1] The King David Hotel was important to the British forces.
19. [10] Level 5 Explains with evaluation of 'how surprising'
20. [7-9] Level 4 Explanation of both sides
21. [4-6] Level 3 One-sided explanation OR one explanation of both sides 5 to 6 marks
22. [4] The victory was surprising in some ways. In May 1948 Israel was invaded by a coalition of six Arab states. The Israelis were invaded from all sides and this meant they had to fight on several fronts. By June, the Arabs had occupied almost a third of Israel, including the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem. This was a bad start and it looked as though the Arabs were in a strong position.
23. [4] In other ways the victory was not a surprise. Israel was provided with financial support from allies in the US and Europe. This meant the Israeli army was equipped with the most up-to-date weapons. They had strong military leadership and were better organised and led than the Arab forces. They outnumbered the Arab forces and were more strongly united.
24. [2-3] Level 2 Identifies AND/OR describes
25. [1] Six Arab states attacked Israel at the same time.
26. [1] The Arabs were divided and outnumbered.
27. [1] The Israelis had strong military leadership.
28. [1] The US supported Israel.
29. [1] By June 1948, the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem had been overrun by Arab forces.
30. [1] Level 1 General answer lacking specific contextual knowledge
31. [1] Israel was a new state and was attacked in 1948.