In 1929, disputes between Jews and Palestinians over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence and the Palestinian riots, or al-Buraq uprising, began. 

For Palestinians, 1929 was one of the first significant actions against the expanding Zionist movement. For Jews, the Hebron massacre, where 68 Jews were killed by rioters, was one of the bloodiest attacks they suffered under British Mandatory Palestine.

During this time, a total of 133 Jews and 116 Palestinians were killed, marking a decisive moment in the history of Israel-Palestine.

In this episode of Middle East Eye’s history explainer series Turning Point, we take a look at the context in which the riots took place and how the events of 1929 not only strengthened the Zionist movement but shaped the warfare ethos of the future State of Israel, paving the way for the calamitous events of the 1948 Nakba - the “Catastrophe”.