On the other hand, there was a significant demographic challenge in British-colonized Palestine: the indigenous population, consisting of both Muslim and Christian Palestinians, held the majority and owned over 94% of the land. At that time, Zionist Jews comprised only 8% of the citizenry but made up 33% of the total population, many of whom were either undocumented immigrants or had residency permits issued by the British administration, which governed Palestine from 1917 to 1948. For a Jewish state to establish a Jewish majority, the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population was seen as an essential step. Consequently, this has led to the ongoing rejection by even the most liberal segments of Zionist Jews of the Palestinian demand to return to their confiscated homes and lands.