By mid-1948, when the conflict between the Jews and Arabs of Palestine was in full swing, Magnes was pessimistic, and feared an Arab victory due to the Arabs' overwhelming numerical superiority. Magnes expressed the hope that if a Jewish state were declared, the United States would impose economic sanctions, saying that there could be no war without money or ammunition. During a conversation with George Marshall on May 4, 1948, he asked the US to impose sanctions on both sides. Calling the Yishuv an "artificial community", he predicted that sanctions would halt "the Jewish war machine". He supported a March 1948 US trusteeship proposal, in which the UN would freeze the partition decision and force both sides into a trusteeship with a temporary government ruling Palestine, until conditions suited another arrangement, in the hope that there would be understanding and peace talks would be possible. He predicted that even if a Jewish state was established and defeated the Arabs, it would experience a never-ending series of wars with the Arabs.