preview

British Diplomacy in Palestine Essay

Decent Essays

I believe that British diplomacy in Palestine was consistently indecisive and hypocritical but at the same time the British wanted to keep their hands in Palestine’s economy and goods. The reasoning behind this statement is because of the events that played out during the Hussein-McMahon correspondence, the Sykes-Picot agreement, and the Balfour declaration.
First, the Hussein-McMahon correspondence was a long-drawn-out exchange of letters between the Sharif of Mecca Hussein bin Ali and British High Commissioner Sir Henry McMahon dealing with the future political status of the Ottoman Empire. The Arab’s were planning on revolting against the Ottoman Empire because of the promise that after the war was over Britain would recognize the …show more content…

The Sykes-Picot agreement was a secret agreement between Britain and the French with the Russians in agreement of the arrangement. The agreement would separate areas of influence between France England, and Russia over West Asia and parts of the Middle East. Britain was given control of territories of Jordan and coastal land touching the Mediterranean allowing access to more trade and influence. France was allowed parts of Syria, Lebanon and parts of Iraq. Britain’s negotiator was Sir Mark Sykes, a member or parliament, and France’s representative was Francois-Georges Picot a French diplomat who had served as consul general in Beirut. Part of the agreement would supposedly allow Arab nations to rule themselves with sovereignty; however, probable imperialist intentions in the west left Arab leaders highly skeptical that the agreement would allow true autonomy to Arab states.
Third, the Balfour declaration was a letter from the Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour and the letter clearly stated by the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland and it said that Palestine was the national home of the Jewish people and not of the Palestinian people. Nevertheless, the declaration did state that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews

Get Access