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
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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
By 1918 both Jews and Arabs believed that they had the right to rule themselves in their own land – Palestine. However, at the end of war Britain regretted to give independence both Arabs and Jewish. Palestine became a territory governed by Britain. Increased Jewish immigration led to the worsening of the relations between communities. Jews were purchasing land and would not employ Arab workers, who may have been working on that land for their whole life.
in 1918 britain aided by the arabs captured palestine from the the ottoman turks but britain had now made too many promises that hey couldn't keep . Many Arabs opposed British troops because of England's failure to fulfill its promise and were also getting angry about the increase of jewish migrating to palestine. Arabs became concerned that Jewish immigration would threaten their position in Palestine which lead to large scale attacks on the jews. At the time of Hitler's dictatorship in Germany, Jewish immigration increased dramatically in 1933. An Arab revolt started which Britain suppressed with the help of Zionist militias. Zionist settlements climaxed in 1936. In 1947, Britain forbid Jewish refugees from nazi concentration camps to land in Palestine to prevent war between Jews and Arabs, which resulted in worldwide criticism of Britain. Britain withdrew itself from the situation handing over the mandate over Palestine, leaving the United Nations to deal with the situation. The United Nations proposed that Palestine was divided into two states, one for the Arabs and one for the Jews, however the Arabs opposed this idea claiming that the UN plan allotted too much territory to the Jews. the arabs thought it was unfair that the jews should get more land because the arabs were by far the larger population but because of the holocaust the was a lot of sympathy for the jews and this may be why the got more land.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was started when the United Nations proposed the partition plan for Jewish homeland in 1947. The Jewish agrees with the plan but the Palestinians disagree because they think it is unfair for their land being taken. Since then, many wars have been fought between Israel and Palestinians such as:
The Balfour Declaration showed British support for the Jewish people; however, its ambiguity actually ends up hurting the Jews. The document clearly
Since the Sykes-Picot Agreement at the beginning of the war, Palestine had taken on increasing strategic importance for Britain at this time. The British kept troops in Palestine because of its proximity to the Suez Canal and its location in the Ottoman Empire. The Zionists, who lived there, appeared as a potential ally that could provide a safeguard through the canal region. It was also felt that supporting Palestinian Jews would mobilize the Americas Jewish community and bring a stronger American support to the war. Furthermore, Although the British had committed to helping the Abrab motive in gaining independence, the much smaller Jewish community had strong political intellectuals that were incredibly persuasive. In November of 1917, one year before the end of the war, the British publicly declared their allegiance to the Zionist Jews with the Balfour Declaration. Among much surprise, the British in doing this pledged their allegiance to the Jewish State of Israel, which at the time was home to around 657,000 Muslims and only 59,000
The Balfour declaration was intended to bring together Arabs and Jewish by making a home for the Jewish population in Palestine. However, after the Balfour declaration was implemented Britain was being pressured to allow more Jews into Palestine during WWII. Britain realized that this might cause tension if they increased the influx of Jews into the state. This was the spark of the conflict between Palestinians and the Jewish communities. The conflict increased between Palestine and the Jewish populations, especially the Zionist, after Britain tried once again to settle peace for the situation with the Morrison-Grady Plan.
Truman’s foreign policy experts sought American-Arab friendship as a barrier against Soviet influence in the Middle East and as a means to secure access to Arabian oil.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most controversial conflicts in modern history. The expansion of Israel since 1947 is seen as the beginning of the conflict, although its origins go back to the end of the 19th century, when Jewish immigration to Palestine began to increase. Since the start of the conflict, several peace negotiations have been carried out, resulting in variable degrees of success.
Like most British documents the language in the Balfour Declaration is vague and can be interpreted in many ways. The first ambiguity appears in the usage of the word home instead of state. The word home can mean a few things to each party. If the Palestinians, ask why the British promised a home for the Jewish people in their land then the British could respond that a home is simply a place for the Jewish people to stay and does not necessarily imply the creation of a Jewish state. If the Jewish people ask why they are given a home instead of a state, the British could respond that a home was used because the nation of Israel would be even more than a typical state because of the history that the Jewish people have in the region.
The Hussein-McMahon Correspondence (October 1915) was a “series of letters between Hussein ibn Ali emir of Mecca, and Sir Henry McMahon, the British high commissioner in Egypt.”(Encyclopaedia Britannica, N.D.) The correspondence effectively traded British support of an independent Arab state for Arab assistance in the Ottoman Empire. It was an effort to create a 3rd front against the central powers (Germany, Austria and Turkey), by encouraging the Arab people in the Ottoman Empire to rise up against their Turkish overlords. It has been a cause of problems between the Arabs and the Jews and a direct clash with the Balfour Declaration and the Sykes-Picot agreement. It was interpreted by Hussein that Palestine would be given back to the Arabs after the war had ended, later claimed by Britain was that any land to be given back to the Arabs was only approximate and Palestine was excluded from the land to be given back. The confusion arose from one small phrase in the series of letters between
Many of the problems in the Middle East today are a direct result of actions undertaken in the region 's colonial past. I will argue that both imperialist ineptitude, deliberate meddling and outright deceit by colonial powers have sown seeds of distrust that linger in the Middle East today towards the West. I will claim that artificial boundaries, government structures and societal schisms created in colonial times have entrenched animosities and created internal structural instabilities in the area that are still being resolved. The imposition of Israel into Palestine, I will argue, remains an unresolved product of colonial rule. I will discuss how the discovery of oil and the regions importance as a trade route caused the World Powers to remain engaged in the area and oppressive in their demeanour. Finally I will argue that perhaps the greatest ongoing legacy of colonialism in the Middle east is an imperialist attitude by the west which continues to this day.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been in existence since the end of 19th century. The conflict became an international concern when Israel got its independence in 1948. This conflict has resulted in a lot of minor conflicts and 5major wars.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine is just one of the many facets that have shaped modern day politics in the Middle East. It is a conflict rooted in generations of violence, discrimination and prejudice that is complicated by a history older than any of the modern day superpowers. Ever since the creation of the state of Israel by the 1947 UN partition of Palestine
After more than 50 years of war, terrorism, peace negotiation and human suffering, Israel and Palestine remain as far from a peaceful settlement as ever. The entire Middle Eastern region remains a cauldron waiting to reach the boiling point, a potent mixture of religious extremism, (Jewish, Christian and Islamic), mixed with oil and munitions.
The same exact day that this happened U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized also acknowledged it as a state. In the past the United States had been an advocate for the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Although, President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the Arabs in the 1940’s that the United States would not interfere with that area without talking to both the Jewish people and the Arabic people in that area. The British, as stated earlier, held the temporary governing power for Palestine. They were against both the establishment of a Jewish state and an Arab state in the land of Palestine. They were also against the idea of unrestricted immigration of Jewish refugees to the area. Great Britain, from a political and economic interest, wanted to keep their positive relationship with the Arabs in order to protect these