The Sykes Picot Document Analysis

The United Kingdom expended great effort to give the appearance of neutrality and maintaining a balanced approach during their administration of the British Mandate of Palestine. Notwithstanding, an examination of British Policies during the period of 1917 to 1947 shows that they greatly contributed to the defeat of the Arabs and emergence of the Jewish homeland- the State of Israel, in 1948. The pre-Mandate actions of the British showed a clear preference for the Zionist agenda, and directly influenced the creation of the Mandate. During the mandate, the British claimed, “that Jews and Arabs would live in harmony together.” They openly resisted Jewish designs for the establishment of a home state, but their policy was inherently favourable

The conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Jews is a phenomenon that stems from the struggle over land defined exclusively as a “Holy Land” by both groups. Their competing claim to this territory and the constant struggle for exclusive political control has created irreconcilable differences. Jewish claim over the land is based on a covenant made between God and Abraham and the need for haven from the growing anti-Semitism in Europe. Palestinian Arabs claims to the land are based on their continuous residence in the country and the rejection of the notion that ancient kingdoms constitute claims over land in a modern time. They believe that because Abraham’s son Ishmael is the forefather of the Arabs, then God’s promise of the land to the children of Abraham include them as well. Although the land of Palestine was inhabited by a range of individuals living in peace, the growing tension from the Zionist group, as well as the influx of Jewish immigration created growing anti-Semitism, which led to the Jewish push towards finding a haven.

The conflict between the nations of Palestine and Israel holds a lot of significance in today’s current events, and is a greatly debated and controversial topic. The conflict, commonly attributed to Jewish Zionism movements and forward settlement in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, is often seen as a two sided, illogical aggression between the neighbouring states. However; the conflict has roots that reach back to the age of imperialism, and to the conflict of World War I.

Frequently, issues such as human rights violations occur around the world that people are not aware of. It is therefore a great importance to seek knowledge ourselves beyond mass media outlets and our own governments. Previous research suggests, the history of the Palestinian conflict goes back generations. In 1918 when World War 1 had ended, the British gained control of the Palestinian territory. The UN had no intention of displacing or changing anything within the land, but they decided that the Jews needed a safe place to reside after the holocaust. Therefore, many Jews immigrated to Palestine after the Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917. It stated that Palestine welcomed Jews into their homeland (Said, 1999). The fall of the Ottoman empire encouraged the number of immigrants to that in 1947, the total number of Jews in the area was “650,000” (Avineri, 1981; Said, 1999). The Palestinians were surely grateful for the number of people immigrating to their land because they needed their

The Arab Israeli conflict has been an issue for over many years. After the events of the Holocaust, many people believed that the Jews deserved a safe home to stay. Because of the Jewish background that says that God promised Abraham's descendants the land of Israel. By 1947, Palestine was full of Jews that were trying to escape the persecution known as the Zionist Movement. The Jews liked the idea of having a Jewish homeland. However the local Palestinian population of Muslim Arabs felt that the constant immigration was threatening their way of life. The conflict between the Arabic and Jewish populations had been constant for many years before the holocaust. It only came to light in the years after it ended.

By the 20th century, empire had evolved to the point of total collapse and the next evolution was rise of the nation state. At the peak of the British Empire, its colonial rule expanded over the whole globe. In particular, the colonies in the Middle East and colony in India are great examples of the function of the British Empire. When the Ottoman Empire was split up into smaller countries among the British and French Empire with little regard for the people living there, tension arose. In Palestine, the Jewish people and the Palestinian Arabs were promised land under the Balfour Declaration (Tusan, Lecture, 4/20). The Declaration was not acted upon and the Arabs did not get what was promised to them, the Jewish people however did. The state

‘’In the winter of 1915-1916, two diplomats, Sir Mark Sykes of Britain and François Georges-Picot of France secretly met to decide the fate of the post-Ottoman Arab world. According to what would become known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the British and French agreed to divide up the Arab world among themselves.’’ (Fromkin) In the agreement, the British would get control of Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan while the French would get control of Syria, Lebanon, and turkey.’’ The Sykes-Picot Agreement contradicted the promises that were made to Sherif Hussein by the British this caused a huge amount of tension between the British and Arabs. But, this isn’t the last of conflicting agreements the British would make.’’

The fact is that the Jewish state has been able to hold its ground while the Arab states claim that it will annihilate the Jews and drive them into the sea. Through the seven day war, the Yom Kippur war and numerous other wars Israel has expanded its borders and protected what it has. It has even given up land in hopes for peace with Egypt. It also must be mentioned that there is irrefutable history that no such thing as a separate palestinian people ever existed. It was made up for political purposes which was set out by numerous Arab statements over time. It must also be known, that after and during the life and death of the Ottoman empire, Jews were legally purchasing land of Israel. Such organizations include the and Jewish National fund, Palestine Jewish Colonization Association, and Palestine Land Development Company. by 1935 Jews had legally bought around 579,348 acres of land. In conclusion, Jews have occupied the land of Israel since before Islam and Christianity existed, Jewish People have bought land through legal means, and are even documented in other ancient religions and cultures book such as the Romans,

The next source was the correspondence between Sir Henry McMahon and Sharif Hussein Ibn Ali regarding the development of an independent Arab kingdom immediately following World War I. Hussein laid out the demands that he wanted Great Britain

The rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism in the nineteenth century triggered major political tensions in the region of Palestine. The conflict among the Zionists and Arab Nationalists is primarily due to the politics of territory and is essentially not comprised of religious opposition. In fact, before the advent of Zionism and Arab Nationalism, Jews and Palestinians shared a local identity due to mutual tolerances. This identity, which took precedence over religion, created a vivacious community with its own unique set of traditions and customs shared among the Jews, Muslims and Christians. However, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Zionists whom were seeking a safe haven from Jewish prejudices in mainly Eastern Europe, proclaimed their return to Palestine. Zionists sought the territory of Palestine as the ‘official land of the Jews’ because of their ancient homeland ties. Furthermore, as Zionism progressed, Arabs Nationalists were threatened by the ideology and the vast Jewish immigration to Palestine. In the Arab point of view, Zionism emerged as a European movement, which appeared to be another attempt by Western imperialism to subordinate Muslims to Europeans. Although Arab Nationalism and Zionism were similar in nature, these two identities were destined to clash primarily due to their irreconcilable nationalistic aspirations and cultural characteristics.

Before this war the Middle east was controlled by the Ottoman Empire that subsequently lost to the Allied Western Powers of the UK, France and Italy. This loss resulted in the division of the Ottoman Empire’s territory amongst the victors. This division was further complicated by Jewish Zionist philosophy and the growing Jewish diaspora over not having a territory or homeland. As such the politics and policies of the time reflect these ideologies and movements, especially by the UK.

Disputes between the Arabs and Jews date back to the 1800s, when Zionism was first introduced. Zionists bought land off oblivious Palestinian landowners which lead to the eviction of the arabs who worked on the land. As Jewish migration increased, the Arabs became aware of Jewish intention to take over their land. Not only did this result in unease between them but it spread fear within the Arab community forming a need for nationalism. Good afternoon year 11, This speech will highlight how bad British decisions and conflicting promises eventual escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. As well as British promises, I will also be speaking about other factors that contributed to the conflict.

In his letter Hussein communicates his decision on behalf of the entire Arab nation. The beginning of the letter was the description of the Arab nation to have their freedom and eventually their own government. Hussein asks Great Britain for support, protection and recognition. Thus, Britain will have their favor in economic activities. Mac Mahon respond back to Hussein letter’s , he states that Britain will support and recognize the independence of the Arab nation.

The simple objective of Morris’s book is to argue that Arab rejectionism is so deeply entrenched in the psyche of Arabs, that only the most ignorant and unrealistic of minds could believe that Palestinians would ever concede to a state consisting merely of the Gaza and the West Bank. According to Morris, this is partly due to the mutual exclusivity in the mindsets and value systems of the Israeli Jewish society and that of the Palestinian Muslim Society. However, instead of placing blame for the rejectionist sentiment on both Jews and Muslims alike, Morris appears to pin the blame mostly on the latter’s ability to compromise. He says, “The idea of sharing Palestine either through a division of the country into two states, one Jewish, the Other Arab, or through a unitary binational entity, based on political party between the two communities is alien to the Muslim Arab mindset” (Morris, 2009, 188).

The agreement effectively used, implied and put into action the famous imperialistic tactic of the Europeans: “Divide and Rule”. This agreement divided the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire outside the Arabian peninsula into areas of future British and French colonization using their advantage in control and/or influence. Under Sykes-Picot, the Syrian coast and much of modern-day Lebanon went to France; Britain would take direct control over central and southern Mesopotamia, around the Baghdad and Basra provinces. Palestine would have an international administration, as other Christian powers, namely Russia, held an interest in this region. The rest of the territory in question—a huge area