Arab claims to Palestine: mandates and WWI promises

Arab Israeli Conflict; Arab claims to Palestine

1. The British encouraged the Arabs to rebel against Turkish rulers and seek independence in WWI.

   • Britain was afraid their oil supply from Persian (Iran) would be cut off.
   • Turkey was fighting against Britain in the war.

2. Arabs felt that they had fought against Turkey and won their independence. They were angered by the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement between Britain and France which planned to divide the Arab lands between the two nations.

   • Treaty of Versailles, 1919; Britain and France were given mandates to govern certain countries in the Middle East until the Arab people were considered ready to govern themselves.
     • Britain was given mandates over Palestine, Transjordan (Jordan), and Iraq. They sent in troops and government officials to take control.
     • France was given mandates over Syria and Lebanon and sent in troops to take control.
   • The British made the Sykes-Picot agreement because; they needed to ally with France to help with the failing war effort in Europe, both nations had extensive trading links with the Middle East, and Britain wanted to protect the Suez-Canal.

3. Originally, Arabs lived in the desert of Saudi Arabia and spoke Arabic. In the 7th century AD, many Arabs converted to Islam. They spread their new religion and language across the Middle East. Palestine was one of the countries they took over.

4. In the Middle Ages, the Muslim Arabs produced one of the richest, most powerful civilisations. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Turks conquered much of the Middle East.

   • In the late 19th century, the Arabs tried many times to re-establish Arab rule in the Middle East.
   • 1913 - first Arab Congress held. 1914 - Arab Nationalist Manifesto is published

5. In 1915, Sir Herbert McMahon exchanged letters with Hussein, Shariff of Mecca (and head of Hashemite family, descended from the Prophet Mohammed). Mcmahon promised Hussein that Great Britain would recognise and support the independence of the Arabs and assist them in forming a government.

6. The Arab revolt in 1916, in which Major T.E Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") of the English Army Intelligence fought with the Arabs, allowed the British to take Damascus, in Syria from the Turks.

   • They blew up trains and disrupted the flow of Turkish Military supplies.
   • The revolt was led by Prince Faisal, son of Hussein,the Sharif of Mecca.

7. Lawrence felt that Hussein had been humiliated by the Sykes-Picot agreement and the following mandates. He advised the British government to establish Prince Faisal as King of Syria. However, Syria was under French control by mandate, and the British valued their alliance with France more than the promises made to Hussein by McMahon in 1915. In 1921, Britain allowed French forces to invade Syria and remove Faisal from the throne that he had occupied for 2 years. The British made Faisal King of Iraq and his older brother, Abdullah was made ruler of Transjordan (became King in 1946)