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A "national home for the Jewish people" -

In 1917, a public statement was issued by the British government. It announced its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, and was called the Balfour Declaration.

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A "national home for the Jewish people" -

The declaration was contained in a letter dated from the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Arthur Balfour, to Lord Rothschild—a leader of the British Jewish community—for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.

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Palestine in 1917 -

At that time, Palestine was a region within the Ottoman Empire, with a small, minority Jewish population.

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Palestine's place in the Middle East -

After the declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914, the British War Cabinet began to think about the future of Palestine.

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Herbert Samuel -

Herbert Samuel, a Cabinet member and Zionist, circulated a memorandum within two months of the declaration of war. It proposed the support of Zionist ambitions in return for the support of Jews in the wider war.

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De Bunsen Committee -

In 1915, Prime Minister H.H. Asquith established the De Bunsen Committee, to determine British policy towards the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine.

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Mark Sykes -

One member of the committee, Mark Sykes, was said to have a "profound" impact. He represented Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War.

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McMahon-Hussein Correspondence -

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Egypt, Henry McMahon, exchanged 10 letters with Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca in November 1915. He promised Hussein that Arab independence be recognized "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca" in return for Hussein launching a revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

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The Arab Revolt -

In June 1916, the Arab Revolt was launched on the basis of the quid pro quo agreement in the letters.

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Sykes–Picot Agreement -

The men were unaware that secretly, the British, French, and Russian governments had concluded the Sykes–Picot Agreement less than three weeks earlier. This Anglo-French treaty was negotiated in late 1915 and early 1916 between Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot.

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Sykes–Picot Agreement -

Picot was a Beirut-based, French diplomat and former consul-general. Their agreement defined the proposed spheres of influence and control in Western Asia should they defeat the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It divided up many Arab territories into British- and French-administered areas.

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Sykes–Picot Agreement -

The map devised by Sykes-Picot ignored local identities and political preferences. Borders were determined with a ruler. Sykes famously explained his logic: "I should like to draw a line from the 'E' in Acre to the last 'K' in Kirkuk."

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Partition preference -

Asquith, a proponent of post-war reform of the Ottoman Empire, resigned in 1916. His successor David Lloyd George favored partition.

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British-Zionist negotiations -

In 1917, the first negotiations between the British and Zionists took place. Mark Sykes and Zionist leadership were involved, as they began working on a draft public declaration with input from Zionist and non-Zionist Jews. There were no representatives from the local Palestinian population.

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Propaganda benefits -

When the final declaration was released, the war was at a stalemate. The Cabinet discussions that preceded it made reference to the perceived propaganda benefits for the Allies among the Jewish community worldwide. The opening words were the first time a major political power openly expressed its support for Zionism.

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No precedent in law -

There was no precedent in international law for the term "national home," which was left intentionally vague about whether a Jewish state was being contemplated.

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Safeguarding rights -

The declaration called for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of the Palestinian Arabs, as well as the the rights and status of Jewish communities in countries other than Palestine.

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The Bolsheviks leaked details of the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement -

Embarrassment followed for the Allies when Russian Bolsheviks released details of secret treaties signed by the government, which included the Sykes-Picot Agreement, in Izvestia and Pravda on November 23, 1917. The details were republished in The Manchester Guardian.

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Reaction in the Arab world -

The agreement was seen as a betrayal of wartime understandings between Britain and the Arabs. The Sharif of Mecca and other Arab leaders saw it as a violation of the commitment in the McMahon–Hussein correspondence, which had launched the Arab Revolt.

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Zionist awareness of the agreement -

The Zionists had been aware of the outlines of the Sykes-Picot Agreement since April 1917, and, more specifically, the part relevant to Palestine.

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The British capture of Palestine -

British Empire forces captured Jerusalem soon after the declaration was made public. Until the end of Mandatory Palestine in 1948, the British would continue to hold the city.

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Jerusalem under British control -

General Edmund Allenby, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), led a victory parade through Jerusalem. The loss was a huge blow to the Ottoman Empire, which had already ceded the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Baghdad.

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"Mandatory Palestine" -

The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of Palestine and Transjordan, creating the "Mandatory Palestine" territory.

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Opposition to the Balfour Declaration - The local Christian and Muslim community of Palestine, who constituted almost 90% of the population, had strongly opposed the Balfour Declaration.

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A spike in US Zionism following the declaration -

The declaration spurred an unintended and extraordinary increase in the number of followers of American Zionism. Their following grew from 7,500 members in 1914, to 30,000 members in 1918, and 149,000 members by 1919.

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The legitimacy of Zionism -

At the time of making it, the British considered that the declaration reflected a previously established dominance of the Zionist position in Jewish thought. However, the Balfour Declaration itself was subsequently responsible for Zionism's legitimacy and leadership.

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Intercommunal conflict -

Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine broke out beginning in 1920, which later widened into the regional Arab–Israeli conflict. The "dual obligation" to the two communities quickly proved an untenable solution.

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Acknowledgement -

In 1939, the British government acknowledged that the wishes and interests of the local population should have been taken into account.

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Indirect consequences -

The declaration had two indirect consequences. The first would be the emergence of the State of Israel; the second, a chronic state of conflict between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

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"Original sin" -

It has been described as the "original sin" of Britain's failure in Palestine, and for wider events in Palestine—the effects of which are still being felt today.

Sources: (The New Yorker) (Britannica) (Al Jazeera) (History Channel)

See also: The Israel-Hamas conflict—the origins behind the current attacks

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