ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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This article describes the political development of the Palestinian territories in the historic region of Palestine beginning with the end of the First World War, which sealed the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

Geopolitical situation at the beginning of the 20th century Century
The Hussein-McMahon Correspondence (an exchange of letters from 1915 to 1916 between the Emir of Hedja, Hussein ibn Ali, Sherif of Mecca, and Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commissioner in Egypt) concerned the political future of the Arab countries of the Middle East and the aspiration of Great Britain to foment an Arab revolt against Ottoman rule. McMahon’s statements were seen by the Arabs as a promise of Arab independence.

The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 16. On the other hand, in May 1916, a secret agreement between the Governments of Great Britain and France determined their colonial interests in the Middle East without including the interests of the Arabs.

In the Balfour Declaration of 2. On November 1, 1917, Britain declared itself in agreement with the Zionist aspirations to establish a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine. The rights of existing non-Jewish communities should be respected. At that time, Palestine was still in the Ottoman sphere of power. On October 31, 1917, the conquest of Be’er Sheva under British General Edmund Allenby had taken place on the Palestine front and thus the conquest of Palestine by British troops had begun, which was effectively ended by December 1917. The Battle of Megiddo and the capture of Damascus shortly afterwards also marked the end of the British-Ottoman Mesopotamian front and the Arab revolt. The Ottoman Empire had to agree to the armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918.

At the Sanremo Conference, which will take place from 19 to 26. In April 1920, in Sanremo, Italy, the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan) decided on various mandates (Syria, Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Palestine) as part of the redistribution of the defeated Ottoman Empire. France received the League of Nations Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, while Britain received Palestine (both Jordanian) and the British Mandate Mesopotamia (Iraq). Since the interests of the Arabs were not taken into account, they felt betrayed.

British Mandate Palestine
One objective of the Mandate for Palestine was the implementation of the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Article 25 of the mandate allowed Britain to temporarily exclude the mandate areas “between the Jordan River and the definitively established eastern border of Palestine” from the implementation of essential mandate provisions, such as those for the establishment of a Jewish national home. This became the prerequisite for the 1923 deployment