depth study #1 - British Policy and the Middle East 1914 to 1948

1915 - McMahon Hussein Correspondence

• the British High commissioner and Sharif of Mecca exchanged letters

• Br encouraged Arab independence and promised to help establish a new Gov if they fought against their Turkish rulers

1916 - Arab Revolt

• an army was raised to fight the Turks

• blew up Turkish trains and bridges

• disrupted the flow of military supplies

1916 - Sykes-Picot Agreement

• Br and F secretly agreed to carve up Turkey's Arab lands after the war

• needed to maintain allyship as the war was not going well

• protected the Suez Canal and trading links

• maintained power and influence

1917 - The Balfour Declaration

• Br Gov expressed support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine

• homeland instead of state to avoid contradicting the McMahon-Hussein correspondence and angering the Arabs

• wanted to bring the USA into the war, American Jews could help influence their Gov

1919 - League of Nations hands out mandates

• at Paris Peace Conference

• 'peace to end all peace'

• Br given Transjordan, Iraq and Palestine, F given Syria and Lebanon

• Egypt under heavy British control

1920 - San Remo Conference

• ordered Arabs to withdraw and mandates to be enforced

• Faisal and Abdullah (proclaimed Kings) removed

• Br offered Faisal control of Iraq and Abdullah control of Transjordan as Hashemites (they owe their power to Br)

1919 to 1946 - British rule in Transjordan

• created the Arab Legion to help the Br fight incursions

• modernisation (roads, communication, education)

• created Transjordan Frontier Force to defend borders, responsible to British High Commissioner instead of the Amir

• 1928; Organic Law (constitution) established

• 1946; mandate ended due to financial exhaustion after WW2 (full independence in exchange for military facilities

1919 to 1932 - British rule in Iraq

• Iraqi nationalists responded to the mandate with rebellion

• Br had 100,000 troops in Iraq by 1920 and crushed the rebellion

• Br set up a new Iraqi state that was independent but tied to Britain

• defended from attacks by Turkey and Iran

• 1932; granted independence but Br still controlled foreign policy and 2 airbases

oil

• 1914; Anglo-Persian Oil Company (Br control)

• 1925; Iraq Petroleum Company (Br 49% share, F & US)

• 1933; Standard Oil Company in Saudi Arabia (US control)

• further dimension to tensions

1914 to WW2 - Britain and Egypt

• interest due to Suez Canal cutting through territory

• 1914; Br forcefully removed pro-Turkish ruler

• Cairo flooded with Br troops that seized crops and forced them to work

• 1919; revolution crushed by Br troops with many injured and killed

• 1922; Egypt declared independent Sovereign State but Br kept control of vital areas

• Formation of the WAFD party (nationalist, delegation seeking to represent) trying to gain complete independence

• 1936; deadlock broken, Farouk succeeded as King, new treaty allowing them to join LoN

• full independence remained a generation away

1920s - Palestine

• Arabs angry at increased Jewish immigration

• Arabs evicted by new Jewish farms

• British High Commissioner was Jewish and seemed to be threatening them

• Chaim Weizmann said "make Palestine as Jewish as England is English" at Versailles

• 1921; unrest in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, 200 Jews and 120 Arabs dead

• Br immediately stopped all Jewish immigration, only part would become a homeland

• 1929; population consisted of 1 million Arabs and 160,000 Jews

1936 to 1939 - Arab Rebellion

• caused by expanding Zionist settlements leading to Arabs becoming impoverished

• fought to prevent being evicted by the Jews

• Arab High Committee called for a general strike, unsuccessful as they were replaced by Jewish workers

• widespread fighting broke out, over 20 Jews killed in a month

• caught up in civil war by summer

• Br responded harshly by hanging and exiling leaders as well as destroying houses suspected of containing terrorists/arms

• Br helped train and organise the Haganah

1939 - The Peel Commission

• set up by Br to investigate causes of unrest in Palestine

• concluded cooperation was impossible and suggested a partition

• Arabs rejected the plan

• Jewish Agency agreed despite wanting a fully Jewish Palestine as they knew they were not strong enough to demand more

1939 - The White Paper

• Br needed the Arab countries onside during WW2 for oil and supplies

• scrapped partition, wanted an independent Palestine in 10 years with dual governing responsibilities

• continued to rule and restrict Jewish immigration

• Jews were furious and felt betrayed

April 1946 - King David Hotel

• Br military HQ bombed by the Jewish

• Irgun placed bombs

• killed 88 (15 Jews)

February 1947 - officers club

• Br officers club in Jerusalem

• bombs and gunfire

• 20 died

• Br introduced martial law for 15 days

1947 - British decision to hand over Palestine

• Two incidents in 1947 convinced the British to withdraw

• The hanging of two British soldiers in retaliation, which was front page in many British newspaper

• The publicity of the British preventing The Exodus carrying 4500 refugees landing gaining sympathy for Jewish refugees

• Britain were facing worldwide criticism

• Exhausted after WW2, couldn't afford to keep troops in Palestine

• Decided to hand over to the UN in May 1948

1947 - UN Partition Plan

• set up separate Arab and Jewish states

• Jews to be given 55% of territory despite being only 1/3 of the population

• Jerusalem to be an international zone

• Arab High Committee rejected as many Arab areas had been designated to the Jews

• Jewish Agency accepted but were not pleased that Jerusalem was excluded

• Irgun said it was 'illegal'

Nov 1947 to May 1948 - Civil War

• Arab High Committee proclaimed a 3 day strike, led to outbreaks of violence against Jews

• wealthy Arab business owners fled to avoid conflict

• Jewish forces were initially defensive but turned offensive to gain control of land and roads leading to Jerusalem

• the Arabs had no organised military

• Arab leaders either divided or exiled

• soldiers from Syria and Iraq came to help but the Jews predicted this

March 1948 - Plan D

• made by the Haganah

• take over installations evacuated by the Br and expel as many Palestinians as possible

• forcible expulsion from villages down coast (Haifa to Tel Aviv)

• if the Arabs refused to leave they would be forced into lorries and driven to Transjordan

• Explosions in Haifa, nearly 100,000 Arabs fled the village

April 1948 - Deir Yassin

• massacres of civilians to secure roads leading to Jerusalem, some in retaliation

• Irgun fighters attacked the Arab Territory and killed 245 inhabitants

• claimed they believed it was an Arab HQ

May 1948 - Arab Exodus

• 300,000 Arabs had fled Palestine by this point

14th May 1948

• State of Israel declared by Ben-Gurion