Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with Amman as its capital. Initially
under the supervision of the British
in Jerusalem, the territory became
totally independent in 1946, with
Abdullah confirmed as its king.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE OTTOMANS
AND THE BRITISH MANDATE
Turkish rule in Palestine ended in
1917, during World War I, when British
troops under the command of General
Allenby took Jerusalem.
The Arabs, under their
leader Faisal, had fought
alongside the British and
expected Palestine in
return. However, with the
Balfour Declaration of 1917
the British had let it be
known that “His Majesty's
government favourably
views the creation of a
national Jewish home in
Palestine”. In the event,
peace talks in 1920 put
Palestine under British
authority and this was
ratified by the League of
Nations on 24 July 1922.
The following year, in order to
placate Arab discontent, the British
recognized Trans-Jordan as an autono-
mous Arab emirate, ruled by the emir
Abdullah, the eldest brother of Faisal,
ARAB-JEWISH CONFLICT
At the time of World War
I, some 500,000 Palestinian
Arabs and about 85,000
Jews were living in the
Holy Land. In the 20 years
between then and the out-
break of World War II
about 250,000 more Jews
arrived at the ports of Jaffa
and Haifa to settle in
Palestine. Each new wave
of immigrants served to
increase th e tension
between the Palestinian
and Jewish communities.
In 1929 Palestinian riots
culminated in a series of pogroms in
Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed. An Arab
“revolt” proclaimed in 1936 led to a
six-month general strike that brought
the country to a standstill.
Zionist poster soliciting funds
for a homeland in Palestine
The Theodor Herzl about to dock at Haifa, decks crowded with Jewish immigrants, 1947
l
TIMELINE
TE Lawrence
“of Arabia”
1916 Faisal and the Arabs,
encouraged by TE Lawrence,
join the British in a desert
war against the Turks
24 July 1922
League of Nations
ratifies British
mandate in Palestine
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1925
1909 F ounding of
Tel Aviv and first
A
kibbutz in Palestine
1914 War breaks
out in Europe; the
Ottoman Turks
side with Germany
1917 General
Allenby captures
Jerusalem from the
Ottoman Turks
General Allenby
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