The Palestinians and British Perfidy : The Tragic Aftermath of the Balfour Declaration of 1917

Ottoman Turkey's decision to ally with Germany in the First World War led directly to the British (and French) conquest of the Middle East and sealed the fate of Palestine. In a monstrous betrayal of its people (93% of them Arab) the November 1917 Balfour Declaration withheld the independence they rightly anticipated and, for strategic reasons, earmarked Palestine as a National Home for the Jewish People. Ronald Storrs, a British Foreign and Colonial Office official, remarked that "The U.K. proposed to hand (Palestine), without consulting the occupants, to a third party; and what sort of third party!" The result was the foundation of Israel in 1948. Through ethnic cleansing and massacre, the new state drove out helpless Palestinian victims of Perfidious Albion, in whom London at no stage showed the slightest interest. They were condemned to seventy years in refugee camps or to second-class citizenship of Israel as, in the words of an Israeli Foreign Minister, the land-grab state was "born in sin." Credit for this shameful act is generally given to the Zionist supporters of Theodore Herzl. But Britain cleared the way by expelling the Mufti of Jerusalem, the Palestinians' only leader, providing the Zionists, who extraordinarily made concurrent overtures to Hitler and Mussolini, with military training in Britain's Second World War campaigns in Iraq and Syria. Itself ejected by its ungrateful protege, Britain lost all the aims of its Declaration (no base to guard the Suez Canal, no Haifa port, no railway to Iraq, and no oil pipeline) and all its prestige in the Arab World. Ottoman Turkey's decision to ally with Germany in the First World War led directly to the British (and French) conquest of the Middle East and sealed the fate of Palestine. In a monstrous betrayal of its people, 93 percent of them Arab, the November 1917 Balfour Declaration withheld the independence they rightly anticipated and for strategic reasons earmarked Palestine as a National Home for the Jewish People. Ronald Storrs, a British Foreign and Colonial Office official, remarked that 'The U.K. proposed to hand (Palestine), without consulting the occupants, to a third party; and what sort of third party!' The result was the foundation of Israel in 1948. Through ethnic cleansing and massacre the new state drove out helpless Palestinian victims of Perfidious Albion, in whom London at no stage showed the slightest interest. They were condemned to seventy years in refugee camps or to second-class citizenship of Israel as, in the words of an Israeli Foreign Minister, the land-grab state was 'born in sin'. Credit for this shameful act is generally given to the Zionist supporters of Theodor Herzl. But Britain cleared the way by expelling the Mufti of Jerusalem, the Palestinians' only leader, and by providing the Zionists, who extraordinarily made concurrent overtures to Hitler and Mussolini, with military training in Britain's Second World War campaigns in Iraq and Syria. Itself ejected by its ungrateful protégé, Britain lost all the aims of its Declaration (no base to guard the Suez Canal, no Haifa port, no railway to Iraq and no oil pipeline) and all its prestige in the Arab World. Book jacket Ottoman Turkeys decision to ally with Germany in the First World War led directly to the British (and French) conquest of the Middle East and sealed the fate of Palestine. In a monstrous betrayal of its people, 93 percent of them Arab, the November 1917 Balfour Declaration withheld the independence they rightly anticipated and for strategic reasons earmarked Palestine as a National Home for the Jewish People. Ronald Storrs, a British Foreign and Colonial Office official, remarked that The U.K. proposed to hand (Palestine), without consulting the occupants, to a third party; and what sort of third party! The result was the foundation of Israel in 1948. Through ethnic cleansing and massacre the new state drove out helpless Palestinian victims of Perfidious Albion, in whom London at no stage showed the slightest interest. They were condemned to seventy years in refugee camps or to second-class citizenship of Israel as, in the words of an Israeli Foreign Minister, the land-grab state was born in sin. Credit for this shameful act is generally given to the Zionist supporters of Theodore Hertzl. But Britain cleared the way by expelling the Mufti of Jerusalem, the Palestinians only leader, providing the Zionists, who extraordinarily made concurrent overtures to Hitler and Mussolini, with military training in Britains Second World War campaigns in Iraq and Syria. Itself ejected by its ungrateful protege, Britain lost all the aims of its Declaration (no base to guard the Suez Canal, no Haifa port, no railway to Iraq and no oil pipeline) and all its prestige in the Arab World. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Preface 7 Acknowledgements 9 Illustrations 10 Abbreviations 13 Introduction 16 Part One MACHINATION 22 1 Zionism Emerges 24 2 The UK Promotes a Jewish Palestine 33 Part Two JUSTIFICATION 38 3 Palestine’s Doom is Documented 40 Part Three OCCUPATION 70 4 The UK Conquers Palestine and the Sharif is Hoodwinked 72 5 Faysal Fails to Fight for Palestine 84 Part Four CAPITULATION 96 6 ‘Mr. Lloyd George’s Madness’ Crowns the Zionist March into Palestine 98 7 Herbert Samuel Lays the Groundwork of the Jewish State 117 8 Balfour Savours his Handiwork 147 Part Five VACILLATION 160 9 A White Paper and a Black Letter 162 10 Zionism Resurgent 181 11 The Sorceror Prepares to be Overthrown by the Apprentice 201 Part Six HUMILIATION 216 12 Israel is ‘Born in Sin’ 218 Notes 242 Bibliography 283 Index 299 About Sussex Academic Press 324 Preface vi Acknowledgements viii Illustrations ix Abbreviations xii Introduction 1 Part One MACHINATION 1 Zionism Emerges 9 2 The UK Promotes a Jewish Palestine 18 Part Two JUSTIFICATION 3 Palestine’s Doom is Documented 25 Part Three OCCUPATION 4 The UK Conquers Palestine and the Sharif is Hoodwinked 57 5 Faysal Fails to Fight for Palestine 69 Part Four CAPITULATION 6 ‘Mr. Lloyd George’s Madness’ Crowns the Zionist 83 March into Palestine 7 Herbert Samuel Lays the Groundwork of the Jewish State 102 8 Balfour Savours his Handiwork 132 Part Five VACILLATION 9 A White Paper and a Black Letter 147 10 Zionism Resurgent 166 11 The Sorceror Prepares to be Overthrown by the Apprentice 186 Part Six HUMILIATION 12 Israel is ‘Born in Sin’ 203 Notes, Bibliography, Index 227–307