Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!

Zoughbi Zoughbi mentioned Balfour to me yesterday and I decided that I should write about this. My feeling is that the involvement of the British in the mess which is Israel/Palestine is not as well known as it should be. I am going to attempt a simple explanation of what was (and still is) a highly complex issue.

Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour wrote to the Christian Zionist Movement on 2nd November 1917 the following:-

His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

During the first World War, Britain made different and incompatible agreements with the Arabs.  T E Lawrence (as in Lawrence of Arabia) worked to secure independence for the Arabs and made promises on behalf of the British Government. However, Britain made different agreements with France to carve up the territory between them, and these prevailed.

Britain wanted to secure control of the area defined as Palestine (in 1919), and thought that encouragement for a national home for the Jews would benefit Britain's claim on Palestine. 

The Mandate was the colonisation of Palestine by the British and given credibility and legality by the League of Nations (the forerunner of the United Nations). It came into effect on 29th September 1923. The Balfour Declaration was included in this document in full.

Article 14 of the Mandate states:-

Article 14

A special Commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. The method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the approval of the Council.

Sadly, and to Britain's shame, this Commission was never created. Considering the tension now around these sights, this was a grave mistake. 

The Jewish population of Palestine was less than 8 percent of the population in 1918. Jews were encouraged to immigrate, buy land, organise a militia, set up a shadow government in waiting and form the nucleus of a future Jewish state under the protection of the British army. 

Whereas the Arab response to the incoming Jews was fairly welcoming immediately after the war, feelings among the Arabs that Britain would renege on the second part of the Balfour Declaration increased and animosity towards the enormous immigration increased, leading to the Arab revolt from 1936 to 1939. Britain brutally suppressed the Arab uprising, hanged some of  the ring leaders and forced the remainder to flee, leaving the Jewish militia in a strong position.  

Relationships between the British and the Jews also deteriorated, as Britain tried to constrain the massive immigration. The Jewish Militias (Irgun, Haganah, and the Stern gang) fought the British independently. With the ever increasing immigration following the end of WWII, and Britain's futile attempts to stop Jews coming to Israel, the Jews appealed to America and received significant financial support. The Militias were able to purchase arms from Czechoslovakia. 

Britain decided in 1947 to withdraw from Palestine. A UN partition Plan was created, which proposed to divide Palestine into an Israeli State, a Palestinian State and an international area around Jerusalem.  

Britain, who had been supplying arms to the Arab countries, stopped doing this, fearing that America would lift its ban on supplying arms to Israel. The result of this was to create a very unequal balance of power between the Israeli and Arab forces which were left to fight it out when Britain left.  

On 14th May, the last day of the Mandate, the Chief Secretary of the British Administration told the press that the British would "leave the key under the mat". 

War broke out the following day. As a result of the war, Israel kept the area designated as the State of Israel, but also occupied 60% of the area allocated to Palestine. No Palestinian state was created. 

During this war, around 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from the area allocated to Israel and were forced to become refugees. Sixty five years on, most of these Palestinians are still refugees. They are stateless, with nowhere to go and not wanted by anyone. The demarcation line agreed in 1949 between all the arab countries and Israel following the 1948 war is known as the "Green Line", was defined by where the opposing armies were on the day of the armistice. The area inside the line became know as the West Bank (and Gaza).

During the six-day war in 1967, Israel occupied the whole of the West Bank and Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but still retains control of all movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza, and controls the airspace and coastline. 

Israel still effectively controls the whole of the West Bank. Following the Oslo Accord in 1993, some areas within the West bank have a degree of autonomy. However, in practice, Israel security overrides all local decision making. All Palestinian towns have entry/exit gates which are controlled by the israeli military and can be closed at a moment's notice sealing off every town. Areas can be designated as military zones, roads blocked, checkpoints installed and permit rules changed, all in the interests of Israeli security.   

The British role in the Israel/Palestine conflict was significant, duplicitous and shameful. On 2nd November 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, it would be good if the British Government acknowledged its responsibility in this matter and pledged itself to work for restorative justice.  

[amended on 8th March in the light of comments received]