This Week in the Middle East - The Sykes-Picot Agreement

 

This Week’s Historical Theme: The Middle East 

 

19 May 1916 

 

A significant event throughout the history of the Middle East is the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The First World War was a turning point in the Arab struggle for independence against their Turkish rulers under the Ottoman empire. Turkey fought on the German side against Britian and its allies. As the British navy were beginning to make more use out of oil, they were afraid that their supplies of oil from Persia might be cut off by the Turks and also wished to protect the Suez Canal. As a result, they decided to encourage the Arabs to rebel against their Turkish rulers and seek independence. The British high commissioner in Egypt, Sir Herbert McMahon, exchanged several letters with Hussein, the sharif of Mecca, promising that if the Arabs fought against the Turks, the British would support Arab independence. As a result, in 1916 an Arab army was raised and led by Emir (Prince) Faisal, the son of Hussein. In 1917, British troops entered Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, driving out the Turks. 

 

Having fought for their independence from the Turks, the Arabs were determined to be completely self-governed. British and French colonial interests got in the way of this as they wished to maintain their power and influence in the Middle East. They had made a secret agreement in 1916 to carve up Turkey’s Arab lands after the war and share them out between themselves. This is known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement. After the conclusion of WWI, The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 gave Britain mandates to govern Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq, and France mandates to govern Syria and Lebanon. These regions were divided by the Sykes-Picot borders which divided the Middle East into spheres of influence with little regard for the problems this would subsequently cause. 

 

Want to find out more about the Sykes-Picot Agreement? Click here for more information, or here for more about Mandatory Palestine. 

 

 

November 29 - The UN Votes to Partition Palestine

This Day in History: 29 November 2020

 

29 November 1947

 

73 years ago, today, the UN voted for the partition of Palestine, and the creation of an independent Jewish state, despite strong Arab opposition. This plan proposed that the Jews were to possess more than half of Palestine, even though they made up less than half of Palestine's population. The Palestinian Arabs, aided by volunteers from other countries, fought against the Zionist forces. Despite this, the Jews secured full control of their allocated area of Palestine and also some Arab territory. In May 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed by Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion, and the next day, forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded.

 

The modern conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine had dated back to the 1910s, when both groups laid claim to the territory, controlled by the British at the time. These Jews mainly consisted of Zionists, recent emigrants from Europe and Russia who came to the Jews' ancient homeland to establish a Jewish national state. The native Palestinian Arabs, on the other hand, sought to prevent Jewish immigration and set up a secular Palestinian state. The British also attempted to limit Jewish immigration as a means of appeasing the Arabs. However, many Jews illegally entered Palestine during World War II, as a result of the Holocaust in Europe.

 

Want to find out more about the UN partition of Palestine? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

November 2 - The Balfour Declaration is Written

This Day in History: 2 November 2020

 

2 November 1917

 

103 years ago, today, the Balfour Declaration was written. This was a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Britain's most illustrious Jewish citizen, Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, expressing the British government's support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The letter stated that "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." Britain had supported the Zionist movement due to the country's concerns regarding the First World War. Prime Minister Lloyd George did hold a genuine belief in Zionism's righteousness, but Britain's leaders also hoped that a supporting statement would help gain Jewish support for the Allied war effort.

 

The influence of the Balfour Declaration on the course of post-war events was immediate. According to the 'mandate' system created by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Britain was entrusted with the administration of Palestine, with the understanding that it would support both the Jewish and Arab inhabitants. However, it did not succeed in maintaining the letter and spirit of the mandate. Britain announced its termination of its mandate over Palestine in 1947, after the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution to partition Palestine.

 

Want to find out more about the Balfour Declaration? Click here for more information, or here for more about the British mandate of Palestine.

October 13 - The Landshut Crisis

This Day in History: 13 October 2020

 

13 October 1977

 

43 years ago, today, four Palestinians hijacked a Lufthansa airliner, named the 'Landshut', and demanded for the release of 11 imprisoned members the German terrorist group, Baader-Meinhof, also known as the Red Army Faction. This was a group of ultra-left revolutionaries who terrorised Germany for three decades, as they assassinated more than 30 corporate, military and government leaders in an attempt to topple German capitalism. Their activity had peaked in the same year, leading to the national crisis of the 'German Autumn'. In total, they were responsible for 34 deaths, and many injuries, and 27 members or supporters were killed.

 

The Palestinian hijackers had taken the plane on a 6-country journey, eventually landing in Mogadishu, Somalia, four days later, after shooting one of the plane's pilots. Early the next morning, a German special forces team stormed the aircraft, releasing 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers. Luckily, only one of the German soldiers was wounded. Later that day, the Red Army Faction's imprisoned leaders responded to the news by committing suicide in their jail cell. After the crisis, the German government stated that it would never again negotiate with terrorists. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was widely praised for his decision to rescue the hostages, although some countries criticised the risk-taking.

 

Want to find out more about the Landshut crisis? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Red Army Faction.

September 13 - The First Oslo Accord is Signed

This Day in History: 13 September 2020

 

13 September 1993

 

27 years ago, today, the Oslo Accords were officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington, D.C., between the PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and American President Bill Clinton. The accord provided for the creation of a Palestinian interim self-government and decided that this would have responsibility for the administration of territory under its control. With the signing, the Israel Defence Forces were forced to withdraw from parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The PLO also acknowledged the State of Israel and pledged to reject violence, while Israel likewise recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.

This agreement was historic as the Jews and the Arabs in Palestine had been constantly fighting for many decades before the accords. However, matters began to improve once Yasser Arafat had recognised the State of Israel's right to exist in 1988, thus authorising the beginning of 'land-for-peace' negotiations with Israel. Although Israel initially refused to open direct talks with the PLO, newly elected Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin vowed to move quickly on the peace process. He froze new Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and later authorised secret negotiations between Israel and the PLO. Even though the second Oslo Accord was signed in 1995, neither accord promised Palestinian statehood, and the peace process was stalled once right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister.

Want to find out more about the Oslo Accords? Click here for more information, or here for a video with more about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

September 5 - The Munich Olympics Massacre

This Day in History: 5 September 2020

 

5 September 1972

 

48 years ago, today, the Munich Olympics massacre began, when a group of Palestinian terrorists stormed the Olympic Village apartment of Israeli athletes. Two were killed, and nine others were taken hostage. The terrorists were part of a group known as Black September. In return for the release of the hostages, they demanded that Israel release over 230 Arabs being held in Israeli jails, as well as two German terrorists. At Munich airport, the nine Israeli hostages were killed along with five terrorists in a shootout. Olympic competition was suspended for 24 hours in memorial for the athletes.

 

At the main Munich Olympic stadium, after the memorial service was held, it was ordered that the games continue by the International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage, in order to show that the terrorists had not won. Even though the tragedy deeply scarred the games, there were still many moments of great athletic achievement. This included American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven gold medals. In the aftermath of the murders and Olympics, the Israeli government, led by Golda Meir, hired a group of Mossad agents to track down and kill the Black September terrorists.

 

Want to find out more about the Munich Olympics massacre? Click here for more information, or watch the 2005 Stephen Spielberg film 'Munich', which was based on these events.

Our Map

The map at the bottom of our page is about to be archived, and we will start with a fresh one for the next academic year. The picture above is therefore a map of all of our readers' locations for 2009-10 (click on it for more detail). Nonsuch HP has been very excited to discover that the blog has been read across the world, with our favourite locations being Kazakstan, Rwanda and, in the top spot, the Palestinian Territory. We were also excited to get a reader from Brazil this week - our first in South America! We would like to take this opportunity to send thanks to all our readers, at Nonsuch, in Britain or around the world, and hope they have a very enjoyable summer (or winter if you are south of the equator!)