(1845 -1914) Jews in Palestine

There was a small number of Jews in Palestine in the early 20th century, then it increased to 12,000 in 1845 then reached nearly 85,000 (7.6% of the people in Palestine) by 1914.With support from“ The Zionist Movement (1896 – 1916)” a lot of Jews migrated from all over the world to Palestine.

(1915) The Hussein-McMahon Agreement

The Hussein- McMahon correspondence (agreement) was an exchange of letters that lasted for a long time (14 July 1915-30 January 1916) during World War I between Sayyid Hussein Bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca) and Sir Henry McMahon (British High commissioner in Egypt). Henry McMahon convinced Sayyid Hussein to lead an Arab revolt (to refuse to obey rules or laws) against the Ottoman Empire, which was aligned with Germany against Britain and France in the war. Henry McMahon promised that if the Arabs supported Britain in the war, the British government would support the establishment of an independent Arab state under Hashemite rule in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine. The Arab revolt, led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Hussein’s son Faysal, was successful in defeating the Ottomans, and Britain took control over much of this area during World War I.

This is a letter sent to Sayyid Hussein from Henry McMahon.

(1896 – 1916) The Zionist Movement

The Zionist Movement is the movement of all Jews all over the world to Palestine aiming to create a Jewish state there. In 1896, anti-Semitism (Bad attitude towards Jews because they’re Jews) appeared in Europe, so Theodor Herzl tried to find the solution to this Problem in his book “The Jewish State”, He recommended the creation of a Jewish state in Argentina or Palestine. In 1904, The Fourth Zionist Congress decided to create a national homeland for the Jews in Argentina, but in 1906 the Zionist congress decided that the Jewish homeland should be in Palestine.

Theodor Herzl, The founder of Zionism

(May 2, 1860- July 3, 1904)

(1916) Sykes-Picot Agreement

The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secret agreement between the French and British governments. It was discussed and arranged by the French diplomat (François Georges-Picot ) and the British diplomat (Sir Mark Sykes) between November 1915 and March 1916 and it finished on the 16th of May 1916.The agreement divided the Arab regions of the Ottoman Empire outside the Arabian Peninsula into areas of British and French control. Syria and Lebanon were controlled by France while Iraq and Jordan were controlled by Britain, Palestine was made international.

Diplomat: (ambassador) someone who represents their government in a foreign country.

(1917) Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration (a formal announcement) which was on 2nd November 1917, was a letter from England’s foreign secretary (Arthur James Balfour) to (Walter Rothschild) a leader of the British Jewish community. The reason he sent that letter is to confirm support from the British government for establishing (creating) in Palestine a homeland for the Jews.

Arthur James Balfour, the one who sent the Balfour Declaration to Walter Rothschild.

(1918) Jews Immigration

After World War I ended in 1918, The Jewish Immigration to Palestine began. There was a large amount of Jewish people settling and developing in Palestine and the Jewish people increased 10 times during the 1930s. Large numbers of Jewish people fled Europe and tried to escape. Tel-Aviv became the country’s most popular Jewish city.

(1919) Palestinians First National Conference

The Palestine Arab congress (First national conference) were series of congresses which were held by the Palestinian Arab Population , and the Palestinian Arab congresses were organized by a nationwide network of local Muslim -Christian associations between the years 1919 and 1928. They were a series of seven congresses. And the congresses were held in Jerusalem Jaffa Haifa and Nablus. The first Palestine Arab conference met between the 27th of January and the 10th of February 1919 in Jerusalem. The congress rejected political Zionism (that aimed at creating in Palestine a legal home for the Jews). The resolutions (decisions) of the congress were:

Palestine considered part of an independent Syrian state. No foreign influence or control. Banning French suggestions for the area. To keep things friendly with Britain and the allied powers

(France, Russia, Italy…) accepting help on condition that it didn’t affect the country’s independence.

1920 - San Remo Conference

The San Remo conference was an international conference held in San Remo, Italy from the 19th till the 26th of April 1920. It was hastily (hurriedly) arranged. It was attended by the prime ministers of Great Britain, France, and Italy, and representatives (a person chosen or appointed to speak for another or others) of Japan, Greece, and Belgium. The conference reaffirmed the terms of the Sykes- Picot Agreement 1916 and the Balfour declaration 1917. The Conference also gave Britain a mandate (an official order to do something) over Palestine.

(1922) The British Mandate of Palestine

The mandate’s main purpose was to create a national homeland for the Jews. This task was given to the British to accomplish. The British Mandate for Palestine was created by the League of Nations over areas on both sides of the Jordan River.

In 1920, The League of Nations agreed to give 120,466 square kilometres (Palestine and Transjordan) for creating a Jewish National Homeland.

Two years later in 1922, the territory of Jewish Palestine had been reduced from 120,466 square kilometres to 28,166 square kilometres (77% of the original mandate).

The League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine and Transjordan.

1956 - The Massacre of Kafr Qasim

Killed: 48-49

Wounded: --

Displaced: --

The Kafr Qasim massacre took place on the 29th of October 1956 in Kafr Qasem village. 48 Arab civilians were killed (including 6 women and 23 children aged 8-17). It was started by the Israel Border Police. The Israeli army ordered that all Arab villages near the Jordanian border were to be placed under a wartime curfew (no one is allowed to walk in the streets) from 5 pm instead of 6pm. At 4:30 pm, the Mukhtar (mayor) of Kafr Qasem was informed of the new time. He was concerned about the 400 villagers that were working outside the village that they didn’t know the new curfew time. An

officer assured (guaranteed) him that they would be taken care of. When the word was sent, most returned immediately but others didn’t. The border policemen who were involved in the shooting were brought to trial and were found guilty and were sentenced to prison terms (went to prison).

These are some of the people who died in the massacre.

(1956) Suez War

The war was between Egypt on one side and Israel, Britain and France on the other side.

Reasons of the war:

Gamal Abd El-Nasser’s decision of July 26th 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal, so Britain attacked to regain western control of the canal and to remove Gamal Abd El-Nasser from power.

Israel wanted to complete its state from the Euphrates (a river) to the Nile.

Results:

Sinai was controlled by Israel until March 1957. Britain’s period as a superpower began to end.

(1964) The PLO Establishment

The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) is an organization created in 1964 to create an independent state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat was the chairman of the PLO from 1969 until his death in 2004.

This is a photo of Yasser Arafat.

(1967) The Six Day War

Killed: Israel: 776-983

Egypt: 10,000-15,000 killed or missing

Jordan: 6000 killed or missing

Syria: 2500

Iraq: 10

Wounded: Israel: 4517

Egypt:???

Jordan:???

Syria:???

Iraq: 30

Captured: Israel: 15

Egypt: 4338

Jordan: 533

Syria: 591

Iraq: ???

The Six Day War was fought between the 5th and the 10th of June 1967. It was between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel won the war. The war began on 5th of June with Israel launching surprise bombs against Egyptian air-fields and the Jordanian controlled West Bank because of sabotage acts aimed at Israeli targets (acts to destroy Israeli targets). Israel began aerial violence over Syrian land. The Syrians attacked against Israeli settlements near the border. Then the Israeli responded by attacking Syrian positions in Golan Heights and the demilitarized zones (an area where military installations are forbidden) along the Syrian border.

Israel took control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip (Egypt), The West Bank (Jordan) and the Golan Heights (Syria) after the Six Day War.