(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 ElNasser 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.