Map 18: Britain Conquers Palestine

[Hauksbee]

                                  Britain conquers Palestine

After the failure of the Gallipoli campaign in 1916, Allied forces regrouped in Egypt and began making plans to take Ottoman-held land in the Levant. This map shows part of that effort, Britain's successful 1917 campaign in Palestine. The British invasion of Palestine would have long-lasting consequences. On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a letter endorsing "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." Balfour cautioned that "nothing shall be done that may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." In 1922, the League of Nations officially endorsed British administration of Palestine. British policies after World War I helped lay the groundwork for the eventual UN partition of Palestine between Arab and Jewish states — and everything that followed from that.

For a great film about the Battle for Beersheba, check out the Australian film "The Light Horsemen" [Hauksbee]

Edited November 7, 2014 by Hauksbee

[Wayfarer]

Thanks Hauksbee, that is a timely one.  I am just reading James Barr's 'A Line In The Sand', about the dealings of Britain and France in the middle east during WW1 and afterward.  Very intersting book, both for the events themselves and and their ramifications for the situation today.