Table of Contents
This seventh installment explores the transformative impact of the British occupation on Palestine, uncovering how broken promises, military conquests, and strategic colonial policies enabled Zionist ambitions. It examines the reshaping of Palestinian society and the rapid growth of Jewish institutions under British rule, while reflecting on the Islamic perspective of these pivotal events in Palestinian history.
The Dawn of the British Occupation in Palestine
In the name of ALLAH, praise be to ALLAH, and Peace and Blessings upon the Messenger of ALLAH, His family, companions, and those who follow Him.
Welcome, dear brothers and cherished friends, to a new article, the seventh in our series “The Story of Palestine“. In this program, we briefly recount the essence of Palestinian history, from the inception of the idea of Jewish return to Palestine until the outbreak of the Flood in October 2023. Our aim is to unearth the roots of this story: why does it remain, even after more than a century, a tale ablaze with passion and conflict? How did Theodor Herzl succeed where his forebears failed for three thousand years? What does the future hold for this narrative, as foretold in the Quran and Sunnah, and as hinted by unfolding events?
For those eager to verify and delve deeper into these insights, this series draws from my book “Summary of the Story of Palestine“1, available for free download, complete with references to edition and page numbers for every fact.
In this article, we embark on a somber chapter, one that begins with the British occupation of Palestine. Europe, at the time, was spiraling into a world war, torn by rivalries between rising and falling powers—a clash of interests and influence that inevitably led to conflict.
The Ottoman Empire, weakened and faltering, became prey, with all eyes awaiting its demise to carve up its inheritance. Thus, in its final days, the Ottoman Empire earned the moniker “the Sick Man of Europe“, and its affairs and legacy were dubbed “the Eastern Question“. Europeans feared plunging into a brutal war among themselves to divide the spoils of this ailing empire. This apprehension, this European vigilance, bought the Ottoman Empire a little more time to endure under the looming shadow of the British occupation.
Sultan Abdul Hamid, regarded as the last true Ottoman ruler, strove from his weakened position to navigate these great powers. He hoped their conflicts would erupt into a devastating war, granting the Ottoman Empire a chance to revive. Yet, these European powers delayed their disputes or settled them at the Ottoman Empire’s expense, causing its territories to shrink during Abdul Hamid’s reign. The war did break out, but only five years after his death or deposition.
World War I and the Ottoman Empire’s Collapse
World War I began as a purely European affair, one in which the Ottomans initially had no stake. Yet, it was inevitable that parts of this war’s theater would unfold in Ottoman lands, as Egypt and North Africa were already under British and French influence, and regions like the Caucasus and Turkish territories fell under Russian sway. Western Europe, too, was losing ground to the Russian Empire.
Indeed, while World War I was a European conflict with no direct Ottoman involvement, its battlegrounds spilled into Ottoman territories, and its consequences rippled through unconquered regions like the Levant, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, the Caucasus, and Anatolia.
Thus, the Ottomans sought to gauge the stances of the great powers. Sources reveal that the Allied powers were determined to partition the Ottoman Empire post-war, refusing to offer any guarantees or enter agreements that would spare Ottoman lands from interference. Consequently, the Ottomans aligned with Germany and the Axis powers, who harbored no ambitions for Ottoman territories.
When the war concluded after long chapters, the Axis powers, including the Ottoman Empire, were defeated. The Ottoman Empire lost the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, and our focus now turns to what transpired in the Levant, particularly in Palestine.
During World War I, the British issued three promises: one to the Arabs, one to the Jews, and an agreement with France.
The Broken Promises of the British Occupation
Let us begin with the Arab promise. Britain pledged to Sharif Hussein, the ruler of Hijaz, that he would become the caliph of a grand state encompassing the Levant, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula, forging a strong bond between him and the British. Sharif Hussein and his sons, Faisal and AbduLLAH, were among Britain’s most loyal agents, an elite class of collaborators.
They agreed that Sharif Hussein and his sons, along with their Arab followers, would fight Ottoman forces in Hijaz and the Levant. Sharif Hussein threw himself into this betrayal with full force, delivering a devastating blow to the Ottomans’ back at a critical time.
For those seeking a concise understanding of this role, the renowned military strategist Liddell Hart, in his famous book “Strategy and Its History in the World“, highlights the significance of Sharif Hussein’s actions in dismantling the Ottoman Empire. For further insight into the praises and testimonies of British and Allied leaders about Sharif Hussein’s contributions, I refer you to the book by the Libyan martyr—ALLAH willing—Saleh Abu Yasir, titled “The Jihad of the Palestinian People Over Half a Century“, which includes British accounts of how Sharif Hussein aided in ending the Ottoman Empire.
However, after World War I ended, the British orchestrated an agreement with Faisal, Sharif Hussein’s son, securing his approval for the Balfour Declaration and the facilitation of Jewish immigration to Palestine. They arranged for him to sign an agreement with Chaim Weizmann, the Zionist movement’s leader, known as the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, dated January 3, 1919. In this agreement, Faisal acquiesced to surrendering Palestine in exchange for an Arab state ruled by his father and brothers—Faisal, AbduLLAH, and Zaid, with Zaid governing Hijaz and the caliphate remaining with their father, Sharif Hussein.
This agreement stands as the first legal basis the Zionists clung to, claiming they obtained Palestine with Arab consent.
The Betrayal and Fragmentation Under British Occupation
As the dust of battle settled and World War I subsided, the British betrayed Sharif Hussein. He lost Hijaz to AbdulAziz Al Saud and was exiled to Cyprus, gaining nothing. Yet, the British crafted a state in a patch of desert, appointing his son AbduLLAH as its emir. This state, the Emirate of Transjordan, later became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. They also made his other son, Faisal, emir of Syria.
However, a dispute arose between France and Britain over dividing the Levant and Iraq. France took Syria in exchange for Britain claiming Palestine, leading France to invade Syria. Consequently, Britain transferred Faisal from king of Syria to king of Iraq, all under the banner of colonial occupation.
What matters to us now is that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was merely a system established by the British for one of their most loyal agents, AbduLLAH bin Hussein. This system would play the most perilous roles in the Palestinian cause from that time to the present.
We must also note that the prevailing sentiment in Palestine at that time, before the bitter consequences fully emerged, supported the Ottoman Caliphate. Many viewed Sharif Hussein as a rebel against Islam, defying the Ottoman Caliph, Muhammad Rashad.
The Balfour Declaration and Zionist Triumphs
Now, let us turn to the second promise, the promise to the Jews. Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Balfour, issued his famous declaration to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, stating:
“His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use their best endeavors 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”
Reflecting on this text, we see that the Balfour Declaration, a cornerstone of the British occupation, treated Palestine as a land without owners, devoid of a people. The inhabitants of Palestine were reduced to mere “non-Jewish communities residing there”, not the land’s rightful owners. The declaration also reassured Jews in other countries, calming those who feared it was a conspiracy.
This Balfour Declaration was later endorsed by U.S. President Wilson, who sent a similar letter to the Zionist leader, Rabbi Stephen Wise, and reiterated this support in a letter to the Paris Peace Conference, urging Jews to return to Palestine and promising League of Nations recognition of a Jewish state. The League of Nations, akin to the United Nations, was the system established post-World War I.
The Balfour Declaration marked the most significant triumph for Zionist efforts, as a global superpower—indeed, the greatest superpower—adopted their demands and carried their project. The Zionist project gained the resources of a great power, far beyond a mere Jewish or Zionist organization.
This promise also signified a victory for the Zionist organization over its adversaries within Jewish communities. Some Jews doubted the Zionist organization’s motives or its ability to realize this project, this promised dream that had eluded them for three thousand years. With the Balfour Declaration, the Zionist organization triumphed over its internal critics, gaining access to more Jewish energies and funds, encouraging many Jews to migrate to Palestine. It was no longer just a Zionist project or Chaim Weizmann’s project; it had become Britain’s project, placing Jews under the aegis of a great power.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement and Regional Division
The third promise was an agreement with France, concerning the division of the Levant, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, and eastern Anatolia once the Ottoman Empire fell. Known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, named after Britain’s Mark Sykes and France’s François Georges-Picot, it outlined the partition of these regions, as depicted on maps, leaving northern Palestine, including Jerusalem, under international oversight, neither British nor French.
However, the British broke this agreement, seizing Palestine for themselves. Angered, France invaded Damascus and took Syria, prompting Britain to transfer King Faisal bin Hussein to rule Iraq. At this time, the current borders between Iraq and the Levant were drawn, dividing the Levant into four states: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.
It is now clear that of these three promises, only one was fulfilled—the Balfour Declaration. British policy betrayed the other two: the Sykes-Picot Agreement and Sharif Hussein. The greatest loser was Sharif Hussein, whom God swiftly judged for his betrayals, leaving him with nothing, exiled in Cyprus. Some who lived during this time noted that in Cyprus, he couldn’t afford the rent for his lodging, facing lawsuits from his landlord.
Tracing Sharif Hussein’s life reveals a peculiar model of betrayal. His ambition for power was insatiable, despite repeated evidence that the British were deceiving him. He received documents, sent by Jamal Pasha, revealing Britain’s agreement with France in Sykes-Picot. Many signs pointed to British treachery, yet he persisted, neither reflecting nor safeguarding himself. He entrusted his entire future to the British, with boundless trust, until they led him to ruin.
The Military Dynamics of the British Occupation
A critical moment arises here: Britain’s occupation of Palestine would not have occurred without its victory in the war and its ability to march its armies into Jerusalem. How did this happen? How did Britain conquer Jerusalem?
Firstly, entering Jerusalem was no easy feat, but we must remember Britain’s immense military superiority and strategic positioning. Britain had occupied Egypt for forty years, since 1882. By 1914, we’re talking about four decades of British occupation in Egypt, during which Britain controlled Egypt’s resources—human and financial—fueling its military stance against the Ottoman Empire.
Britain mobilized over half a million Egyptians, enlisting them into British forces, a tragic and bitter tale. For those interested, an excellent study by American historian Kyle Anderson, titled “The Egyptian Labor Corps,” was translated and published by Egypt’s National Translation Center a year or two ago. Another book, “The Egyptian Legion” by Mohamed Abu al-Ghar—a well-known Egyptian political figure and former head of the Democratic Party—delves into this critical topic.
These Egyptian peasants were conscripted by Britain to fight the Ottoman army and suppress Islamic uprisings against British rule in places like Darfur, Libya, and elsewhere. Tragically, Muslims were used to fight Muslims, a reality that played out on the Palestinian front.
How so? The Suez Canal was the nerve center of Britain’s colonial network, a waterway dug during the eras of Khedive Said and Khedive Ismail. This canal breached Arab and Islamic security, serving as a shortcut for British forces moving between West and East, from India to Europe and back.
I’ve spoken extensively about the Suez Canal’s dangers and damages, a chronic issue for Egypt that persists today. You can search on YouTube or refer to the first and third parts of my book “In the Corridors of History” for detailed studies on this topic.
The Suez Canal was a sensitive point, the lifeline of Britain’s colonial network for transferring forces from East to West. The Ottomans sought to control it, while the British fought to protect it. Thus, the British advanced from Egypt, away from the canal, leading to the first confrontations at Gaza, where three fierce battles, known as the Three Gaza Battles.
The Ottomans won the first and second battles, prompting the British to replace their military commander, Murray, with one of their finest, Edmund Allenby. He secured victory in the third Gaza battle, opening the Palestinian front.
The Role of Egyptian Resources in the British Occupation
Egyptian forces integrated into the British army were a cornerstone of the catastrophe that lost Palestine—not only as fighters but also as laborers and engineers. These workers built roads for army movements, transported fresh water, and moved equipment across the Sinai Desert for the British army.
Stationed at the Suez Canal, the British faced a distance to Gaza, bridged by the labor of these workers and engineers. The roads they constructed delivered water and supplies, bolstering British military strength and enabling them to persist in the third Gaza battle.
General Allenby entered Jerusalem on December 17, 1917. British forces then advanced north, occupying the rest of Palestine, disregarding their promise to the French and completing the British occupation of Palestine by 1918.
Some may ask a crucial question: Why did Britain commit to this, and why did it throw its weight behind the Zionist project?
The answer lies in Britain’s colonial nature at the time, driven by expansion, control, and dominance—a deep-seated imperial instinct. When a strong power faces a weakened enemy on the brink of collapse, like the Ottoman Empire, with competitors like Russia, Germany, and France, and a strategically and religiously significant location like Palestine, coupled with the religious alliance between Protestantism and Judaism, it explains Britain’s rush to dominate Palestine.
Undoubtedly, Britain aimed to establish a Jewish state, never imagining it would leave the land thirty years later. It envisioned the Jewish state under British sovereignty, akin to other Arab regimes in Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, where Britain maintained a military presence and ultimate authority, while local governments handled daily administration, offering a veneer of nationalism and perhaps nominal independence.
Laying the Foundations for Israel Under British Occupation
We can say that with the British occupation, a new chapter began in Palestine’s story—the British preparation for Israel. When the British army first entered Palestine, it was accompanied by the first Jewish military unit. At that time, Chaim Weizmann, president of the Zionist Organization, visited Jerusalem. He had visited before as an investor buying land and developing projects, but this time, he entered as the leader of a Zionist project taking shape.
Work progressed swiftly among Zionists. In 1919, the seeds of an intelligence apparatus were sown, gathering detailed information about the land, its people, how to purchase or seize land, and which resistance centers to fear. Imagine an intelligence apparatus forming thirty years before the state’s declaration.
Two years before British armies entered Jerusalem, in 1915, the first Zionist minister in the British government, Herbert Samuel, wrote a report on Palestine’s situation. Its crux: the time was not yet ripe for a Jewish state in Palestine. His recommendation? A period of British occupation was needed to prepare the ground.
His exact words were:
“Whatever the merits or demerits of that proposal (establishing a Jewish state), it is certain that its time has not yet come. Attempting to realize the aspiration of a Jewish state a century before its time may delay its actual realization for many centuries. These considerations are fully understood by the leaders of the Zionist movement”
Appointed Palestine’s civilian governor in 1920, Herbert Samuel was tasked with implementing his own report, making him—arguably—the second or third founder of Israel.
Consider his measures:
- First, he facilitated Jewish immigration to Palestine, abolishing all Ottoman restrictions.
- Second, he dismantled the Ottoman Agricultural Bank, which Arab farmers relied on for affordable loans, replacing it with a Jewish loans and mortgages bank, giving Jews control over agricultural capital. This harmed Arab farmers, who gradually lost land under usurious debts.
- Third, he allowed Jews to arm themselves, build a separate army, establish a separate education system, recognized Hebrew as an official language, seized state and communal lands—lands without owners or those reverting to the state, like those of deceased owners without heirs—and granted them to Jews.
He issued laws declaring unclaimed or unprovable lands state property, easing Jewish acquisition, leading to significant land transfers to Jews under the British occupation.
The Mandate as a Tool of the British Occupation
These laws were politically cloaked under the “Mandate Instrument”, a cunning colonial term masking occupation, annexation, and imperialism. The Mandate implied that great nations and the international system appointed Britain to govern, educate, train, and civilize this people, preparing them for self-governance. Thus, occupation and oppression were framed as a humanitarian, civilizing mission.
One of the strangest ironies is that the occupier, arriving to “civilize” the people, spent its time establishing another state for another people, bringing in foreign immigrants, displacing the native inhabitants, and handing the land to strangers.
This Mandate Instrument was Britain’s constitution and foundation for its Palestine policy. It enshrined the Balfour Declaration’s essence, with its second article mandating Britain to prepare conditions for a Jewish national home.
Approved by over twenty League of Nations countries, this article made British rule a nurturing cradle for a foreign Jewish society, enabling its financial, social, and political presence through force and usurpation.
For instance, the Mandate’s fourth article established a Jewish Agency to collaborate with the British occupation, fostering a Jewish state. This planted the seed of the Zionist political entity—a body representing Jews, managing their affairs, and building future state institutions.
This Jewish Agency was granted international representation rights. Even before Israel declared itself, before a Jewish state existed, there was an entity representing Jews. Thus, the Jewish Agency became a government within the British government, later growing into a parallel, independent authority.
Beyond British support for the Jewish Agency, Zionist leaders held influential positions in the British administration in Palestine, such as land and immigration departments. Britain was executing the Balfour Declaration to establish a Jewish homeland.
What does the Balfour Declaration say? It’s inherently contradictory, promising a Jewish state without prejudicing the rights of non-Jewish communities. Isn’t it natural that establishing a state would harm non-Jewish residents’ interests? Thus, under the Mandate, Britain nurtured Jewish institutions while obstructing any that could represent Palestinians, who comprised 92% of the population at the time.
Rapid Zionist Growth Under British Occupation
Events accelerated. By 1925, Jewish numbers and settlements grew, administrative bodies gained autonomy, and Tel Aviv saw self-governance. A labor union was founded, led by Ben-Gurion himself. The Hebrew University opened with a grand ceremony attended by Lloyd George (British Prime Minister), Allenby (military governor), Balfour (of the Declaration), Churchill (Colonial Secretary), Chaim Weizmann (Zionist Organization president), and Herbert Samuel (civilian governor).
Jewish military strength emerged. In the 1929 uprising, Palestinians were shocked to find Jews with armed formations, ranks, and military grades. Later, the British administration recruited Jewish and Christian residents into its ranks, with Muslims being the least numerous and lowest-ranked. Proportionally, Jews and Christians dominated the British administrative apparatus, reshaping internal social dynamics by empowering minorities.
Between 1930 and 1935, over 150,000 Jews migrated to Palestine, equaling the existing Jewish population. Most were from Germany, including many wealthy business owners. Arms smuggling to Jews increased, and they established weapons factories with British support.
By 1935, Israeli factories exported diamonds and cotton abroad. That year marked the peak of Jewish immigration from Germany, with 60,000 Jews arriving in Palestine.
After twenty years, Jews grew in number through immigration, in equipment through British supplies, and in expertise through military training. Events showcased their strength, organization, and readiness, with rapid responses suggesting pre-planned strategies.
The security apparatus also grew, forming a clear picture of Islamic organizations in Palestine: who could be dealt with, bought, or eliminated? This seed would become the Mossad, with a department training Arab Jews for espionage.
We will continue, ALLAH willing, in the next article, exploring the British preparation for Jews and Israel’s establishment, and posing the critical question: What was the state of Palestinian society witnessing this dangerous acceleration? Until the next article, ALLAH willing.
We ask ALLAH, Blessed and Exalted, to teach us what benefits us, and to benefit us with what HE taught us, and to increase us in knowledge, and peace be upon you and the mercy of ALLAH.
Sources:
- Mohamed Elhamy. قصة فلسطين | 7. كيف استطاع الإنجليز احتلال فلسطين؟ وما دور الحكام العرب في ذلك؟. YouTube Video.
