Britain’s role in establishing the Jewish state did not stop with that declaration. It did not merely pledge a “homeland” to the Jews then turn to other business. It continued to work for years to implant that state in the heart of the Arab world, to drive a wedge between the Levant and North Africa. It was determined to prevent unity among the Arab people who were longing to free themselves from Ottoman rule and manifest their Arab nationalist aspirations.
Just a month after British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour issued his pledge to Lord Rothschild, Britain – relying on Arab forces under the Sherif of Mecca – drove the Ottoman forces from Palestinian territory. The British first occupied Beersheba, then moved to Gaza, and then Jaffa and Ramla, where British commander Edmund Allenby announced the advance on Jerusalem.
By the end of World War I, Britian had occupied the whole of Palestine. It then secured a League of Nations mandate to “legitimise” its colonial control, rendering it the sole authority responsible for the affairs of this territory. In this capacity, it opened the doors to successive waves of European Jewish settlers. This stirred the anger of the indigenous inhabitants, who not only feared the growing threat to their national aspirations but whose towns and villages were being subjected to violence and intimidation by Zionist paramilitary gangs. The tensions came to a head in the “Arab Revolt”, which was brutally crushed by the British. In 1939, the British convened a conference in London to foster dialogue between the Arabs and Jews. However, its aim was not to secure the return of Palestinian lands that were being seized through terror, but to persuade the Palestinians to accept the de facto realities the settlers were creating. Britain’s occupation of Palestine lasted 31 years. It only left once its job was complete, and the Jewish state was declared in May 1948.
Will Britain do the same today with respect to the Palestinian state? It has officially recognised a state with neither borders nor a contiguous territory, nor a capital. Will it truly work to bring about the concrete conditions for sovereign Palestinian statehood, as it did for the Jewish state? If so, it will have atoned for the declaration that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians upon the creation of the Israeli state. On the other hand, if it does not follow through on its recognition of Palestine in a meaningful way, we should not be deceived by any talk of redemption.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 October, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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