By the start of World War I, Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, which was allied with Germany.
On
the other side stood the British Empire, which "badly wanted to control
the Holy Land, to bring it under Christian influence at a time of
Ottoman Islamic rule," says Bruce Hoffman, the Director of the Center
for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University.
As
the war unfolded, there was born what at first appeared an alliance, as
Arabs in revolt against their Ottoman rulers found support from the
British.
In
reality, says Ali Qleibo, an anthropologist and writer for This Week in
Palestine magazine, Arab rebels hoping to come out from under Ottoman
rule "were lured and lied to by Britain. They thought it's simply
liberation; they did not know it was preparatory for an occupation."
Britain struck a secret deal with France called the Sykes-Picot Agreement,
which "essentially divided [the Ottoman Empire] of the Middle East into
a British part, including most of Iraq, Jordan and Palestine, and a
French part, which included Lebanon, Syria and part of Turkey," Mourad
says.
Bottom line: don't trust Prefidious Albion.
ReplyDeleteThe British had a great habit when they colonized - they divided the local populations and then conquered them after betraying them. Israel, India, North America, you name it. Bastards who caused so much misery.