The Balfour Declaration for Palestine

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the reasons why the Balfour Declaration of 1917 was so important for the political and social developments in Palestine at the time. It discusses the history of the Declaration and the British interest in the area. The paper then shows how the ambiguity of the Declaration marked the beginnings of the Arab-Israeli conflict that still exists today.

From the Paper:

"The 1917 Balfour Declaration added to the tensions between the Palestinian Arabs and Jews worldwide, thus it can be seen as one of the beginnings of the Arab-Israeli war present in today's society. The ambiguity of the document led to much confusion between Jews as to what portion of Palestine would become theirs, which has been argued to have been part of the British government's aims in order to gain Jewish support for the war whilst being careful to keep peaceful relations with the Palestinian Arabs at the time. The Balfour Declaration was a document based on colonialism, nationalism and imperialism; the colonization of the Palestinian Arab's territory by the Jewish people according to Jewish ideals for a national homeland in Palestine, in order to secure the strategic Suez Canal and control over oil in the region."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bickerton, I.J and Carla Klausner. A history of the Arab-Israel Conflict. New Jersey: Pearson. 2007
• Fromkin,D. A peace to end all wars: creating the modern middle east, 1914-1922. New York: H.Holt.1989.
• Pappe, I. A History of modern Palestine: one land, two peoples (New York; Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Ch.2. 2004.
• Morris, B..Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001.New York,Vintage.Ch.3. 2001.
• Neff,D..The Palestinians and Zionism: 1897-1948. Middle East Policy 4(1-2): 156-175. 1995

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