Answer:
1915-1916: Hussein-McMahon correspondence. Exchange of letters between Hussein ibn Ali, sharif of Mecca, and Sir Henry McMahon, British high commissioner in Egypt, regarding the future political status of the Arab lands of the Middle East.
Britain offered Arabs across the Middle East self-rule in exchange for their aid in defeating the Ottoman empire during the first world war.
1916, May 16: Sykes-Picot Agreement. Britain and France sign a secret pact outlining their spheres of control in the Middle East after the first world war. Palestine is designated for international administration pending consultations with Russia and other powers. The agreement is seen by Arabs as a betrayal of the Hussein-McMahon correspondence.
1917, November 2: Balfour Declaration. Arthur James Balfour, Britain’s foreign secretary, sends a letter to Lord Rothschild, president of the Zionist federation, stating the government’s support for the establishment of “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, the area consisting of today’s Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan.
The declaration reads: “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours 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.”
1922, July 24: The League of Nations gives Britain a mandate to administer Palestine. Britain expresses an interest in Zionism, and describes its intention to develop a Jewish state.
