In 1911, #Jerusalem’s population was 67% #Jews (indigenous & #European transplants), 15% #Christians, & 12% #Muslims

#Zionism as a movement didn't gather steam until AFTER #WWI.

In 1913, #Zionist diplomat Nahum #Sokolow pitched to #British that the movement aspired to "till the soil of #Palestine," but the British rebuffed him because #Arabs & #OldTurks in #Turkey, a friendly power, opposed the #Jewish #nationalist movement

Soon afterward, #Europe descended into WWI

https://www.amazon.com/Balfour-Declaration-Origins-Arab-Israeli-Conflict/dp/1400065321/
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Amazon.com

⬆️ November 1914: Anwar #Pasha of #Turkey aligns with #CentralPowers (#Germany and #Austria-#Hungary) and enters the #GreatWar.

Early 1915: #Russia tells #EntentePartners it wants #Constantinople (now #Istanbul) & #Dardanelles; #Britain & #France reluctantly agree.

#Balfour, #Churchill, & #Kitchener favor annexation of #Arabia, #Palestine, #Mesopotamia (#Iraq) from #Ottomans; #EdwardGrey opposes.

A separate #intrigue was playing out between Turkey, #Arab leaders, & #Hussein (Sharif of Mecca)
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⬆️ Grand Sharif #Hussein secretly dispatched emissaries to main #Arab leaders

1915: #Hussein learns of #Turkish plans to depose him, and to assert #Ottoman control over #Hejaz

#AlAhd & #AlFatat join forces; conceive the #DamascusProtocol, foundation of #ArabRevolt

Implicit in the Damascus Protocol, Grand Sharif Hussein would preside over the "Great Arab State" containing #Palestine.

#Britain Makes Hussein an offer for an independent #sovereign #Muslim State & full control over holy sites!

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Focusing himself more on the #DamascusProtocol than the actual British offer, #Hussein accepted the British offer

#Britain reaffirmed support for independent #Arabia with vague borders & #Arab #Caliphate per #Kitchener's original letter in which it would, in exchange for support from the Arabs (prior to the outbreak of the #GreatWar) guarantee independence, rights & privileges against all foreign aggression, in particular, that of #Ottomans

That offer was NOT based on the Damascus Protocol
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#Hussein was LIVID.

He was under the impression that the #British had agreed to the #DamascusProtocol document, prepared by #Arab secret societies #AlFatat & #AlAhd, declaring that Arabs would revolt in alliance with #UK. In return, UK would recognize Arab independence in the area specified by the Damascus Protocol, as they were ESSENTIAL to the well-being of any future #Arab State

But British had offered VAGUE borders. Immediately after outbreak of #WWI, #McMahon took up the border issue

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With #Turkey entering #WWI against the #British & #Allies, the whole calculation had changed.

#McMahonHusseinCorrespondence that ensued had 2 main reasons:

1. Counteract #Ottoman #jihad against Allies
2. Maintain support of #Muslims in British #India over which the Ottoman #Caliphate had great sway.

It refined the vague borders of the original #Kitchener letter and carved out specific areas from a future #Arabia.

The dispute on this carve-out is the #cruxOfTheMatter in the conflict.

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The dispute regarding the extent of the coastal EXCLUSION in the #McMahonHusseinCorrespondence is at the heart of the #Israeli-#Palestinian conflict. #Zionism is just an adjunct to the conflict, not the primary reason.

#Britain excluded #Districts of #Mersina & #Alexandretta, portions of #Syria west of the districts of #Damascus, #Hama, #Homs & #Aleppo.

They reserved the right to administrative control in the #Vilayets of #Baghdad and #Basra because of their interests in #British #India.

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They reserved areas where #Britain had existing treaties with #Arab chiefs (Aden to Principalities on East Coast)

They reserved territories in which Britain was free to act without detriment to the interests of their ally, #France.

SUBJECT to above modifications, the #British accepted rest of the limits, frontiers, and borders advocated by #DamascusProtocol.

Nov 5, 1915: #Hussein refused to budge on #Arab claims to land west of #Damascus, #Hama, #Homs & Aleppo, including #Alexandretta

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This gave rise to #Britain's #ForwardPolicy, which meant the larger effort to:

1. attack #Alexandretta (now #Iskenderun, a port and naval base on the Mediterranean coast in southern #Turkey), and

2. “roll up #Syria,”

refashioning the #MiddleEast to suit #British imperial interests.

Proponents of the Forward Policy exhorted #London to deal with #Hussein's demands head on.

Speed was of the essence. They believed “if we don’t gain the #Arabs now we might well lose them altogether.”

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A separate drama played out in #India.

November 12, 1915: "Greatly disturbed by the assurances given by #McMahon to the Grand Sherif" #Hussein, Lord #Hardinge in India wanted McMahon to backtrack on #Mesopotamia (#Iraq).

“get McMahon out of the hole into which he has fallen… I devoutly hope that this proposed independent #Arab State will fall to pieces if it is ever created. Nobody could possibly have devised any scheme more detrimental to #British interests in the #MiddleEast than this.”
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Dec 17, 1915: #McMahon nevertheless received "Green Light" to deal with #Hussein pursuant to the #ForwardPolicy after #Kitchener and #Grey prevail over #Hardinge and Austin #Chamberlain (SoS for #India).

Hussein wanted #British as much as they wanted him, and he too was willing to POSTPONE settling the #BorderIssue.

The deferred question of #Syrian, #Lebanese, & #Palestinian borders, and British role in #Mesopotamia (#Iraq) remained a stumbling block.

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The #ThievesBanquet

1. 1915: #Russia wanted #Constantinople (#Istanbul); Invited #Britain & #France to carve out the #Ottoman Empire among themselves

2. #Britain wanted #Suez Canal and land route from #Egypt to #Mesopotamia (#Iraq) and #Persia (#Iran), thence to #India

3. #France wanted #Syria, #Lebanon, & parts of Mesopotamia

Neither #US, nor #Jews in general, nor #Zionism had anything to do with this #GreatPower politics that played out in the #MiddleEast during the #GreatWar (#WWI)

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#SykesPicot Agreement to redraw the map of the #MiddleEast

Both #Britain and #France coveted #Palestine

Both agree to government by #InternationalCondominium

#Russia endorsed Sykes-Picot Agreement, which then became a tripartite agreement

ALL 3 parties kept the Sykes-Picot Agreement secret from Grand Sharif #Hussein, which created much ill-will and distrust

Sykes-Picot Agreement was never Implemented after #Bolsheviks renounce claims on #Constantinople & expose the secret treaties.

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#SykesPicot Agreement suffered an inglorious fate, and rightfully so.

THEN, #Britain kicked up a new storm — #Zionism gathered strength!

#WWI changed everything, including #British attitude toward both #Zionism and #Ottoman Empire.

"Turkey gave BRITISH Zionists a reason to hope. When Ottomans entered the War on the side of #CentralPowers, they called into question the future of their own empire, which meant the future of Palestine as well. It took a moment for the implication to sink in."
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"Assume that #Britain won the #GreatWar, against #Turkey as well as against #Germany & #Austria-#Hungary.

The #MiddleEast would drop into the melting pot at last.

And then perhaps the ingot of #Palestine could be pried loose from the great slab of Turkey’s Middle Eastern empire"

Ever since the ascendancy of the #Ottoman Empire & their conquest of #Arabia, Palestinians have suffered despotic Ottoman rule with vague borders, and governed from #Jerusalem & #Beirut under onerous #TurkishYoke
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⬆️ #British #duplicity and the #ArabFacade

#Curzon assumed #Turkey's defeat in the #GreatWar and instructed his committee to "construct a state with an '#Arab Façade,' ruled and administered under British guidance [but] controlled by a native #Mohammedan and as far as possible an Arab staff"

Balfour observed that Arab Façade had a “more or less specious inconsistency with the principle of ‘self-determination.’” Since Arabs were incapable of self-government, a Façade was all they could expect

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⬆️ @homohortus

In 1913, #Britain was with #Arabs & #OldTurks in #Turkey and rebuffed #Zionist Nahum #Sokolow.

In 1914, Turkey entered #WWI against Allies Britain & #France.

Britain repeatedly tried to parley with #OldTurks, encouraged them to exit the war, and dangled #Palestine, but Turkey refused EVERY TIME.

Separately, #YoungTurks in Committee Of Union and Progress (#CUP) were scheming to depose Arab Chief #Hussein.

So it was Turkey that antagonized BOTH Arabs and British.

#ArabRevolt
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⬆️ @homohortus

>> So it was Turkey that antagonized BOTH Arabs and British.

Under threat from #CUP, and still under the #TurkishYoke, #Arabs approached #Britain and offered to revolt against #Turks in exchange for British recognition of #Arab independence from #OttomanEmpire.

British had rebuffed Arabs too, just as they had rebuffed #Zionists, but Turkish entry in #WWI changed everything and Britain agreed to work with Arabs.

THAT led to the #ArabRevolt, NOT #McMahonHusseinCorrespondence

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⬆️ @homohortus

BEFORE the #ArabRevolt in #WWI, secret #Arab societies hiding from #YoungTurks unilaterally drafted the #DamascusProtocol and offered it to Grand Sherif #Hussein as a blueprint to negotiate Arab independence with #Britain.

Britain never agreed to the Damascus Protocol and made an offer based on vague borders per #Kitchener's letter.

Hussein was in a hurry. Instead of looking at actual British offer, he got fixated on Damascus Protocol.

#McMahonHusseinCorrespondence ensued.

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@rameshgupta Avant le soulèvement arabe, des sociétés secrètes ont élaboré le Protocole de Damas en mai 1915, demandant l'indépendance à Hussein. La Grande-Bretagne a ignoré ce plan, offrant des frontières vagues. La précipitation de Hussein à lancer le soulèvement arabe a conduit à la correspondance McMahon-Hussein, où les promesses britanniques ont été discutées, promesses qui donneront lieu à la Déclaration Balfour. #Histoire #Géopolitique 🌍✊

⬆️ @homohortus

#McMahonHusseinCorrespondence refined the vague borders of the original #Kitchener letter and carved OUT specific areas, including #Palestine, from a future #Arabia.

SUBJECT to above modifications, the #British accepted rest of the limits, frontiers, and borders advocated by #DamascusProtocol.

Nov 5, 1915: #Hussein refused to budge on #Arab claims to land west of #Damascus, #Hama, #Homs & Aleppo, including #Alexandretta, giving rise to #Britain's #ForwardPolicy.

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@rameshgupta Le 5 novembre 1915, le chérif Hussein de La Mecque a refusé de céder sur les revendications arabes concernant les terres à l'ouest de Damas, Hama, Homs et Alep, y compris Alexandretta. Ce refus a conduit à la mise en place de la Forward Policy britannique, marquant un tournant dans les relations entre les Arabes et les puissances occidentales. 🇸🇦✊ #Histoire #MoyenOrient #RévolteArabe #Hussein #Ottomans #Britanniques

⬆️ @homohortus

#Hussein wanted #British as much as they wanted him, and he too was willing to POSTPONE settling the #BorderIssue.

Both parties were in a hurry as #WWI was raging and #Hussein and his sons were directly under threat from #Turkey.

Britain NEVER offered #Palestine to #Arabs — before, during, or after #McMahonHusseinCorrespondence.

They did offer it to Turkey.

Repeatedly.

But Turkey refused to exit WWI. After Turkey lost, Palestine went into an International Condominium

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@rameshgupta Ddans le contexte de la Première Guerre mondiale, la Palestine n'a jamais été proposée aux Arabes. Les Britanniques ont même offert cette région à la Turquie à plusieurs reprises. Le refus de cette dernière de quitter la guerre a conduit à un changement radical après sa défaite : la Palestine a été placée sous un régime de condominium international. Ce choix a trahi les espoirs arabes et jeté les bases d'un conflit qui perdure encore aujourd'hui. #Palestine #Histoire 🌍✊

⬆️ @homohortus

There was much duplicity and a lot of thievery between #Russia, #Britain, and #France.

Russia hosted the #ThievesBanquet where the 3 parties carved out the #MiddleEast.

#SykesPicot was another secret agreement between Britain and France, but it was ratified by Russia and became a tripartite agreement.

However, Sykes-Picot was never implemented as the #Bolsheviks quit claim to the region and blew up the Sykes-Picot Agreement when they took over Russia.

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⬆️ @homohortus

#Hussein and his sons put their personal lives in danger when they launched the #ArabRevolt against #Turkey. They fully deserved the freedom.

#Palestinians, OTOH, never fought for their freedom.

The main culprits were #Turkey and #Russia. There was much duplicity, especially between #Britain and #France, who sought advantage in the conflict for their own colonial ambitions.

How is it, then, that the blame ALWAYS goes to the #UnitedStates, #Jews, #Zionists, and #Israel?

⬆️ @homohortus
>>Britain NEVER offered #Palestine to #Arabs — before, during, or after #McMahonHusseinCorrespondence. They did offer it to Turkey. Repeatedly. But Turkey refused to exit WWI. After Turkey lost, Palestine went into an International Condominium.

Clarification: Turkey already had Palestine since 1517.

Britain offered to let Turkey KEEP it in exchange for exiting #WWI. It was a quid pro quo to induce Turkey so that WWI could end sooner. It was NEVER offered to Arabs for their help
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@rameshgupta La Turquie contrôlait déjà la Palestine depuis 1517. Les offres britanniques visaient à inciter la Turquie à quitter le conflit pour accélérer la fin de la guerre. Refus turc : la Turquie a rejeté ces propositions, menant à ce que, après sa défaite, la Palestine soit placée sous un condominium international. L'accord était un échange (quid pro quo) pour mettre fin à la guerre plus rapidement, et non une offre destinée aux Arabes. #Histoire #Palestine 🇹🇷🇬🇧

⬆️ [#Revisionism]: 🇹🇷 #Turkey's territorial claims in #Syria

"#Erdogan during a speech … to members of the ruling party announced his intention to revise the results of #WWI and include the territory of the former #OttomanEmpire, including Syrian lands.

"Aleppo, Idlib, Damascus and Raqqa will become our provinces…" He had previously expressed interest in Syrian territories, and now, as pro-Turkish groups gather in Damascus, all the cards in Erdoğan's hands."

via @ksild
https://masto.es/@ksild/113651747803761395

Kasilda (@ksild@masto.es)

Adjunto: 1 vídeo 🇹🇷 Sobre las reivindicaciones territoriales de Turquía en Siria El presidente turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan durante un discurso en Sakarya ante miembros del partido gobernante, anunció su intención de revisar los resultados de la Primera Guerra Mundial e incluir el territorio del antiguo Imperio Otomano, incluidas las tierras sirias. "Alepo, Idlib, Damasco y Raqqa se convertirán en nuestras provincias, como Antep, Hatay y Urfa". Ya nteriormente había expresadi su interés en los territorios sirios, y ahora, cuando los grupos pro-turcos se reúnen en Damasco, todas las cartas en las manos de Erdoğan. #Turquía #Neotomanismo #Erdogan

Mastodon en masto.es

⬆️ @ksild

#Erdogan noted that those who say "What does #Türkiye have to do in #Syria" are unaware of history: "If the conditions were different when the borders in our region were redrawn after #WWI [when #Turkey LOST] the cities we call Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Damascus, Raqqa would have been our provinces just like Antep, Hatay, Urfa. Since these cities are outside our borders, we did not have to completely cut off our relations with our people there."

#DamascusProtocol

https://en.apa.az/asia/erdogan-what-happened-in-syria-showed-reason-for-turkiyes-presence-in-country-455524
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⬆️ #Erdogan announced the need to revise the results of #WWI.

He said the former provinces of the #OttomanEmpire should return to #Turkey.

Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting with US Sec State #Blinken in Ankara stated that the Turkish state stands for the preservation of the territorial integrity of #Syria. At the same time, Erdogan stressed that the Turkish state is interested in the development of Turkish-American relations in all areas.

https://eadaily.com/en/news/2024/12/13/the-hook-has-fallen-erdogan-announced-the-need-to-revise-the-results-of-the-first-world-war

The hook has fallen — Erdogan announced the need to revise the results of the First World War: EADaily

EADaily, December 13th, 2024. The former provinces of the Ottoman Empire should return to Turkey. This was stated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a speech in Sakarya in front of party members, reports the Main News of Turkey.

EADaily

@rameshgupta Until now I haven't been aware that Erdogan even has a funny side...

I've been suspecting though, that he's eyeing the forcible return of former Ottoman provinces into the fata morgana of a rising caliphate of Erdoganistan.

The U.S. seriously needs to reconsider the delivery of F 35s to the neo-imperialistic Erdogan regime trampling on the shared values of NATO defense alliance.

⬆️ @ArenaCops

>> Erdogan…stated that [#Turkey] stands for the preservation of the territorial integrity of #Syria [and] stressed that the Turkish state is interested in the development of Turkish-American relations in all areas.

"In ALL AREAS." You caught the sly reference!

#Assad's downfall and #Russia's ejection from Syria is just the lull before the storm.

There's much jubilation among Syrians over "liberation," but there's a vaccum that will suck in both real estate and religious zealots

⬆️ >> #Erdogan announced the need to revise the results of #WWI.

Top diplomats from the #UnitedStates, the #ArabLeague and #Turkey met in #Jordan on Saturday to discuss how to assist #Syria ’s transition after the fall of Bashar #Assad's government a week ago.

No Syrian representatives attended. [That's ominous 👀]

Also note: No #Israel either.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-syria-news-14-december-2024-9679866cce4bde8077accd753b0130cd

Top diplomats from US, Arab League and Turkey discuss Syria's transition

Top diplomats from the United States, the Arab League and Turkey have met in Jordan to discuss Syria’s transition after the fall of Bashar Assad's government last weekend. The collapse of the Assad family’s more than half-century rule has sparked new fears of instability in the region. No Syrian representatives attended the meeting Saturday in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that led the overthrow of Assad’s government, but the group continues to be designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others.

AP News

⬆️ >> The main culprits were #Turkey and #Russia. There was much duplicity, especially between #Britain and #France… How is it, then, that the blame ALWAYS goes to the #UnitedStates, #Jews, #Zionists, and #Israel?

#US didn't do it. #Arabs & #Turks did it to themselves, & did it without #Palestinian agency ➡️ https://mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/111480417535849548

When #Ottomans entered #WWI & when Arabs wrote the #DamascusProtocol, neither consulted #Palestinians. Turkey wanted war spoils then. And after #Assad, still wants it