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The Balfour Declaration

the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Jan 18, 2011adeecee rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
An amazing historical account that reads like a thriller rife with duplicity, intrigue, deceit, treachery and deception at the highest political and international levels. In a nutshell, as part of their efforts to defeat Germany during WW1, the British simultaneously: (1) Agreed that Palestine will be part of Sharif Hussein's Arab Kingdom after the Ottoman Empire's demise; (2) Promised to assist the Zionists to establish a national home for the Jews in Palestine; (3) In a secret treaty with the French, agreed that Palestine would be part of the latter's possessions after the war; and, (4) In secret talks with the Ottomans for a separate peace settlement, agreed that the Ottoman flag would continue to fly over Palestine after the war -- all this without ever once pausing to consider Palestinian aspirations, let alone consult with them. The British had one and ultimate objective: winning the war against Germany, and to that end stopped at nothing. Abounding with detail and meticulously researched, this book is exquisitely written in a style that brings events to life as if they were unfolding right in front of the reader's eyes. It is objective and non-biased, strictly recounting historical and factual events that surrounded and led to the Balfour Declaration in 1917. The book is intelligently structured and laid out, making a very complex tangle of events quite understandable and relatively easy to follow and digest. One doesn't have to be a history buff to thoroughly enjoy it.