See also Contradictory Promises by Dr Peter Shambrook where these promises are explored in more detail. A second analysis by Dr. Shambrook is here : Britain’s Policy of Deceit
1915 The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence,
• In 1915 Britain promised the Arabs that after the war they would be granted independence in their lands, in exchange for joining a wartime alliance against the Turks.
1917 The Balfour Declaration,
• This promised British backing for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, whilst also undertaking to safeguard the rights of the Arab population.
• Britain followed through on the first undertaking, (to the Jews) but intentionally reneged on the second, (to the Arabs).
1918 Anglo-French declaration on self-determination,
• At the end of the First World War, Britain and France assured the former subjects of the Ottoman Turks that they would now be free to determine their own futures.
• In fact, in the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement, Britain and France had been planning how they would divide the Middle Eastern region between the western powers.
The British Mandate for Palestine, 1922
• The Mandate included the requirement that the Balfour Declaration should be implemented as well as the ‘Sacred Trust’ of the League of Nations to prepare it for independence.
• In Arab eyes, Britain failed to fulfill the undertaking which the Declaration and Mandate made to protect them.
• In Jewish eyes, Britain later weakened in her commitment to a homeland for them.