During World War I, Britain wanted more power in the Middle East. They made different promises, which caused problems.
Promise to Arabs: Britain promised to help Arabs become independent from the Ottoman Empire, known as the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence.
Promise to Jews: Britain also promised Jews to build a country in Palestine. This was known as the Balfour Declaration.
Secret Deal with France: At the same time, Britain secretly agreed with France to split the Middle East after the war. This plan was called the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
▶To the teacher in charge: When there isn’t enough time left, please skip the following English exercises and proceed to the ‘World War II’ page.(時間が足りないときは、以下の英文を省略して「第二次大戦」に進んでください。)
These different promises made the situation in the Middle East very complex. The famous movie “Lawrence of Arabia” tells the story of these events.
At that time, many Arabs lived in Palestine. However, Britain’s promise to build a Jewish country there led to tension between Arabs and Jews.
As you can see, this became a cause of future conflicts.