Book contents
- International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Is International Law Relevant?
- 2 The World War I
- 3 The Zionist Movement and the 1917 Balfour Declaration
- 4 Post–World War I and the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, 1920–1947
- 5 The 1947 Partition Plan
- 6 Israel’s Declaration of Independence
- 7 The 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- 8 1949 Armistice Agreements
- 9 The Arab Refugee Problem
- 10 The 1967 Six Day War
- 11 UN Security Council Resolution 242
- 12 Camp David 1978
- 13 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty
- 14 Taba Arbitration
- 15 The Legality of Israeli Exploitation of Oil from Sinai
- 16 The Oslo Accords
- 17 Israel–Jordan
- 18 Post Oslo Developments
- 19 The Status of the ‘West Bank’ (Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip
- 20 Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
- 21 Controversial Elements of Military Administration
- 22 Freedom of Navigation through International Waterways in the Region
- 23 Israel–Syria
- 24 Jerusalem
- 25 Controversial Laws of War Issues
- 26 Is Palestine a State?
- 27 Water Resources
- 28 Implications for Future Negotiations
- Index
2 - The World War I
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 April 2022
- International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Is International Law Relevant?
- 2 The World War I
- 3 The Zionist Movement and the 1917 Balfour Declaration
- 4 Post–World War I and the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, 1920–1947
- 5 The 1947 Partition Plan
- 6 Israel’s Declaration of Independence
- 7 The 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- 8 1949 Armistice Agreements
- 9 The Arab Refugee Problem
- 10 The 1967 Six Day War
- 11 UN Security Council Resolution 242
- 12 Camp David 1978
- 13 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty
- 14 Taba Arbitration
- 15 The Legality of Israeli Exploitation of Oil from Sinai
- 16 The Oslo Accords
- 17 Israel–Jordan
- 18 Post Oslo Developments
- 19 The Status of the ‘West Bank’ (Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip
- 20 Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
- 21 Controversial Elements of Military Administration
- 22 Freedom of Navigation through International Waterways in the Region
- 23 Israel–Syria
- 24 Jerusalem
- 25 Controversial Laws of War Issues
- 26 Is Palestine a State?
- 27 Water Resources
- 28 Implications for Future Negotiations
- Index
Summary
This chapter deals with two key documents concerning Palestine adopted during the First World War. The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement was an agreement between Britain and France to divide the Middle East into respective areas of influence. The agreement was conditional on Britain and France defeating the Ottoman Empire. The Agreement ignored national interests of both Arabs and Jews. It was, however, a binding agreement between two sovereign States. The fact that it was a secret agreement and ignored rights of self-determination did not affect its legality at the time. An exchange of correspondence between British High Commissioner McMahon and Hussein Sherif of Mecca promised Arab independence. It is doubtful that the correspondence was regarded as a treaty at the time; nevertheless, it can be considered a binding international commitment by Britain. The fact that it was secret and conditional on Britain defeating the Ottomans does not detract from its legal validity. Britain apparently intended to exclude Palestine from the area promised to Hussein but, for political reasons, used ambiguous language that did not make an explicit reference to excluding Palestine.
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- International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict , pp. 14 - 31Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022