How the 1917 Balfour Declaration caused the modern Israel-Palestine conflict

British interests in the Middle East grew rapidly in the early twentieth century as the collapse of Ottoman power created opportunities for imperial expansion.

By the time the First World War swept across the region, British policymakers had already begun to consider how control over strategic locations such as Palestine could protect their influence worldwide and protect key facilities like the Suez Canal. 

In 1915 and 1916, British officials exchanged a series of letters with Sharif Hussein of Mecca, suggesting support for Arab independence in return for launching a revolt against the Ottomans.

However, at the same time, the British had entered into a secret agreement with France, known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the region into colonial zones, placing Palestine under international control in name only, but leaving British interests well established.

These diplomatic actions created conflicting promises to Arabs and Zionists and caused confusion and distrust. 

Zionism, meanwhile, had developed into a well-organized political movement under the leadership of figures such as Theodor Herzl and later Chaim Weizmann.

In fact, the First Zionist Congress of 1897 drew support from Jews across Europe who faced rising antisemitism and discriminatory laws, and it called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

In response, increasing numbers of Jewish migrants settled in Palestine in the decades before the First World War and set up farms and community centres to restore Hebrew culture in their historic homeland.

By 1917, Jews made up roughly 10 percent of the population in Palestine, while British estimates at the time suggested Arabs made up about 88 percent, though exact figures were unclear due to wartime disruptions and uneven records. 

Within Britain, Weizmann built close relationships with key politicians and officials.

As a scientist who contributed to the war effort, he gained access to senior Cabinet members and used his position to ask for formal support of Zionist goals.

When the British military advanced into Ottoman-controlled Palestine in late 1917, many within the Cabinet became convinced that formal support for Zionism could gain political benefits.

Support also came from figures such as Mark Sykes, Leo Amery, and Herbert Samuel, the latter of whom would later be appointed as the first High Commissioner for Palestine. 

The text of the Balfour Declaration, dated 2 November 1917, was addressed to Lord Walter Rothschild, a representative of the British Jewish community. It stated: 

“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best efforts to help the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may harm the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” 

The language of the declaration had been carefully crafted to appear supportive without making concrete commitments.

It did not define the meaning of a “national home,” nor did it mention the political rights of the Arab majority in Palestine, who comprised nearly 90 percent of the population at the time.

The phrase “civil and religious rights” excluded political recognition, which created concern among Arabs who feared exclusion from future control of their homeland. 

Although short in length, the declaration was approved by the British Cabinet and made public, showing Zionists everywhere that Britain backed their goal.

For many in the Jewish diaspora, the statement offered a new sense of hope for protection after decades of harassment in Europe and Russia.

For Palestinian Arabs, however, it introduced an alarming uncertainty about their future status under imperial rule. 

British forces soon took control of Jerusalem in December 1917, and over the next few years, Palestine came under British military administration.

The declaration, though not legally binding, became the foundation for British policy in the region and became the starting point for the British Mandate, which was later made official by the League of Nations in 1920.

The 1922 Churchill White Paper tried to reassure Arabs by stating that the "national home" did not mean forcing a Jewish state, yet its language failed to resolve the tensions caused by the original declaration. 

Several motives affected Britain’s decision to issue the Balfour Declaration, all of which showed that the British Empire's priorities had changed during the war.

British leaders hoped to gain the support of important Jewish communities in the United States and Russia, particularly as they faced the challenge of keeping alliances and troops across many fronts. 

After the Russian Revolution in early 1917, British officials feared that the Russian war effort would collapse.

Although the Bolsheviks seized power in November and were already preparing to withdraw, some government officials still hoped that Jewish influence could stabilise the situation or encourage continued resistance.

Some believed that a pro-Zionist declaration might persuade Jews within Russia to press the provisional government to stay in the war.

In the United States, where President Woodrow Wilson had recently sent American troops, British advisers saw the declaration as a way to strengthen ties with Jewish voters and Zionist organisations that supported the Allies. 

Religious beliefs also influenced the decision process. Several British Cabinet ministers held Christian Zionist views and believed that the return of the Jews to Palestine fulfilled biblical prophecy.

Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour both expressed sympathy for the Zionist cause.

They even combined their religious beliefs with strategic reasons when they considered British control over the eastern Mediterranean. 

Control of Palestine carried significant practical and military value. The region offered a critical position near the Suez Canal, which connected Britain to its territories in India, East Africa, and Australia.

Officials hoped that the encouragement of a Jewish national home under British control would create a population loyal to Britain and reduce French influence in the region. 

British politics also contributed to the decision, as the Cabinet was under pressure from Zionist supporters who saw the declaration as a diplomatic action to gain advantage at the post-war peace talks.

British officials assumed that balancing Jewish aspirations with Arab cooperation would be manageable under imperial supervision.

They underestimated how much resistance the policy would cause. 

The release of the Balfour Declaration caused alarm among Arab residents of Palestine, who immediately questioned the implications of Britain’s endorsement of Zionism.

During the early years of the British Mandate, Arab communities became more worried as Jewish immigration rose.

Zionist groups funded land purchases and building projects. Many of these purchases involved absentee landlords, which led to the eviction of long-standing Arab tenant farmers and increased local tensions. 

From 1920 onwards, violent clashes between Jews and Arabs occurred in cities such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Hebron, which led British authorities to send troops and investigate the unrest.

Incidents such as the 1920 Nebi Musa riots, the 1921 Jaffa riots, and the 1929 Hebron massacre exposed the limits of British control and highlighted the growing hostility on both sides.

Commissions of inquiry noted Arab opposition to Zionist immigration and land sales, but did not change the policies that caused the unrest. 

By the mid-1930s, the situation had turned into prolonged armed conflict. In 1936, Arab nationalist groups launched a general strike and armed revolt that lasted for three years to protest British rule and mass immigration.

The revolt caused thousands of deaths. Over 5,000 Arabs, about 300 Jews, and 200 British personnel died.

The events forced the British to rethink how they ran the region. In response, the 1939 White Paper proposed limiting Jewish immigration and promised eventual Arab independence, a measure that angered Zionist leaders and was not enough for many Arab leaders.

Some accepted its promises as a temporary step, and others rejected it as too limited. 

The Second World War brought new pressures. As Nazi persecution of Jews increased, many looked for refuge in Palestine.

British restrictions blocked most from entering. About 200,000 to 250,000 Jewish refugees remained in camps across Europe, which added urgency to Zionist demands.

The Zionist movement, now well-organised and increasingly militant, formed armed groups such as the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi to fight both British authorities and Arab resistance.

In July 1946, Irgun bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing 91 people.

By the end of the war, British officials could no longer keep control. In 1947, the government referred the issue to the United Nations.

The UN Partition Plan, issued in November 1947, proposed the division of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem placed under international control.

Jewish leaders accepted the plan, but Arab leaders rejected it outright, leading to civil war within Palestine and, eventually, to the Arab-Israeli War after the announcement of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948.

During the conflict, more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, creating a refugee crisis that persists to this day.

The Arab Executive Committee, which was established in 1920, and other local leaders had already expressed opposition to Zionism during the early 1920s, accusing Britain of violating their right to self-rule. 

The Balfour Declaration altered the future of Palestine by granting imperial recognition to a national project that directly conflicted with the aspirations of the territory’s majority population.

In offering support for a Jewish homeland while failing to ensure equal political rights for Arabs, the British created the foundations for a conflict that would erupt into repeated wars and mass displacements. 

Zionist leaders viewed the declaration as a landmark moment that gave legitimacy to their claims and encouraged the strengthening of institutions responsible for security and resource management, enabling economic growth and administrative cohesion in Palestine.

It also provided diplomatic support at a time when international recognition of Jewish nationalism remained uncertain.

Over the next three decades, the declaration became a rallying point for Jewish political activism, used to justify demands for statehood and territorial sovereignty. 

For Palestinians, the declaration represented the beginning of systematic exclusion from their own land.

It confirmed their marginal status in British imperial policy and offered no protections against the loss of political roperty or national identity.

Arab resentment of the declaration fuelled resistance movements, ideological opposition, and a sense of betrayal that continues to shape regional politics. 

Although the Balfour Declaration comprised fewer than 70 words, its consequences have lasted for more than a century.

The conflict it helped to provoke has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and undermined every attempt at lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Ultimately, British policymakers, in prioritising empire’s strategy over the rights of the people who lived in Palestine, introduced a crisis that is still unresolved.