- Palestine: Britain’s main policy towards Palestine was to ensure it as buffer against potential threats to Suez Canal.
- Civil government established in 1920 with huge issues regarding Jewish and Arab representation. Arabs favoured by administrators in Palestine however British favoured Jewish.
- Herbert Samuel tried bringing both to govern within Palestine however ethnic tensions prevented cooperation. Tensions often erupted for example between 1928-29 at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, where riots arose due to access for worshipers with hundreds of deaths on both sides.
- Problems over landholding. Palestine Arabs often poor farmers with absentee landowners and with growing Jewish migration and support of Jewish National Fund, many Jews purchased Palestinian land and kicked off Arabs.
- Enquiry in 1929 called for Jewish policy of land acquisition to curbed and in 1931, another recommended restriction on Jewish land acquisition. Pro-Jewish feeling in Britain and USA forced government to back down.
- Nazi persecution accelerated Jewish settlement in Palestine. In 1936, British sent 20,000 troops to Palestine to deal with Arab rioting and attack on Jews.
- Peel Report of 1937 recommended Palestine be partitioned into separate Jewish and Arab states, with British maintaining authority over Jerusalem and small number of holy place à opposed by Arabs.
- British adopted policy of repression to deal with escalating violence between 1937-39, with over 100 Arabs hanged.
- In 1939, Jewish immigration restricted to 15,000 per year for 5 years with plan for Palestine to be declared independent in 10 years.
- Didn’t satisfy Jews or Arabs but British saw it as short-term strategy for stability.
- Iraq (Mesopotomia)
- In 1920, British forced to intervene militarily (through air power) when widespread Muslim demonstrations against British rule in Baghdad turned into revolt. Kurds in north, who wanted independence, also rebelled.
- At Cairo Conference of 1921, British decided to allow for some local self-government in meetings with Arabs, whilst retaining full British control of military and foreign affairs.
- Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922 confirmed Faisal I as King – regarded as ideal compromise candidate. Senior British advisers still appointed to most government departments to ensure continuing British control over Iraqi affairs as well as control of army and major military bases.
Further Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 promised full consultation between two powers on matters of foreign policy. Eventual independence in 1932 however British still retained influence in area, particularly oil industry. Iraqi meant to receive 20% share however British didn’t honour this and Iraqi’s had to accept terms for new Iraq Petroleum Company