Jahangir Mohammed argues that Britain created the state of Israel and has never wavered in its political and military support for the Zionist state for one day since the First World War.

Britain Created the State of Israel

Although the Zionist movement and militias undoubtedly played their part in the creation of the state of Israel, it was the British Empire that facilitated the practical establishment of the state of Israel. Britain made it happen. Just as today, Israel continues to exist and survive, primarily due to the influence of the US Empire and the British state.

Zionist Support to Britain in World War One.

Britain had already promised the Jewish people a homeland in Palestine in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This was a reward for services rendered to Britain during the First World War, particularly against the Ottoman State. Some 40,000 Jews fought for Britain. In addition to general Jewish soldiers, specific Zionist recruits and militias aided Britain, and these would go on to become the basis for Jewish militias/terrorist groups and eventually the Israeli Defence Force. The Zionist movement has never been peaceful and has been militaristic and invested in violence from its earliest presence in Palestine. The following are specific examples of Zionist aid to Britain.

The NILI Spy Ring (1915–1917): While not a military unit, the NILI spy ring provided critical intelligence to the British, directly undermining Ottoman military efforts in Palestine. NILI (an acronym for Netzah Yisrael Lo Yeshaker, “The Eternal One of Israel will not lie”) was founded by Aaron Aaronsohn, an agronomist and Zionist leader, along with his sister Sarah Aaronsohn and others. NILI gathered intelligence on Ottoman troop movements, supply lines, and fortifications, which they relayed to British forces in Egypt. They used carrier pigeons and secret codes to communicate with the British. NILI’s intelligence played a crucial role in the British victory at the Battle of Beersheba (1917) and the subsequent advance into Palestine. However, the group was discovered by the Ottomans in 1917, leading to the arrest and execution of many members, including Sarah Aaronsohn.

Zion Mule Corps (1915–1916): The Zion Mule Corps was likely the first official Jewish military unit in modern history, serving as a precursor to the Jewish Legion. Joseph Trumpeldor and Ze’ev Jabotinsky created the Corps with British approval. The unit consisted of Jewish volunteers from Palestine and the diaspora, many of whom were from Russia. The Zion Mule Corps served as a transport unit during the Gallipoli Campaign (1915–1916), carrying supplies to British troops under heavy Ottoman fire. Although the campaign was a failure, the unit demonstrated the potential of a Jewish military organisation. After the Gallipoli Campaign, the Zion Mule Corps was disbanded, but many of its veterans later joined the Jewish Legion.

Jewish Legion (1917–1921): The Jewish Legion was the most direct military contribution by Zionists to the fight against the Ottoman Empire. It was formed as part of the British Army and consisted of Jewish volunteers from around the world. Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a prominent Zionist leader, championed the idea of a Jewish military unit. After years of lobbying, the British government agreed to establish the Jewish Legion in 1917. It consisted of three battalions— the 38th, 39th, and 40th Royal Fusiliers —and included over 5,000 Jewish volunteers, many of whom were from the United States, Canada, Britain, and Palestine. The Jewish Legion fought under General Edmund Allenby during the British conquest of Palestine in 1917–1918. They participated in key battles, including the Third Battle of Gaza and the Megiddo Offensive, which led to the collapse of Ottoman forces in the region. The Jewish Legion was disbanded in 1921, but its veterans became the core of future Zionist militias, such as the Haganah, and played a crucial role in the defence of Jewish settlements during the 1920s and 1930s.

Zionism Rewarded in the British Mandate for Palestine

The British Mandate was provisionally granted to Britain by the San Remo Conference on 25 April 1920, where the Allied Powers allocated former Ottoman territories to the mandatory powers, namely France and Britain. The mandate’s legal framework was formally approved by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922. The mandate officially came into force on 29 September 1923, after the Treaty of Lausanne was finalised in 1923, which finalised the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and recognised British authority over Palestine. Civil administration began earlier in July 1920, but the mandate’s legal authority was only fully operational from 1923. The mandate ended on 15 May 1948, when Britain withdrew from Palestine following the United Nations Partition Plan (1947) and Israel’s declaration of its formal existence.

The articles in the British Mandate for Palestine made its purpose clear – the mandate had as one of its tasks the creation of a state for the Jewish people. Whilst the Jewish people were granted political rights, the Arab population in Mandate Palestine were only granted civil and religious rights (One was promised a state). That has remained the policy of the US and the West until now, as they continue to refuse to recognise a political entity called Palestine. In reality, the policy of the UK and the US has always remained the denial of political and military rights to the Palestinian people. The constant mention of the two-state solution has been and will continue to be rhetoric with no political will and practical actions.

The Balfour Declaration (1917) pledged British support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This declaration was explicitly incorporated into the Preamble and Article 2 of the Mandate for Palestine, obligating Britain to facilitate its implementation.

Article 2 states:

“The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home… and the development of self-governing institutions.”

This gave legal effect to Zionist aspirations and prioritised Jewish immigration and land acquisition.

Pro-Zionist Clauses in the Mandate

The Mandate included pro-Zionists clauses in specific provisions favouring Jewish interests:

• Article 4: Recognized the Jewish Agency (initially the Zionist Organization) as the official body advising the British administration on matters affecting the Jewish national home.

• Article 6: Required the administration to “facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions” and encourage “close settlement by Jews on the land,” including state-owned and unused territories.

• Article 7: Streamlined citizenship for Jewish immigrants, enabling demographic growth.

These clauses led to a tenfold increase in the Jewish population (from 60,000 in 1922 to 600,000 by 1948) and expanded Jewish land ownership, often displacing Arabs.

Dividing Arabs Cutting off Transjordan

A key clause and act of the British mandate that facilitated the creation of the Zionist state was Article 25. Britain separated Transjordan (east of the Jordan River) from the Mandate in 1922, limiting the Jewish national home to western Palestine. This decision was formalised via the Transjordan Memorandum (1922). It allowed Abdullah I of the Hashemite dynasty to govern Transjordan. However, it had the effect of partitioning the territory and allowing Zionists to focus on the remaining land, cutting the support base of the Arabs/Palestinians and eventually facilitating the creation of a Jewish majority in Palestine.

The Zionist State of Isreal Made by Britain

The British role in the facilitation and creation of Isreal is often presented as well-meaning or as neutral arbitrators who also wanted to look after the interests of the Arabs but were outsmarted by the Zionist movement and later Jewish terrorist groups. This is far from the truth. Britain was the principal architect of the creation of the Zionist state of Israel through the terms of the British mandate and, before that, during the First World War, by assisting the organisation of the Zionist militias and forces in Palestine. As in other parts of the world under the British Empire, it carved up and divided lands and people, then left the region’s inhabitants to fight it out, pretending to be neutral even after its departure. It left those lands but continued to foment division and take sides by taking sides with those it had empowered.

Britain was not, is not, and never will be neutral in the struggle for Palestinian rights and a state. It provided political and military rights to one group of people and recommended civil and cultural rights for the other. However, as we are seeing now, people without political and military rights cannot even protect their civil, religious, and cultural rights or even preserve their existence. The end of Palestine may be nearing as Israel commits genocide and annexes what is left. Britain may have left Palestine, but it has never for one day stopped its military and political support for Zionism and the state it created.

Jahangir Mohammed, Director of the Ayaan Institute.