The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence

The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence

Israel, slightly larger than Massachusetts, lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt on the west, Syria and Jordan on the east, and Lebanon on the north. Its maritime plain is extremely fertile, but only 17% of the land is arable (Figure 1). The southern Negev region, which comprises almost half the total area, is largely a desert. The Jordan River flows from the north through Lake Hule and Lake Kinneret, finally entering the Dead Sea, 1,349 ft below sea level, the world's lowest land elevation.

In a time of war, it is far too easy to get caught up in the violence, and forget that the true goal is peace. Hate, death, and pain make it difficult for the belligerent nations to think rationally and come up with a plan to end the violence. This is why a third party is necessary. A third party sees the situation from an outsider’s viewpoint. Therefore, they are able to offer better advice and solutions. This situation is applicable to the current Middle East Crisis. Palestine and Israel cannot come to a peaceful solution without the help of the international community. In order to help the feuding parties, the United States needs to be neutral, fair, and unbiased. The current leaders need to avoid the mistakes made by the historical leaders and nations that led to the escalation of the conflict, like McMahon-Hussein Correspondence did.

The McMahon-Hussein correspondence is essentially “a series of letters exchanged, in 1915, between Feisal Hussein, who was Sherif of Mecca at the time, and the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon (Khalidi 1980, 92).” The British were willing to negotiate with the Arabs because they needed military support during the First World War, and the Arabs could provide this support. In this correspondence, the British representative promised to Hussein that if the Arabs revolt against the Turks, the British government would grant them independence.

The main controversy in McMahon-Hussein correspondence and the question of Palestine at large lies in the certain areas, that McMahon claimed "cannot be said to be purely Arab" and should therefore "be excluded from the proposed limits and boundaries, of the Arab state (Khalidi 1980,117).” There is also an opinion that the correspondence at issue has no legal grounds, since it was never concluded in mutual agreement. The Arab community took the British promise seriously, and the events that took place only a couple of years after the series of letters were passed certainly infuriated the Arab population.