THE BRITISH MANDATE During World War I, the British government, at war with the German-allied Otto- mans, conducted secret and separate negotiations with both the Arabs and the Zionists to enlist their help. To obtain Arab support, Britain pledged to back "the independence of the Arabs" in exchange for an Arab declaration of war against the Ottomans. The Arab revolt started in June 1916, assisted by Lawrence of Arabia, who led attacks on Ottoman forces throughout what is now Jordan. At the same time, Britain sought political support from Jews by offering sympa- thy to the Zionist movement. Jewish military units under the flag of the Jewish Legion fought alongside British troops for the liberation of Palestine from Otto- man rule. The November 1917 Balfour Declaration stated that Britain viewed "with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." Many Arabs were outraged. Meanwhile, the British and French had made a separate deal. The Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 divided the Middle East region into zones of British and French influence. At the war's end, the various promises made by Britain to the Arabs, the Jews, and the French resulted in a muddled system of mandates: the newly cre- ated League of Nations awarded the Western European powers control over the ter- ritories from which the Ottomans had been expelled with the stated purpose of PARTITION AND WAR all preparing these countries for independence. Great Britain was thus given a man- date over Palestine and Iraq, while France was accorded Syria and Lebanon. Throughout the inter-war years, rising Arab and Jewish nationalism constantly tested British and French colonial rule. In Palestine, the intervening 30 years of British rule saw institutional and economic development under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion's Labor Movement. Land was extensively purchased from Arab owners and Jewish immigration to Palestine increased. The Arab population of Palestine grew more anxious that it was in danger of losing its clear majority, and Palestinian Arab nationalist organizations such as the Higher Arab Council were established in an effort to combat Zionist activities and to influence British policy. Leaders such as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, sought sup- port abroad for the termination of the British mandate and the cessation of all Zionist activity. The British tried various unsuccessful tactics to appease each side. With the rise of Nazism in Germany, tens of thousands of European Jews sought to enter Pales- tine by any means. Underground Jewish efforts to assist illegal immigration led to greater friction between the settlers and the Mandatory Government.