November 2 marks the sad anniversary of day the Balfour Declaration was issued. The founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, along with other extremist Zionists, arrived at Mount Hebron in 1887. They were enchanted by its green slopes and the sight of olive trees.

All of a sudden Herzl shouted, “A land without a nation and a nation without a land.” Two years later, in a bid to achieve their goal, Herzl and his friends held a conference in Basel, Switzerland.

Herzl vehemently defended his theory regarding the establishment of a country for the Jews. He had been to Africa many times before, and at first had in mind to choose an African country, Ethiopia, for the purpose. But, his trip to Palestine, where he saw its lush agriculture and enticing scenery, convinced him to choose it over Ethiopia.

Herzl died in 1926 and did not have the chance to see the establishment of the Zionist regime. But, in order to realize his dream, he was corresponding with the British king, members of Freemason organizations, and British lords until the very last days of his life. Why did Herzl choose Palestine as a land for the Jewish people?

As a matter of fact there were a few reasons why Palestine became the focus of attention of the Zionists and Britain.

The construction of the Suez Canal that links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, the resurgence of Islam in the region called Helal Khasib, the start of oil exploitation in the Middle East, and the Russia’s socialist revolution were some of the main factors that motivated the Zionists and the Westerners to establish the Zionist regime in Palestine.

However, in order to gain insight into the significance of the strategic region, each factor must be examined separately.

The Suez Canal, constructed by the French and with the cooperation of the British, gave a boost to naval operations and maritime trade. The construction of the canal greatly reduced the distance British vessels had to travel on a trip from the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. This was very important from the economic point of view because Britain was a superpower at the time.

By the end of the 19th century the new wave of Islamic and Arab ideologies opposed to the Ottoman Empire presented a new perspective to the people of the Middle East.

If a non-Ottoman Islamic ideology had been established in the region which resulted in the creation of an Islamic Arab empire, Britain’s interests in Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine would have been seriously endangered.

Also, the 1917 Russian Revolution contributed to the Zionists and British policy-makers’ determination to create a Zionist regime.

Unfortunately, two years after the October Revolution, the first communist party in the Arab world was established in Palestine in 1919. The specter of communism on the horizon of the sensitive Middle East region alarmed the West.

Moreover, the discovery of oil and the drilling of the first oil well in the Iranian city of Masjid Soleiman and its crucial role in Western industries and economies increased the significance of the region. Oil was also discovered in Palestine at the same time.

These developments motivated the British and the Zionists to establish a gendarme regime in the region.

After the Basel conference, the Jews established the Jewish Agency Fund. The fund, in cooperation with Britain’s high commissioner in the region, was responsible for making the necessary provisions and accommodations for the immigration of Jews to Palestine.

The immigration began in 1901 and reached a high point during World War I, as Muslims and Arabs neglected developments in Palestine because their attention was concentrated on the war.

The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the region, which was carried out through Britain’s cooperation with Hussein Sharif of Mecca in what was called the Great Arab Revolution of 1916, also paved the way for increased Jewish immigration into Palestine.

After the division of the region and the creation of Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, with the sons of Hussein Sharif of Mecca being put on the thrones of those countries, a new chapter began in relations between the Arabs and expansionist Britain.

All these developments led to the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917, declaring that Britain favored the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine.

The declaration and the following developments resulted in the establishment of the first Zionist government on May 15, 1948, a usurper regime that has started wars and caused bloodshed and chaos in the Middle East region ever since.