Deceit upon deceit...

October 10, 2025

As they say, history is written by the victors. If it were a Palestinian writing, rather than Stuart Rees, they would have started the story of deceit a couple of years earlier. It gets a bit repetitive because he leaves no stone unturned, but it’s still worth reading Peter Shambrook’s Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine, 1914-1939 which details how Britain promised the Arabs an independent state, including Palestine, after the war, in exchange for an Arab alliance with Britain against the Ottomans in World War I. Remember … this came “before” the Balfour Declaration.

It’s also worth noting that Britain was not only a passive observer of the actions of pre-Israel Jewish terrorist gangs against Palestinians, it was a victim of those gangs and in the end withdrew, leaving Palestinians to their fate.

Given the anti-Arab history since then and the British role in it, while the Israelis might welcome Britain these days, it’s hard to see the Palestinians doing so. If the Palestinians do accept Tony Blair’s proposed involvement, we must recognise what a bitter pill they will be swallowing to do so.