Policy of Deceit - Britain and Palestine, 1914-1939

The untold story of Britain’s role in the Israel–Palestine conflict

‘Policy of Deceit is the work of a lifetime, a forensic, fair-minded examination of the Hussein–McMahon correspondence that exposes how the British government broke its promises to the people of Palestine.’ The Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year

This is the untold story of Britain’s role in the Israel–Palestine conflict.

During the First World War, the British High Commissioner in Egypt reached a secret agreement with the Sharif of Mecca. If the Sharif allied with Britain against the Ottomans, after the war an independent Arab state that included Palestine would be established. The Sharif kept his word. The British did not. Instead, two years later Lloyd George’s government declared that Palestine would be for the global Jewish community.

Through meticulous analysis of official r