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To Arabs, East Jerusalem is the third most holy city in Islam after the cities of Mecca and Medinah. The Dome of the rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem (built in 691AD) are sacred to Muslims everywhere. Arab Caliphs built these holy places over the site of the Jewish Temple, which the Romans destroyed.
Before the catastrophic First World War, Palestine was under Turkish rule, but had an Arab majority within its boundaries. Stuck under the arm of the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs turned to Britain for help to regain its once cherished lands. Thus, Britain accepted the plea during the Hussein-McMahon Letters in 1915 but with a price; they needed to have an uprising against Turkey to suppress their power to fight against Britain. However, the tables had turned as the British also made a pact with the Jews in America, stating that Palestine would be theirs after the World War unless they enlist the support of the United States government to the British cause. This Pact was known as the Balfour Declaration (1917).
Arabs were shocked to find out that their land could be lost to the Jews. However, their disbelief would go another step further as the British, then disregarded both agreements and set forth an agreement with the French to greedily partition the Ottoman Empire between themselves; leaving out the Arabs or Jews to have an independent land for self- rule.
The Arabs and the Jews then shared Palestine, under British mandate. However, tempers fueled as the Jews came into Palestine in large numbers from Europe and America ready to establish a Jewish presence in the country. Arabs complained to the British about the problem and Britain responded by having a limit on the influx of Jewish immigrants. However, the Arabs took the situation on another level. In August 1929, large Arab crowds attacked Jews inside and outside Jerusalem - 133 Jews died and 116 Arabs killed. This set the mark for Jewish and Arab animosity as both sides continue to battle for the takeover of the Holy Land as both claim religious rights over Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine.
