November 1918: Welcome to Gaza

What are the details After the First World War the defeated Ottoman Empire collapsed and its fragments were divided between the European powers. Look into the life of Yasser Arafat who sat at the negotiation table with Israel to face broken promises and shattered dreams. Know more about a fighter who became a diplomat before becoming a fighter again to save Palestine.

What happened after the Ottoman Empire collapsed?

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What if the Ottoman Empire was neutral and thus never broke ...
After the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1922, the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 from its Anatolian core. The empire's other territories were divided by Allied powers into new countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, often with new borders drawn without regard for ethnic or religious diversity. The collapse and subsequent division fundamentally reshaped the political landscape of the Middle East and southeastern Europe.

Jan 13, 2016 — The armistice of 31 October 1918 ended the fighting between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies but did not bring stability or peace to the region.

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What if the Ottoman Empire was neutral and thus never broke ...
After World War I, the defeated Ottoman Empire was partitioned by the victorious Allied powers, primarily Britain and France, according to secret agreements like the Sykes-Picot Agreement and official treaties like the Treaty of Sèvres. These powers established mandates for territories in the Middle East, while their plans to divide Anatolia itself were ultimately thwarted by Turkish nationalist resistance led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, leading to the Turkish War of Independence and the creation of modern Turkey through the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

Division of the empire

Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916): A secret pact between Britain and France that allocated spheres of influence for future control in the Middle East.

France: Gained control of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

Britain: Received areas between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan, southern Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine.

Russia: Was promised control of Istanbul, the Turkish Straits, and Armenia.

Treaty of Sèvres (1920): The official treaty that confirmed the planned partition of the Ottoman lands after the war.

It ceded parts of Anatolia to France, Italy, and Greece.

It created an independent Armenian state in eastern Anatolia.

It demilitarized the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.

Turkish Nationalist Resistance: Led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkish nationalists rejected the terms of Sèvres, igniting the Turkish War of Independence.

Treaty of Lausanne (1923): The final treaty that superseded Sèvres, officially recognizing the new borders of modern Turkey and invalidating the harsh terms imposed by the previous treaty.

Consequences of the partition

New Mandates: The League of Nations granted France and Britain mandates to govern many of the former Ottoman Arab territories, creating new states like Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine, with borders often drawn based on imperial interests rather than local demographics.

Refugee crisis: The Turkish War of Independence, driven by nationalist resistance, led to the expulsion of many ethnic minorities, including Greeks and Armenians.

Lingering Conflict: The "artificial" borders drawn by the European powers are seen by many historians as a source of ongoing conflicts in the region.

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Yasser Arafat's life was a journey from a Palestinian nationalist and guerrilla fighter to a Nobel Peace Prize-winning diplomat, and ultimately a leader who felt the promises of peace were broken, leading him to support the renewed armed struggle of the Second Intifada.

The Fighter (Early Life to the 1980s)

Born in Cairo in 1929, Yasser Arafat, also known as Abu Ammar, was involved in the Palestinian cause from a young age, reportedly smuggling weapons to be used against British and Jewish forces in the 1940s. After studying engineering at Cairo University, he co-founded the Fatah movement in the late 1950s, which was dedicated to the armed liberation of Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

In 1969, he became the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), an umbrella organization for various Palestinian resistance groups. Under his leadership, the PLO engaged in numerous guerrilla attacks and acts of terrorism against Israel and Israeli targets abroad, which led to international condemnation. In a famous 1974 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, where the PLO was granted observer status, Arafat presented himself with "an olive branch in one hand and a freedom fighter's rifle in the other," a symbol of his dual approach to the struggle.

The Diplomat (Late 1980s to Late 1990s)

In the late 1980s, Arafat began a significant shift towards a diplomatic solution. In 1988, from his new headquarters in Tunis, he publicly renounced terrorism and officially recognized Israel's right to exist, paving the way for international engagement and the peace process.

This diplomatic path reached its zenith with the secret Oslo Accords, negotiated in Norway and signed in Washington D.C. in September 1993.
Arafat, along with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for their efforts. The accords provided a framework for Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza through the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Arafat returned to Gaza in 1994 as its first president.
Broken Promises and the Return to Struggle

The dreams of peace and a fully independent Palestinian state were ultimately shattered. The implementation of the Oslo Accords was slow, and growing Palestinian frustration over continued Israeli settlement expansion, the lack of full sovereignty, and the failure of final status talks (such as the 2000 Camp David Summit) led to a renewed cycle of violence.

Arafat was blamed by many in the U.S. and Israel for the failure of the Camp David talks, as he refused to compromise on core issues like the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees' "right of return" to Israel. Arafat felt the offers on the table were insufficient for a viable state and that he could not sell the concessions to his people.

With the outbreak of the Second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) in late 2000, Arafat was seen by some as encouraging, or at least failing to stop, the violence. As a result, Israel confined him to his Ramallah compound in 2002, where he remained largely isolated until his death in a French hospital in November 2004.

Yasser Arafat's legacy remains complex; to Palestinians, he is largely remembered as a national symbol and freedom fighter who championed their cause until his death, while many Israelis view him as a terrorist who could never fully transition from a revolutionary leader to a partner for peace.

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