Britain supports the creation of a Jewish state. British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour presents a declaration of intent calling for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. The British government hoped the formal declaration would help gain Jewish support for the Allied effort in World War I. The Balfour Declaration was incorporated into the British Mandate for Palestine, which was approved by the League of Nations in 1922. The Arabs opposed the declaration, fearing that the creation of a Jewish state would lead to the subjugation of the Palestinian Arabs. After World War I, the Jewish population in Palestine increased dramatically, as did violent clashes between Arabs and Jews. Arab resistance and the failure of attempts to reach a compromise led Britain to delay a decision on the future of Palestine. In the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, much of the international community embraced the Zionist cause, and the state of Israel was declared in 1948.
