Support for a greater Jewish presence in what was then Palestine, was said to have originated amongst the British because of the believed to be Ottoman occupation which was Saudi backed. Any support for the Jewish people is reported to have been from various Christian groups.
During the mid 19th Century the British foreign office was documented as actively encouraging Jewish resettlement. It was mainly unsuccessful being judged to be premature. Twenty four thousand Jewish people were documented as living in, then Palestine in 1846. Zionism is believed to have emerged because of antisemitism in Europe, thought to stem from a sense of Jewish identity and an unwillingness to integrate, resulting in unfair treatment equal to abuse.
There was said to be a renewal of strategic assessments and political bargaining around the near and far east during the first world war. The Rothschilds are reported to have influenced, thought to be receptive members of the British government concerning a homeland for Jewish people. Some member of the Rothchilds had married into a family connected to the British government. It is thought that mainly the elite Jewish left. Other Israelis may have stayed, perhaps living in Kibbutz’s.
Chaim Weizmann is said to have been a proponent of Zionism; born in Russia, he is reported to have met Arthur Balfour, former prime minister of the u.k., to discuss Zionism. An Arab uprising precipitated the Sykes-Picot agreement. A thought to be Anglo-French treaty dividing Palestine. Sykes was a member of the tory government and Picot, a French politician stationed in Beirut. The Jewish population were promised civil and religious liberty. The potential for disagreements concerning the document were considered endless by one source, the text being described as too ambiguous.