End of Mandates in the Middle East

At the end of World War I, some territories of the Ottoman Empire became mandates under the control of the League of Nations and administered by Great Britain and France.

Photo courtesy Antoine Taveneaux

Wall built to separate the West Bank near Jerusalem.

By 1950, these mandates were granted independence, and new states were created in the Middle East. In particular, the creation of Israel from part of Palestine created conflict, and is still the center of some issues in the Middle East.

Most of the modern Middle Eastern conflicts were due the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948. The surrounding Arab nations went to war with Israel four times in the first twenty-five years after Israel declared its independence. Although much smaller, Israel usually won with little territory lost. This constant conflict led Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir to seek support from the United States, which has remained an important ally to the country.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Egypt was ruled by Gamal Abdul Nasser, an Arab nationalist who sought to modernize the country. An enemy of Israel, he turned to the Soviet Union as an ally in his fight. Nasser built many large projects to modernize Egypt's infrastructure, but perhaps his best-known action was taking control of the Suez Canal from France and Great Britain. For standing up to Israel and the West, Nasser became a hero to Egyptians and much of the Arab world.