During the First World War, almost concurrently with the Balfour Declaration, British political representatives in Cairo were organizing an Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, with Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, leading the efforts. The British had promised the Arabs independence from the Ottomans, in return for support against the Ottomans during the war. In other words, the United Kingdom was creating a head-on collision, promising both the Jews and the Arabs statehood in Palestine.
