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178-712: The Churchill White Paper of 3 June 1922 (sometimes referred to as "British Policy in Palestine") was drafted at the request of Winston Churchill , then Secretary of State for the Colonies , partly in response to the 1921 Jaffa Riots . The official name of the document was Palestine: Correspondence with the Palestine Arab Delegation and the Zionist Organisation . The white paper was made up of nine documents and "Churchill's memorandum"

356-532: A Jewish national home, but that such a home should be founded in Palestine" and affirming the right to Jewish immigration but subject to the concept of "economic absorptive capacity". Evyatar Friesel says that the terms of the Churchill Memorandum and the Mandate were "clearly contradictory". There was a "double obligation" to Jew and non-Jew. The idea of a national home in Palestine as a whole

534-667: A Palestine Order in Council in August, reaffirmed the British commitment to a national home, promised that Palestine would not become a Jewish State and that Arabs would not be subordinated to Jews. Fieldhouse further says that the white paper "interpreted and subtly modified the harshness of the mandate." It pointed out that the Balfour Declaration did "not contemplate that Palestine as a whole should be converted into

712-649: A junior ministerial position he had requested. He worked beneath the Secretary of State for the Colonies , Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin , and took Edward Marsh as his secretary; Marsh remained his secretary for 25 years. Churchill's first task was helping to draft a constitution for the Transvaal ; and he helped oversee the formation of a government in the Orange River Colony . In dealing with southern Africa, he sought to ensure equality between

890-490: A "Jewish national home" also says that the Mandatory had the responsibility for developing self-governing institutions for the whole population of Palestine, not just Jews, and for "safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine". The problem was that neither the declaration nor the Mandate defined the national home; the rights of the "non-Jewish" population and how they might be affected by

1068-851: A Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith 's Liberal government , Churchill was president of the Board of Trade and Home Secretary , championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli campaign , but after it proved a disaster, was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster . He resigned in November 1915 and joined

1246-504: A Jewish kingdom west of the Jordan, Churchill decreed it was not only not contemplated "that hundreds and thousands of Jews were going to pour into the country in a very short time and dominate the existing population", but even was quite impossible. "Jewish immigration would be a very slow process and the rights of the existing non-Jewish population would be strictly preserved." About British policy in Palestine, Herbert Samuel added that "There

1424-599: A Jewish national home. Having been rebuffed in their attempt to have discussions with Churchill in Cairo, on 28 March 1921, the committee instead met Churchill in Jerusalem for that part of the Cairo conference and presented a memorandum detailing their complaints; while he assured the committee that in respect of the second part of the Balfour Declaration ,"if one promise stands so does the other", he said that it

1602-521: A Liberal, Churchill attacked government policy and gained a reputation as a radical under the influences of John Morley and David Lloyd George . In December 1905, Balfour resigned as prime minister and King Edward VII invited the Liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman to replace him. Hoping to secure a working majority , Campbell-Bannerman called a general election in January 1906, which

1780-512: A Palestinian community in the West Bank . It was lifted 2 hours each day to allow residents to find food. The curfew was in response to the murder of two teachers on 21 July near Jenin and the killing of an Israeli para-military on 30 July. Najah University was closed for 2 months after posters with pictures of PLO leader were found. In January 1986, the Israeli administration ended with

1958-545: A broader attempt to established centralized rule throughout the empire at that time. In return for their services, the officers were granted agricultural lands around the villages of Jabal Nablus. The Ottomans, fearing that the new Arab land holders would establish independent bases of power, dispersed the land plots to separate and distant locations within Jabal Nablus to avoid creating contiguous territory controlled by individual clans. Contrary to its centralization purpose,

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2136-425: A distinction between criminal and political prisoners , with rules for the latter being relaxed. There were educational innovations like the establishment of libraries, and a requirement to stage entertainments four times a year. The rules on solitary confinement were relaxed, and Churchill proposed abolition of automatic imprisonment of those who failed to pay fines. Imprisonment of people aged between 16 and 21

2314-641: A fine district." He also mentions the large Samaritan population in the city. After its recapture by the Muslims, the Great Mosque of Nablus , which had become a church under Crusader rule, was restored as a mosque by the Ayyubids, who also built a mausoleum in the old city. In October 1242, Nablus was raided by the Knights Templar . This was the conclusion of the 1242 campaign season in which

2492-564: A flat in London's Mayfair , using it as his base for six years. He stood again as a Conservative candidate at Oldham in the October 1900 general election , securing a narrow victory to become a Member of Parliament aged 25. In the same month, he published Ian Hamilton's March , a book about his South African experiences, which became the focus of a lecture tour in November through Britain, America and Canada. Members of Parliament were unpaid and

2670-553: A further increase to 19,200. The 1945 village statistics list the population as 23,250 (22,360 Muslims, 680 Christians, and 120 "other"). According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Nablus had a population of 126,132 in 2007. In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 100,034, including 23,397 refugees , accounting for about 24% of the city's residents. Nablus' Old City had

2848-640: A hospice for pilgrims. Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when the Ayyubids led by Saladin captured the city. According to a liturgical manuscript in Syriac , Latin Christians fled Nablus, but the original Eastern Orthodox Christian inhabitants remained. Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), wrote that Ayyubid Nablus was a "celebrated city in Filastin (Palestine)... having wide lands and

3026-599: A large majority, it established the principle of a minimum wage and the right to have meal breaks. In May 1909, he proposed the Labour Exchanges Bill to establish over 200 Labour Exchanges through which the unemployed would be assisted in finding employment. He promoted the idea of an unemployment insurance scheme, which would be part-funded by the state. To ensure funding for their reforms, Lloyd George and Churchill denounced Reginald McKenna 's policy of naval expansion, refusing to believe war with Germany

3204-891: A member of the Conservative Party , which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family . He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India , the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War , gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected

3382-640: A mutual de-escalation, but this was refused. Churchill pushed for higher pay and greater recreational facilities for naval staff, more submarines, and a renewed focus on the Royal Naval Air Service , encouraging them to experiment with how aircraft could be used for military purposes. He coined the term " seaplane " and ordered 100 to be constructed. Some Liberals objected to his level of naval expenditure; in December 1913 he threatened to resign if his proposal for 4 new battleships in 1914–15

3560-466: A population of 12,000 in 2006. The population of Nablus city comprises 40% of its governorate 's inhabitants. Approximately half of population is under 20 years old. In 1997, the age distribution of the city's inhabitants was 28.4% under the age of 10, 20.8% from 10 to 19, 17.7% from 20–29, 18% from 30 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64 and 3.7% above the age of 65. The gender distribution was 50,945 males (50.92%) and 49,089 females (49.07%). In 891 CE, during

3738-710: A population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim , it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a commercial and cultural centre of the State of Palestine , home to An-Najah National University , one of the largest Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and the Palestine Stock Exchange . Nablus is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The modern name of

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3916-624: A preference for Protestantism over Roman Catholicism because he felt it "a step nearer Reason". Interested in parliamentary affairs, he declared himself "a Liberal in all but name", adding he could never endorse the Liberal Party 's support for Irish home rule . Instead, he allied himself to the Tory democracy wing of the Conservatives and on a visit home, gave his first speech for the party's Primrose League at Claverton Down . Mixing reformist and conservative perspectives, he supported

4094-671: A reputation as a conciliator. He worked with Lloyd George to champion social reform . He promoted what he called a "network of State intervention and regulation" akin to that in Germany. Continuing Lloyd George's work, Churchill introduced the Mines Eight Hours Bill , which prohibited miners from working more than an eight-hour day . In 1909, he introduced the Trade Boards Bill , creating Trade Boards which could prosecute exploitative employers. Passing with

4272-540: A speech (quoted from in paragraph 6 of the 1 March 1922 document #2 of the white paper) which McTague describes as a necessary effort, after more than three years, to define the Balfour Declaration. As one author put it, quoting a 6 June 1920 report to the Foreign Office, "..what struck me most of all was that nobody seemed to know what the Zionist policy of His Majesty’s Government meant." Churchill quoted Samuel in

4450-582: A strategic position at a junction between two ancient commercial roads; one linking the Sharon coastal plain to the Jordan valley , the other linking Nablus to the Galilee in the north, and the biblical Judea to the south through the mountains. The city stands at an elevation of around 550 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level , in a narrow valley running roughly east–west between two mountains: Mount Ebal ,

4628-676: A strike in munitions factories along the Clyde and increased munitions production. In his October 1917 letter to his Cabinet colleagues, he penned the plan of attack for the next year, that would bring final victory to the Allies. He ended a second strike, in June 1918, by threatening to conscript strikers into the army. In the House of Commons, Churchill voted in support of the Representation of

4806-803: A war zone. In the autumn, he and friend Reggie Barnes , went to observe the Cuban War of Independence and became involved in skirmishes after joining Spanish troops attempting to suppress independence fighters. Churchill sent reports to the Daily Graphic in London. He proceeded to New York and wrote to his mother about "what an extraordinary people the Americans are!" With the Hussars, he went to Bombay in October 1896. Based in Bangalore , he

4984-783: Is densely populated and prominent families include the Nimrs, Tuqans, and Abd al-Hadis. The large fortress-like compound of the Abd al-Hadi Palace built in the 19th century is located in Qaryun. The Nimr Hall and the Tuqan Palace are located in the center of the old city. There are several mosques in the Old City: the Great Mosque of Nablus , An-Nasr Mosque, al-Tina Mosque, al-Khadra Mosque , Hanbali Mosque , al-Anbia Mosque, Ajaj Mosque and others. There are six hamaams ( Turkish baths ) in

5162-582: Is doubtful that publication would have put an end to the argument and that the reply given in the white paper correspondence was "by no means" an answer to the claim. In February 1923, following a change in government, Cavendish, in a lengthy memorandum for the Cabinet, laid the foundation for a secret review of Palestine policy: It would be idle to pretend that the Zionist policy is other than an unpopular one. It has been bitterly attacked in Parliament and

5340-483: Is still being fiercely assailed in certain sections of the press. The ostensible grounds of attack are threefold:(1) the alleged violation of the McMahon pledges; (2) the injustice of imposing upon a country a policy to which the great majority of its inhabitants are opposed; and (3) the financial burden upon the British taxpayer. ... His covering note asked for a statement of policy to be made as soon as possible and that

5518-530: Is well nigh impossible for any government to extricate itself without a substantial sacrifice of consistency and self-respect, if not honour." The wording of the declaration was thus incorporated into the British Mandate for Palestine , a legal instrument that created Mandatory Palestine with an explicit purpose of putting the declaration into effect and was finally formalized in September 1923. Unlike

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5696-408: The 1922 British census of Palestine , there were a total of 15,947 inhabitants (15,238 Muslims, 544 Christians, 147 Samaritans, 16 Jews, and two Druze). Population continued to grow, rising to 17,189 (16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 160 Samaritans, seven Druze, and six Jews) at the 1931 census of Palestine with 309 in nearby suburbs (225 Muslims and 84 Christians). The 1938 village statistics show

5874-674: The 1967 Arab–Israeli War , the West Bank has been occupied by Israel ; since 1995, it has been governed by the PNA as part of Area A of the West Bank . Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities. Flavia Neapolis ("new city of the emperor Flavius ") was named in 72 CE by the Roman emperor Vespasian and applied to an older Samaritan village, variously called Mabartha ("the passage") or Mamorpha . Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim ,

6052-552: The Agadir Crisis of April 1911, when there was a threat of war between France and Germany, Churchill suggested an alliance with France and Russia to safeguard the independence of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands to counter possible German expansionism. The Crisis had a profound effect on Churchill and he altered his views about the need for naval expansion. In October 1911, Asquith appointed Churchill First Lord of

6230-582: The An-Nasr Mosque and al-Masakim Mosque during that century. The Mamluk dynasty gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their reign, they built numerous mosques and schools. Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many Turkish baths and exported olive oil and soap to Egypt , Syria, the Hejaz , several Mediterranean islands, and the Arabian Desert . The city's olive oil

6408-598: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), began its assault at Gallipoli . Both campaigns failed and Churchill was held by many MPs, particularly Conservatives, to be responsible. In May, Asquith agreed under parliamentary pressure to form an all-party coalition government , but the Conservatives' condition of entry was that Churchill must be removed from the Admiralty. Churchill pleaded his case with Asquith and Conservative leader Bonar Law but had to accept demotion. On 25 November 1915, Churchill resigned from

6586-708: The Battle of Sharon during the set piece Battle of Megiddo . Fighting took place in the Judean Hills where the British Empire 's XX Corps and Royal Flying Corps attacked the Ottoman Empire 's Yildirim Army Group 's Seventh Army which held a defensive position in front of Nablus, and which the Eighth Army had attempted to retreat to, in vain. The 1927 Jericho earthquake destroyed many of

6764-435: The Budget League , and warned that upper-class obstruction could anger working-class Britons and lead to class war. The government called the January 1910 general election , which resulted in a Liberal victory; Churchill retained his seat at Dundee. He proposed abolition of the House of Lords in a cabinet memo, suggesting it be succeeded by a unicameral system, or smaller second chamber that lacked an in-built advantage for

6942-412: The Hughligans , but was critical of the Conservative government on various issues, especially increases in army funding. He believed additional military expenditure should go to the navy. This upset the Conservative front bench but was supported by Liberals, with whom he increasingly socialised, particularly Liberal Imperialists like H. H. Asquith . Churchill later wrote that he "drifted steadily to

7120-421: The Israeli occupation of Nablus. Many Israeli settlements were built around Nablus during the 1980s and early 1990s. The restrictions placed on Nablus during the First Intifada were met by a back-to-the-land movement to secure self-sufficiency, and had a notable outcome in boosting local agricultural production. In 1976, Bassam Shakaa was elected mayor. On 2 June 1980, he survived an assassination attempt by

7298-404: The Jewish Underground , considered a terrorist group by Israel, which resulted in Shakaa losing both his legs. In the spring of 1982, the Israeli administration removed him from office and installed an army officer who ran the city for the following three and a half years. On 29 July 1985, the Israeli army imposed a 5-day curfew on the city. At the time this was the longest curfew ever imposed on

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7476-520: The Manara Clock Tower , built in 1906. The relatively temperate Mediterranean climate brings hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters to Nablus. Spring arrives around March–April and the hottest months in Nablus are July and August with the average high being 29.6 °C (85.3 °F). The coldest month is January with temperatures usually at 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). Rain generally falls between October and March, with annual precipitation rates being approximately 656 mm (25.8 in). In 1596,

7654-421: The Palestine Arab Congress to further that objective. On the first anniversary of the Balfour Declaration in November 1918 there were non-violent protests. Petitions against Zionist policy were delivered to Ronald Storrs as well as the Governor of Jaffa. In early 1919, the first Palestinian Arab Congress rejected political Zionism . Palestine was seen as part of an independent Syria under Faisal bin Hussein . It

7832-445: The Partition of Ireland . Concerning the possibility of partition, Churchill stated: "Whatever Ulster's right may be, she cannot stand in the way of the whole of the rest of Ireland. Half a province cannot impose a permanent veto on the nation. Half a province cannot obstruct forever the reconciliation between the British and Irish democracies". Speaking in the House of Commons on 16 February 1922, Churchill said: "What Irishmen all over

8010-438: The Passover massacre —an attack by Palestinian militants that killed 30 Israeli civilians attending a seder dinner at the Park Hotel in Netanya—Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield , a major military operation targeting in particular Nablus and Jenin. At least 80 Palestinians were killed in Nablus during the operation and several houses were destroyed or severely damaged. The operation also resulted in severe damage to

8188-406: The Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions , Secretary of State for War , Secretary of State for Air , and Secretary of State for the Colonies , overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East . After two years out of Parliament, he

8366-414: The Russian Civil War , but soon recognised the people's desire to bring them home. After the Soviets won the civil war, Churchill proposed a cordon sanitaire around the country. In the Irish War of Independence , he supported the use of the paramilitary Black and Tans to combat Irish revolutionaries. After British troops in Iraq clashed with Kurdish rebels, Churchill authorised two squadrons to

8544-620: The Siege of Ladysmith and take Pretoria. He was among the first British troops into both places. He and cousin, Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough , demanded and received the surrender of 52 Boer prison camp guards. Throughout the war, he publicly chastised anti-Boer prejudices, calling for them to be treated with "generosity and tolerance", and afterwards urged the British to be magnanimous in victory. In July, having resigned his lieutenancy, he returned to Britain. His Morning Post despatches had been published as London to Ladysmith via Pretoria and sold well. Churchill rented

8722-491: The Siege of Sidney Street ; three Latvian burglars had killed police officers and hidden in a house in the East End of London , surrounded by police. Churchill stood with the police though he did not direct their operation. After the house caught fire, he told the fire brigade not to proceed into the house because of the threat posed by the armed men. Afterwards, two of the burglars were found dead. Although he faced criticism for his decision, he said he "thought it better to let

8900-417: The Tuqans from northern Syria or Transjordan. The Jarrars came to dominate the hinterland of Nablus, while the Tuqans and Nimrs competed for influence in the town. The former held the post of mutasallim (tax collector, strongman) of Nablus longer, though non-consecutively than any other family. The three families maintained their power until the mid-19th century. In the mid-18th century, Zahir al-Umar ,

9078-454: The Vilayet of Damascus . Sanjaq Nablus was further subdivided into five nahiya (subdistricts), in addition to the city itself. The Ottomans did not attempt to restructure the political configuration of the region on the local level such that the borders of the nahiya were drawn to coincide with the historic strongholds of certain families. Nablus was only one among a number of local centers of power within Jabal Nablus, and its relations with

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9256-447: The greatest British prime ministers . Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 at his family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. On his father's side, he was a member of the aristocracy as a descendant of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . His father, Lord Randolph Churchill , representing the Conservative Party , had been elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Woodstock in February 1874. His mother, Jennie ,

9434-434: The "disgusting butchery of the natives" by Europeans. With Campbell-Bannerman terminally ill, Asquith became prime minister in April 1908. He appointed Churchill as President of the Board of Trade . Aged 33, Churchill was the youngest Cabinet member since 1866. Newly appointed Cabinet ministers were legally obliged to seek re-election at a by-election. On 24 April, Churchill lost the Manchester North West by-election to

9612-399: The 10th century, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi , described it as abundant of olive trees, with a large marketplace, a finely paved Great Mosque , houses built of stone, a stream running through the center of the city, and notable mills. He also noted that it was nicknamed "Little Damascus ." At the time, the linen produced in Nablus was well known throughout the Old World . The city

9790-543: The 1657 campaign allowed the Arab sipahi officers to establish their own increasingly autonomous foothold in Nablus. The officers raised their families there and intermarried with the local notables of the area, namely the ulama and merchant families. Without abandoning their nominal military service, they acquired diverse properties to consolidate their presence and income such as soap and pottery factories, bathhouses , agricultural lands, grain mills and, olive and sesame oil presses. The most influential military family were

9968-471: The Admiralty , and he took up official residence at Admiralty House . He created a naval war staff and, over the next two and a half years, focused on naval preparation, visiting naval stations and dockyards, seeking to improve morale, and scrutinising German naval developments. After Germany passed its 1912 Naval Law to increase warship production, Churchill vowed that for every new German battleship, Britain would build two. He invited Germany to engage in

10146-582: The Admiralty. In May 1940, he became prime minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain . Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers , resulting in victory in 1945 . After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election , he became Leader of the Opposition . Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union , he publicly warned of an " iron curtain " of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms, he wrote several books recounting his experience during

10324-437: The Arab transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named Julia Neapolis . It retained this status until the rule of Trebonianus Gallus in 251 CE. The Encyclopaedia Judaica speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE. It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The presence of Samaritans in

10502-404: The Balfour Declaration for fear of the consequences. After the appointment of Herbert Samuel was known, on 28 April 1920 in Acre, General Bols informed the "representatives of all communities" that the mandate and declaration would be included in the peace treaty with Turkey. The Palin Commission speculated that, in view of all the later "misunderstandings", it might have been wiser to have published

10680-422: The British and Boers. He announced a gradual phasing out of the use of Chinese indentured labourers in South Africa; he and the government decided a sudden ban would cause too much upset and might damage the colony's economy. He expressed concerns about the relations between European settlers and the black African population; after the Zulu launched their Bambatha Rebellion in Natal , Churchill complained about

10858-399: The Christian community and the Samaritans grew dramatically. In 484, the city became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to transfer the remains of Aaron 's sons and grandsons Eleazar , Ithamar and Phinehas . Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of

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11036-441: The Christian population of Neapolis emerged in 451. By this time, Neapolis was within the Palaestina Prima province under the rule of the Byzantine Empire . The tension was a result of Monophysite Christian attempts to prevent the return of the Patriarch of Jerusalem , Juvenal , to his episcopal see . However, the conflict did not grow into civil strife. As tensions among the Christians of Neapolis decreased, tensions between

11214-457: The Christians further. Thus, the Samaritans rebelled again under the rule of emperor Anastasius I , reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently reconquered by the Byzantine governor of Edessa , Procopius. A third Samaritan revolt which took place under the leadership of Julianus ben Sabar in 529 was perhaps the most violent. Neapolis' bishop Ammonas was murdered and the city's priests were hacked into pieces and then burned together with

11392-411: The Conservative candidate by 429 votes. On 9 May, the Liberals stood him in the safe seat of Dundee , where he won comfortably . Churchill proposed marriage to Clementine Hozier ; they were married on 12 September 1908 at St Margaret's, Westminster and honeymooned in Baveno , Venice, and Veveří Castle in Moravia . They lived at 33 Eccleston Square , London, and their first daughter, Diana ,

11570-414: The Conservatives. In April, the Lords relented and the People's Budget passed. Churchill continued to campaign against the House of Lords and assisted passage of the Parliament Act 1911 which reduced and restricted its powers. In February 1910, Churchill was promoted to Home Secretary , giving him control over the police and prison services; he implemented a prison reform programme. Measures included

11748-446: The Dardanelles neutral zone, which was policed by the British army based in Chanak . Churchill and Lloyd George favoured military resistance to any Turkish advance but the majority Conservatives in the coalition government opposed it. A political debacle ensued which resulted in the Conservative withdrawal from the government, precipitating the November 1922 general election . Also in September, Churchill's fifth and last child, Mary ,

11926-413: The Declaration. Although supporting the principle, the policy restricted the interpretation of a "national home," geographically excluding the territory east of the Jordan River; politically, by defining it in terms of "development of the existing community"; and numerically, limiting future immigration to "the economic capacity of the country". The "British Policy in Palestine" (enclosure in document #5 of

12104-525: The First World War began in August 1914. The navy transported 120,000 troops to France and began a blockade of Germany's North Sea ports. Churchill sent submarines to the Baltic Sea to assist the Russian Navy and sent the Marine Brigade to Ostend , forcing a reallocation of German troops. In September, Churchill assumed full responsibility for Britain's aerial defence. On 7 October, Clementine gave birth to their 3rd child, Sarah . In October, Churchill visited Antwerp to observe Belgian defences against

12282-522: The Greek pantheon such as Zeus , Artemis , Serapis , and Asklepios . Neapolis was entirely pagan at this time. Justin Martyr who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with Platonism , but not with Christians there. The city flourished until the civil war between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to Sebastia instead. In 244 CE, Philip

12460-400: The Levant in the 7th century, the city was given its present-day Arabic name of Nablus . After the First Crusade , the Crusaders drafted the laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Council of Nablus , and its Christian, Samaritan, and Muslim inhabitants prospered. The city then came under the control of the Ayyubids and the Mamluk Sultanate . Under the Ottoman Turks , who conquered

12638-410: The Liberals won in a massive landslide. Churchill won the Manchester North West seat and his biography of his father was published; he received advance payment of £8,000. It was generally well received. The first biography of Churchill himself, written by the Liberal MacCallum Scott , was published. In the new government, Churchill became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonial Office ,

12816-548: The Malakand Field Force , which received positive reviews. He wrote his only work of fiction, Savrola , a Ruritanian romance . To keep occupied, Churchill embraced writing as what Roy Jenkins calls his "whole habit", especially through his career when he was out of office. Writing was his safeguard against recurring depression , which he referred to as his "black dog". Using London contacts, Churchill got attached to General Herbert Kitchener 's campaign in

12994-585: The Middle East, and was involved in the installations of Faisal I of Iraq and Abdullah I of Jordan . Churchill travelled to Mandatory Palestine where, as a supporter of Zionism , he refused an Arab Palestinian petition to prohibit Jewish migration. He did allow temporary restrictions following the Jaffa riots . In September 1922, the Chanak Crisis erupted as Turkish forces threatened to occupy

13172-624: The Nablus' historic buildings, including the An-Nasr Mosque. Though they were subsequently rebuilt by Haj Amin al-Husayni 's Supreme Muslim Council in the mid-1930s, their previous "picturesque" character was lost. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine , the British authorities demolished buildings in the Old City quarter of Qaryun suspected of harboring insurgents or hiding weapons. Jewish immigration did not significantly impact

13350-518: The Nimrs, who were originally local governors of Homs and Hama 's rural subdistricts. Other officer families included the Akhrami, Asqalan, Bayram, Jawhari, Khammash, Mir'i, Shafi, Sultan and Tamimi families, some of which remained in active service, while some left service for other pursuits. In the years following the 1657 campaign, two other families migrated to Nablus: the Jarrars from Balqa and

13528-412: The Old City of Nablus became a site of fierce clashes between a militant group vs Palestinian police. On 18 August, two Palestinian Police servicemen were killed in the city. Shortly after the raid of police on the suspected areas in the Old City deteriorated into a gun battle, in which three armed militia men were killed, including one killed by beating following his arrest. The person beaten to death

13706-536: The Old City, the most prominent of them being al-Shifa and al-Hana. Al-Shifa was built by the Tuqans in 1624. Al-Hana in Yasmina was the last hamaam built in the city in the 19th century. It was closed in 1928 but restored and reopened in 1994. Several leather tanneries, souks , pottery and textile workshops line the Old City streets. Also located in the Old City is the 15th-century Khan al-Tujjar caravanserai and

13884-700: The Ottomans. A policy of conscription and new taxation was instituted which led to a revolt organized by the a'ayan (notables) of Nablus, Hebron and the Jerusalem-Jaffa area. In May 1834, Qasim al-Ahmad —the chief of the Jamma'in nahiya —rallied the rural sheikhs and fellahin (peasants) of Jabal Nablus and launched a revolt against Governor Ibrahim Pasha , in protest at conscription orders, among other new policies. The leaders of Nablus and its hinterland sent thousands of rebels to attack Jerusalem,

14062-501: The Palestine mandate to Britain and the authorities decided to refuse permission for the convening of a second Palestinian Arab Congress intended to address the new situation. In a lecture given at the UN, Rashid Khalidi noted that the Palestine reaction to the declaration was delayed by the continuing closure of newspapers for two years and the dismal post-war circumstances of the country. The military administration had decided not to publish

14240-865: The Palestinian Arab or Muslim-Christian Delegation) arrived in London on August 8. Three members of the delegation went to Geneva and joined the Syrian–Palestinian Congress to put their case to the League of Nations and to protest the draft mandate. The president of the delegation was Musa Kazim al-Husseini. Its secretary was Shibli al-Jamal (Dr. Fu'ad Samad, assistant secretary) and the other 4 delegates were Tawfiq Hammad, Amin al-Tamimi, Ibrahim Shammas, Mu'in al-Madi. Three meetings with Churchill were had in August and other discussions and correspondence with Colonial Office officials along with meeting Weizmann in November all of which were fruitless since

14418-517: The People Act 1918 , which gave some women the right to vote. In November 1918, four days after the Armistice , Churchill's fourth child, Marigold, was born. Lloyd George called a general election for 14 December 1918. During the campaign, Churchill called for nationalisation of the railways, a control on monopolies, tax reform, and the creation of a League of Nations to prevent wars. He

14596-569: The Rhine . Churchill was one of the few government figures who opposed harsh measures against Germany, and he cautioned against demobilising the German Army, warning they might be needed as a bulwark against Soviet Russia . He was outspoken against Vladimir Lenin 's Communist Party government in Russia. He initially supported using British troops to assist the anti-Communist White forces in

14774-688: The Sudan as a 21st Lancers subaltern while, working as a journalist for The Morning Post . After fighting in the Battle of Omdurman in September 1898, the 21st Lancers were stood down. In October, Churchill returned to England and began writing The River War , about the campaign published in 1899. He decided to leave the army as he was critical of Kitchener's actions, particularly the unmerciful treatment of enemy wounded and his desecration of Muhammad Ahmad 's tomb. On 2 December 1898, Churchill embarked for India to settle his military business and complete his resignation. He spent much time playing polo ,

14952-635: The Templars had joined forces with the Ayyubid emir of Kerak, An-Nasir Dawud , against the Mamluks. The Templars raided Nablus in revenge for a previous massacre of Christians by their erstwhile ally An-Nasir Dawud. The attack is reported as a particularly bloody affair lasting for three days, during which the Mosque was burned and many residents of the city, Christians alongside Muslims, were killed or sold in

15130-646: The West Bank and when the Second Intifada began, arsonists of Jewish shrines in Nablus were applauded. After the controversy over the Muhammad cartoons in Jyllands-Posten , originally published in Denmark in late September 2006, militias kidnapped two foreigners and threatened to kidnap more as a protest. In 2008, Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said Nablus remains "capital of terror" of

15308-464: The West Bank. From the start of the Second Intifada , which began in September 2000, Nablus became a flash-point of clashes between the IDF and Palestinians. The city has a tradition of political activism, as evinced by its nickname, jabal al-nar (Fire Mountain) and, located between two mountains, was closed off at both ends of the valley by Israeli checkpoints. For several years, movements in and out of

15486-592: The al-Satoon Mosque and the Greek Orthodox Church in 2002. Some 60 houses were destroyed, and parts of the stone-paving in the old city were damaged. The al-Shifa hammam was hit by three rockets from Apache helicopters . The eastern entrance of the Khan al-Wikala (old market) and three soap factories were destroyed in F-16 bombings. The cost of the damage was estimated at $ 80 million US. In August 2016,

15664-409: The animosity of party members would prevent him gaining a Cabinet position under a Conservative government. The Liberal Party was attracting growing support, and so his defection in 1904 may have been influenced by ambition. He increasingly voted with the Liberals. For example, he opposed an increase in military expenditure, supported a Liberal bill to restore legal rights to trade unions, and opposed

15842-607: The appointment of Zafer al-Masri as mayor. A popular leader of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce al-Masri began a program of improvements in the town. Despite maintaining that he would have nothing to do with Israeli autonomy plans he was assassinated on 2 March 1986. The assassination was widely believed to be the work of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . On 18 June 1989 Salah el Bah'sh, aged 17,

16020-490: The area, proposing they be equipped with "poison gas" to be used to "inflict punishment upon recalcitrant natives without inflicting grave injury upon them", although this was never implemented. He saw the occupation of Iraq as a drain on Britain and proposed, unsuccessfully, that the government should hand control back to Turkey. Churchill became Secretary of State for the Colonies in February 1921. The following month,

16198-549: The army form. After two unsuccessful attempts to gain admittance to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , he succeeded. He was accepted as a cadet in the cavalry , starting in September 1893. His father died in January 1895. In February 1895, Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars regiment of the British Army , based at Aldershot . Eager to witness military action, he used his mother's influence to get posted to

16376-473: The autonomous Arab ruler of the Galilee became a dominant figure in Palestine. To build up his army, he strove to gain a monopoly over the cotton and olive oil trade of the southern Levant , including Jabal Nablus, which was a major producer of both crops. In 1771, during the Egyptian Mamluk invasion of Syria, Zahir aligned himself with the Mamluks and besieged Nablus, but did not succeed in taking

16554-500: The besieging Germans and promised reinforcements. Soon afterwards, Antwerp fell to the Germans and Churchill was criticised in the press. He maintained that his actions had prolonged resistance and enabled the Allies to secure Calais and Dunkirk . In November, Asquith called a War Council including Churchill. Churchill set the development of the tank on the right track and financed its creation with Admiralty funds. Churchill

16732-476: The bill would "appeal to insular prejudice against foreigners, to racial prejudice against Jews, and to labour prejudice against competition" and expressed himself in favour of "the old tolerant and generous practice of free entry and asylum to which this country has so long adhered and from which it has so greatly gained". On 31 May 1904, he crossed the floor to sit as a member of the Liberal Party. As

16910-547: The bishop Terebinthus. Terebinthus then fled to Constantinople , requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor Zeno erected a church dedicated to Mary on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies, and expropriated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards

17088-575: The cabinet ought to focus on three questions: (1) whether or not pledges to the Arabs conflict with the Balfour declaration; (2) if not, whether the new government should continue the policy set down by the old government in the 1922 White Paper; and (3) if not, what alternative policy should be adopted. Stanley Baldwin, replacing Bonar Law, in June 1923 set up a cabinet subcommittee whose terms of reference were: examine Palestine policy afresh and to advise

17266-467: The center of government authority in Palestine, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and they conquered the city on 31 May. However, they were later defeated by Ibrahim Pasha's forces the next month. Ibrahim then forced the heads of the Jabal Nablus clans to leave for nearby villages. By the end of August, the countrywide revolt had been suppressed and Qasim was executed. Egyptian rule in Palestine resulted in

17444-699: The city and were joined by some Crusaders who settled therein to take advantage of the city's abundant resources. In 1120, the Crusaders convened the Council of Nablus out of which was issued the first written laws for the kingdom. They converted the Samaritan synagogue in Nablus into a church. The Samaritan community built a new synagogue in the 1130s. In 1137, Arab and Turkish troops stationed in Damascus raided Nablus, killing many Christians and burning down

17622-640: The city can be traced back to the Roman period , when it was named Flavia Neapolis by Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 CE. During the Byzantine period , conflict between the city's Samaritan and newer Christian inhabitants peaked in the Samaritan revolts that were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573, which greatly dwindled the Samaritan population of the city. Following the Muslim conquest of

17800-404: The city in 1517 , Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding area corresponding to the modern-day northern West Bank. After the city was captured by British forces during World War I , Nablus was incorporated into Mandatory Palestine in 1922. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw the entire West Bank, including Nablus, occupied and annexed by Transjordan . Since

17978-444: The city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE. As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis. Si'on suggested that Neapolis was about 900 acres in size during the Byzantine period, making it three times larger than it was when it was first established as a Roman colony. Magen estimates that around 20,000 people lived there during this period. Conflict among

18156-640: The city was handed over to the Palestinian National Authority on 12 December 1995, as a result of the Oslo Accords Interim Agreement on the West Bank . Nablus is surrounded by Israeli settlements and was site of regular clashes with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the First Intifada when the local prison was known for torture. In the 1990s, Nablus was a hub of Palestinian nationalist activity in

18334-750: The city were highly restricted. Nablus produced more suicide bombers than any other city during the Second Intifada. The city and the refugee camps of Balata and Askar constituted the center of "knowhow" for the production and operation of the rockets in the West Bank. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , 522 residents of Nablus and surrounding refugee camps, including civilians, were killed and 3,104 injured during IDF military operations from 2000 to 2005. In April 2002, following

18512-507: The city's churches. However, they were unsuccessful in retaking the city. Queen Melisende of Jerusalem resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, after she was granted control over the city in order to resolve a dispute with her son Baldwin III . Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus , and in 1170 they erected

18690-468: The city. In 1773, he tried again without success. Nevertheless, from a political perspective, the sieges led to a decline in the importance of the city in favor of Acre. Zahir's successor, Jezzar Pasha , maintained Acre's dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its autonomy, and the Tuqans, who represented a principal opposing force, rose to power. In 1831–32 Khedivate Egypt , then led by Muhammad Ali , conquered Palestine from

18868-538: The city. Its population doubled, and the influx of refugees put a heavy strain on the city's resources. Three such camps still located within the city limits today are Ein Beit al-Ma' , Balata and Askar . During the Jordanian period, the adjacent villages of Rafidia , Balata al-Balad , al-Juneid and Askar were annexed to the Nablus municipality. Nablus was annexed by Jordan in 1950. The 1967 Six-Day War ended in

19046-457: The coastal cities of Jaffa and Acre. Olive oil was the primary product of Nablus and aided other related industries such as soap-making and basket weaving. It was also the largest producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production of northern cities such as Damascus. Jabal Nablus enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy than other sanjaqs under Ottoman control, probably because the city

19224-546: The creation of the national home, and how they were to be "safeguarded", were not specified. These loose terms did not provide any clarity as to how the country should be governed, or its essential purpose, a fundamental deficiency inherited from the Declaration. In the matter of the claim put forward by the Palestinian Arab delegation with respect to the McMahon-Hussein correspondence , Kedourie notes that McMahon

19402-468: The declaration in the first instance and avoid the confusion. It was not until May 1920 that the text of the Balfour Declaration was read out in Nablus by Sir Louis Bols . The Executive Committee of the third Palestine Arab Congress , headed by Musa Kazim al-Husseini , met the new High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel , who refused to give them any official recognition unless they accepted British policy for

19580-569: The declaration itself, the Mandate was legally binding on the British government. In June, 1924, Britain made its report to the Permanent Mandates Commission for the period July 1920 to the end of 1923 containing nothing of the candor reflected in the internal documents; the documents relating to the 1923 reappraisal stayed secret until the early 1970s. Winston Churchill [REDACTED] Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965)

19758-437: The delegation effectively wanted the policy abandoned altogether and the British were not prepared to countenance anything other than minor adjustments. Finally, the draft of the proposed Palestine constitution was sent to the delegation in February and their response marks the first document published in the white paper. The May 1921 riots in and around Jaffa were the subject of a report published on 1 October 1921, determining

19936-537: The demographic composition of Nablus, and it was slated for inclusion in the Arab state envisioned by the United Nations General Assembly 's 1947 partition plan for Palestine . During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Nablus came under Jordanian control. Thousands of Palestinian refugees fleeing from areas captured by Israeli forces arrived in Nablus, settling in refugee camps in and around

20114-654: The destruction of Acre and thus, the political importance of Nablus was further elevated. The Ottomans wrested back control of Palestine from Egypt in 1840–41. However, the Arraba -based Abd al-Hadi clan which rose to prominence under Egyptian rule for supporting Ibrahim Pasha, continued its political dominance in Jabal Nablus. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Ottoman Syria. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and

20292-586: The early centuries of Islamic rule, Nablus had a religiously diverse population of Samaritans, Muslims and Christians. Arab geographer Al-Dimashqi , recorded that under the rule of the Mamluk Dynasty (Muslim Dynasty based in Egypt), local Muslims, Samaritans, Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Jews populated the city. At the 1931 census , the population was counted as 16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 6 Jews, 7 Druses and 160 Samaritans. However, this census

20470-690: The economic capacity of the country to absorb new arrivals. This limitation was considered a great setback to many in the Zionist movement, though it acknowledged that the Jews should be able to increase their numbers through immigration rather than sufferance. On 23 October 1918 following the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I , the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration was established over Levantine provinces of

20648-540: The first exhibit of his paintings took place in Paris, with Churchill exhibiting under a pseudonym. In May, his mother died, followed in August by his daughter Marigold, from sepsis . Churchill was haunted by Marigold's death for the rest of his life. Churchill was involved in negotiations with Sinn Féin leaders and helped draft the Anglo-Irish Treaty . He was responsible for reducing the cost of occupying

20826-451: The first full parliamentary debate of 14 June 1921 on Palestine and wherein he defended the policy and the mandates arguing that it had all been agreed prior, it was important for Britain to keep its word and that provided immigration were properly regulated then that would benefit the economy. It was Herbert Samuel who insisted, on returning to London in May, on a "definitive" interpretation of

21004-487: The first health and unemployment insurance legislation, the National Insurance Act 1911 , which Churchill had been instrumental in drafting. In May, Clementine gave birth to their second child, Randolph , named after Winston's father. In response to escalating civil strife in 1911, Churchill sent troops into Liverpool to quell protesting dockers and rallied against a national railway strike . During

21182-508: The former Judean toparchy of Acraba . Insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman grid plan and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists. In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian built a grand theater in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people. Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of

21360-423: The former Ottoman Empire . Earlier, on 1 October 1918, General Allenby had been authorized to permit the hoisting of the Arab flag at Damascus. An Arab government was announced on 5 October 1918 and gained de facto independence after the withdrawal of the British forces on 26 November 1919. During 1918, Muslim-Christian Associations were set up across Palestine with a view to opposing Zionism and later established

21538-492: The full Cabinet whether Britain should remain in Palestine and whether if she remained, the pro-Zionist policy should be continued. The Cabinet approved the report of this committee on 31 July 1923. Describing it as "nothing short of remarkable", Quigley noted that the government was admitting to itself that its support for Zionism had been prompted by considerations having nothing to do with the merits of Zionism or its consequences for Palestine. As Huneidi noted, "wise or unwise, it

21716-519: The government, although he remained an MP. Asquith rejected his request to be appointed Governor-General of British East Africa . Churchill decided to return to active service with the Army and was attached to the 2nd Grenadier Guards , on the Western Front . In January 1916, he was temporarily promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers . The battalion

21894-573: The historian Fayyad Altif, large numbers of Samaritans converted because of persecution and because the monotheistic nature of Islam made it easy for them to accept it. In 1967, there were about 3,500 Christians of various denominations in Nablus, but that figure dwindled to about 650 in 2008. Of the Christian populace, there are seventy Orthodox Christian families, about thirty Catholic (Roman Catholic and Eastern Melkite Catholic) families and thirty Anglican families. Most Christians used to live in

22072-461: The historic core of the city, with 64 heritage buildings being heavily damaged or destroyed. IDF forces reentered Nablus during Operation Determined Path in June 2002, remaining inside the city until the end of September. Over those three months, there had been more than 70 days of full 24-hour curfews. According to Gush Shalom , IDF bulldozers damaged the al-Khadra Mosque, the Great Mosque,

22250-551: The house burn down rather than spend good British lives in rescuing those ferocious rascals". In March 1911, Churchill introduced the second reading of the Coal Mines Bill ; when implemented, it imposed stricter safety standards. He formulated the Shops Bill to improve working conditions of shop workers; it faced opposition from shop owners and only passed in a much emasculated form. In April, Lloyd George introduced

22428-512: The introduction of import tariffs. Arthur Balfour 's government announced protectionist legislation in October 1903. Two months later, incensed by Churchill's criticism of the government, the Oldham Conservative Association informed him it would not support his candidature at the next election. In May 1904, Churchill opposed the government's proposed Aliens Bill, designed to curb Jewish immigration. He stated that

22606-571: The kingdom was led by Faisal, the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali . Despite its claims to the region of Syria , Faisal's government controlled a limited area and was dependent on Britain which, along with France, generally opposed the idea of a Greater Syria and refused to recognize the kingdom. Shortly after the Jerusalem riots of early April, the San Remo conference at the end of April 1920, awarded

22784-576: The left". He privately considered "the gradual creation by an evolutionary process of a Democratic or Progressive wing to the Conservative Party", or alternately a "Central Party" to unite the Conservatives and Liberals. By 1903, there was division between Churchill and the Conservatives, largely because he opposed their promotion of protectionism . As a free trader , he helped found the Free Food League . Churchill sensed that

22962-459: The main cause as being due to Arab discontent about Jewish immigration and perceived pro-Jewish bias by Mandatory authorities. Its remit was expanded to include looking into any recent disturbances in Palestine so also considered the unpublished Palin report into the April 1920 Jerusalem riots . The White paper was intended to address the issues that had been identified. On 3 June 1921, Samuel made

23140-494: The mine owners and striking miners as "very unreasonable". The Times and other media outlets accused him of being soft on the rioters; in contrast, many in the Labour Party , which was linked to the trade unions, regarded him as too heavy-handed. Churchill incurred the long-term suspicion of the labour movement . Asquith called a general election in December 1910 , and the Liberals were re-elected with Churchill secure in Dundee. In January 1911, Churchill became involved in

23318-427: The new city lay 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the Biblical city of Shechem which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the First Jewish–Roman War . Holy places at the site of the city's founding include Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well . Because of the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including

23496-421: The northern mountain, is the taller peak at 940 meters (3,080 ft), while Mount Gerizim , the southern mountain, is 881 meters (2,890 ft) high. Nablus is located 42 kilometers (26 mi) east of Tel Aviv , Israel , 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Amman , Jordan and 63 kilometers (39 mi) north of Jerusalem. Nearby cities and towns include Huwara and Aqraba to the south, Beit Furik to

23674-400: The only ball sport in which he was ever interested. Having left the Hussars, he sailed from Bombay on 20 March 1899, determined to launch a career in politics. Churchill spoke at Conservative meetings and was selected as one of the party's two candidates for the June 1899 Oldham by-election . While campaigning, Churchill referred to himself as "a Conservative and a Tory Democrat". Although

23852-403: The political almanack. In an 1898 letter, he referred to his beliefs, saying: "I do not accept the Christian or any other form of religious belief". Churchill had been christened in the Church of England but underwent a virulently anti-Christian phase in his youth, and as an adult was an agnostic. In another letter to a cousin, he referred to religion as "a delicious narcotic" and expressed

24030-399: The population consisted of 806 Muslim households, 20 Samaritan households, 18 Christian households, and 15 Jewish households. Local Ottoman authorities recorded a population of around 20,000 residents in Nablus in 1849. In 1867 American visitors found the town to have a population of 4,000 'the chief part of whom are Mohammedans', with some Jews and Christians and 'about 150 Samaritans'. In

24208-436: The promotion of secular, non-denominational education while opposing women's suffrage . Churchill volunteered to join Bindon Blood 's Malakand Field Force in its campaign against Mohmand rebels in the Swat Valley of north-west India. Blood accepted on condition he was assigned as a journalist, the beginning of Churchill's writing career. He returned to Bangalore in October 1897 and wrote his first book, The Story of

24386-430: The rank of major . Back in the House of Commons, Churchill spoke out on war issues, calling for conscription to be extended to the Irish, greater recognition of soldiers' bravery, and for the introduction of steel helmets. It was in November 1916 that he penned "The greater application of mechanical power to the prosecution of an offensive on land", but it fell on deaf ears. He was frustrated at being out of office, but

24564-399: The relics of saints . The forces of Emperor Justinian I were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of the majority of the Samaritan population in the city. Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, was conquered by the Muslims under Khalid ibn al-Walid , a general of the Rashidun army of Umar ibn al-Khattab , in 636 after the Battle of Yarmouk . The city's name

24742-453: The rioting. Churchill, learning that the troops were already travelling, allowed them to go as far as Swindon and Cardiff , but blocked their deployment; he was concerned their use lead to bloodshed. Instead he sent 270 London police, who were not equipped with firearms, to assist. As the riots continued, he offered the protesters an interview with the government's chief industrial arbitrator, which they accepted. Privately, Churchill regarded

24920-424: The seats had been held by the Conservatives, the result was a narrow Liberal victory. Anticipating the outbreak of the Second Boer War between Britain and the Boer republics , Churchill sailed to South Africa as a journalist for the Morning Post . In October, he travelled to the conflict zone near Ladysmith , then besieged by Boer troops, before heading for Colenso . At the Battle of Chieveley , his train

25098-404: The slave markets of Acre . The successful raid was widely publicized by the Templars in Europe; it is thought to be depicted in a late 13th-century fresco in the Templar church of San Bevignate , Perugia . In 1244, the Samaritan synagogue, built in 362 by the high priest Akbon and converted into a church by the Crusaders, was converted into al-Khadra Mosque . Two other Crusader churches became

25276-399: The southeast, Tammun to the northeast, Asira ash-Shamaliya to the north and Kafr Qaddum and Tell to the west. In the center of Nablus lies the old city, composed of six major quarters: Yasmina, Gharb, Qaryun, Aqaba, Qaysariyya, and Habala. Habala is the largest quarter and its population growth led to the development of two smaller neighborhoods: al-Arda and Tal al-Kreim. The old city

25454-582: The surrounding villages, such as Beita and Aqraba , were partially mediated by the rural-based chiefs of the nahiya . During the 16th century, the population was predominantly Muslim, with Jewish, Samaritan and Christian minorities. After decades of upheavals and rebellions mounted by Arab tribes in the Middle East, the Ottomans attempted to reassert centralized control over the Arab vilayets . In 1657, they sent an expeditionary force led mostly by Arab sipahi officers from central Syria to reassert Ottoman authority in Nablus and its hinterland, as part of

25632-411: The tour was a financial necessity. In America, Churchill met Mark Twain , President McKinley and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt , who he did not get on with. In spring 1901, he gave lectures in Paris, Madrid and Gibraltar. In February 1901, Churchill took his seat in the House of Commons , where his maiden speech gained widespread coverage. He associated with a group of Conservatives known as

25810-540: The war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951 . His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire , with India no longer a part of it. Domestically, his government's priority was their extensive housebuilding programme, in which they were successful. In declining health, Churchill resigned in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964 . Upon his death in 1965, he

25988-402: The white paper) was accepted by the Zionist Organization (document #7 of the white paper) and rejected by the Palestinians (document #6 of the white paper) Shortly thereafter, the House of Lords rejected a Palestine Mandate that incorporated the Balfour Declaration by 60 votes to 25. The vote was subsequently overruled by a vote of 292 to 35 in the House of Commons. The white paper, formalized as

26166-452: The whole of the twenty years I had lived". Churchill began boarding school at St George's in Ascot, Berkshire , aged 7, but he was not academic and his behaviour was poor. In 1884, he transferred to Brunswick School in Hove , where his academic performance improved. In April 1888, aged 13, he passed the entrance exam for Harrow School . His father wanted him to prepare for a military career, so his last three years at Harrow were in

26344-412: The world most desire is not hostility against this country, but the unity of their own". Following a Cabinet decision, he boosted the naval presence in Ireland to deal with any Unionist uprising. Seeking a compromise, Churchill suggested Ireland remain part of a federal UK, but this angered Liberals and Irish nationalists. As First Lord, Churchill was tasked with overseeing Britain's naval effort when

26522-418: Was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin 's Conservative government , returning sterling in 1925 to the gold standard , depressing the UK economy. Out of government during his so-called " wilderness years " in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for rearmament to counter the threat of militarism in Nazi Germany . At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of

26700-409: Was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 ( during the Second World War ) and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from 1922 to 1924, he was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies . Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism , he was for most of his career

26878-424: Was a committed opponent, and targeted his meetings for protest. In November 1910, the suffragist Hugh Franklin attacked Churchill with a whip; Franklin was imprisoned for six weeks. In November 1910, Churchill had to deal with the Tonypandy riots , in which coal miners in the Rhondda Valley violently protested against working conditions. The Chief Constable of Glamorgan requested troops to help police quell

27056-555: Was a daughter of Leonard Jerome , an American businessman. In 1876, Churchill's paternal grandfather, John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough , was appointed Viceroy of Ireland . Randolph became his private secretary and the family relocated to Dublin . Winston's brother, Jack , was born there in 1880. For much of the 1880s, Randolph and Jennie were effectively estranged, and the brothers cared for by their nanny, Elizabeth Everest . When she died in 1895, Churchill wrote "she had been my dearest and most intimate friend during

27234-420: Was a matter of policy and the Arabs could do nothing other than accept it and the consequences, including Jewish immigration. In Cairo, Palestine had been discussed with Emir Abdullah who argued that he should be given control of the entire area of Mandate Palestine responsible to the High Commissioner. Alternatively he advocated a union with Iraq. Churchill rejected both demands. Responding to Abdullah's fear for

27412-522: Was abolished except for the most serious offences. Churchill reduced ( "commuted" ) 21 of the 43 death ( "capital" ) sentences passed while he was Home Secretary. A major domestic issue was women's suffrage. Churchill supported giving women the vote, but would only back a bill to that effect if it had majority support from the (male) electorate. His proposed solution was a referendum, but this found no favour with Asquith and women's suffrage remained unresolved until 1918. Many suffragettes believed Churchill

27590-572: Was also used in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Ibn Battuta , the Arab explorer, visited Nablus in 1355, and described it as a city "full of trees and streams and full of olives." He noted that the city grew and exported carob jam to Cairo and Damascus. Nablus came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1517, along with the whole of Palestine. The Ottomans divided Palestine into six sanjaqs ("districts"): Safad , Jenin , Jerusalem , Gaza , Ajlun and Nablus , all of which were part of Ottoman Syria . These five sanjaqs were subdistricts of

27768-436: Was an enclosure to document number 5. While maintaining Britain's commitment to the Balfour Declaration and its promise of a Jewish national home in Mandatory Palestine , the paper emphasized that the establishment of a national home would not impose a Jewish nationality on the Arab inhabitants of Palestine. To reduce tensions between the Arabs and Jews in Palestine the paper called for a limitation of Jewish immigration to

27946-416: Was asked about the matter and that his letter of 12 March 1922 only "added to the confusion". Although Samuel pressed for publication John Evelyn Shuckburgh , head of Colonial Office Middle East policy, considered nothing would be gained not least because the Palestinian Arab delegation had already been given a different argument for the exclusion of Palestine from McMahon's pledge. Kedourie also opines that it

28124-421: Was born in 1909. The success of their marriage was important to Churchill's career as Clementine's unbroken affection provided him with a secure and happy background. One of Churchill's first tasks as a minister was to arbitrate in an industrial dispute among ship-workers and employers, on the River Tyne . He afterwards established a Standing Court of Arbitration to deal with industrial disputes, establishing

28302-433: Was born, and in the same month he purchased Chartwell , in Kent, which became his family home. In October 1922, he underwent an appendectomy . While he was in hospital, Lloyd George's coalition was dissolved. In the general election, Churchill lost his Dundee seat to Edwin Scrymgeour , a prohibitionist candidate. Later, he wrote that he was "without an office, without a seat, without a party, and without an appendix". He

28480-450: Was captured by Crusaders in 1099, under the command of Prince Tancred , and renamed Naples . Though the Crusaders extorted many supplies from the population for their troops who were en route to Jerusalem, they did not sack the city, presumably because of the large Christian population there. Nablus became part of the royal domain of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . The Muslim, Eastern Orthodox Christian, and Samaritan populations remained in

28658-405: Was decided to send a delegation to Damascus and representatives attended the Syrian National Congress in Damascus on 8 June 1919 "to inform Arab patriots there of the decision to call Palestine Southern Syria and unite it with Northern Syria". The Arab Kingdom of Syria was an unrecognized state proclaimed as a Kingdom on 8 March 1920 and existed until 25 July 1920. During its brief existence,

28836-481: Was derailed by Boer artillery shelling, he was captured as a prisoner of war (POW) and interned in a POW camp in Pretoria . In December, Churchill escaped and evaded his captors by stowing aboard freight trains and hiding in a mine. He made it to safety in Portuguese East Africa . His escape attracted much publicity. In January 1900, he briefly rejoined the army as a lieutenant in the South African Light Horse regiment, joining Redvers Buller 's fight to relieve

29014-454: Was elevated as one of 50 members of the Order of the Companions of Honour , as named in Lloyd George's 1922 Dissolution Honours list. Nablus Nablus ( / ˈ n æ b l ə s , ˈ n ɑː b l ə s / NA(H)B -ləs ; Arabic : نابلس , romanized :  Nābulus [ˈnæːblʊs, -lɪs] ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank , located approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Jerusalem , with

29192-499: Was given a state funeral . One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and the rest of the Anglosphere . He is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an integral role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism . He has sometimes been criticised for his imperialism and certain comments on race , in addition to some wartime decisions such as area bombing, but historians nevertheless rank Churchill as one of

29370-440: Was in India for 19 months, visiting Calcutta and joining expeditions to Hyderabad and the North West Frontier . In India, Churchill began a self-education project, reading widely including Plato , Edward Gibbon , Charles Darwin and Thomas Babington Macaulay . The books were sent by his mother, with whom he shared frequent correspondence. To learn about politics, he asked her to send him copies of The Annual Register ,

29548-420: Was inevitable. As Chancellor, Lloyd George presented his " People's Budget " on 29 April 1909, calling it a war budget to eliminate poverty. With Churchill as his closest ally, Lloyd George proposed unprecedented taxes on the rich to fund Liberal welfare programmes. The budget was vetoed by the Conservative peers who dominated the House of Lords . His social reforms under threat, Churchill became president of

29726-408: Was interested in the Middle Eastern theatre , and wanted to relieve pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus by staging attacks against Turkey in the Dardanelles . He hoped that the British could even seize Constantinople . Approval was given and, in March 1915, an Anglo-French task force attempted a naval bombardment of Turkish defences. In April, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force , including

29904-507: Was moved to a sector of the Belgian Front near Ploegsteert . For three months, they faced continual shelling, though no German offensive. Churchill narrowly escaped death when, during a visit by his cousin Marlborough , a large piece of shrapnel fell between them. In May, the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers were merged into the 15th Division. Churchill did not request a new command, instead securing permission to leave active service. His temporary promotion ended on 16 May 1916, when he returned to

30082-469: Was no question of setting up a Jewish Government there ... No land would be taken from any Arab, nor would the Moslem religion be touched in any way." The fourth congress, on 25 June 1921, voted to send a six-man delegation to London which left Palestine on 19 July 1921. After a short visit to Cairo, the delegation went to Rome where they were received in audience by Pope Benedict XV who expressed sympathy with their cause. The delegation (usually referred to as

30260-411: Was refuted while accepting that Jews were in Palestine "as of right and not on sufferance". Renton, while noting that Zionist commitments in the Mandate went beyond the Declaration in recognizing the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine, along with the "grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country" and that Britain had to secure the establishment of

30438-402: Was rejected. In June 1914, he convinced the House of Commons to authorise the government purchase of a 51% share in the profits of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company , to secure oil access for the navy. The central issue in Britain was Irish Home Rule and, in 1912, Asquith's government introduced the Home Rule Bill . Churchill supported it and urged Ulster Unionists to accept it as he opposed

30616-458: Was repeatedly blamed for the Gallipoli disaster by the pro-Conservative press. Churchill argued his case before the Dardanelles Commission , whose report placed no blame on him personally for the campaign's failure. In October 1916, Asquith resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by Lloyd George who, in May 1917, sent Churchill to inspect the French war effort. In July, Churchill was appointed Minister of Munitions . He negotiated an end to

30794-457: Was retained in its Arabicized form, Nabulus . The town prevailed as an important trade center during the centuries of Islamic Arab rule under the Umayyad , Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties. Under Muslim rule, Nablus contained a diverse population of Arabs and Persians , Muslims, Samaritans, Christians and Jews . In the 9th century CE, Al-Yaqubi reported that Nablus had a mixed population of Arabs, Ajam (Non-Arabs), and Samaritans. In

30972-407: Was returned as MP for Dundee and, though the Conservatives won a majority, Lloyd George was retained as prime minister. In January 1919, Lloyd George moved Churchill to the War Office as both Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air . Churchill was responsible for demobilising the army, though he convinced Lloyd George to keep a million men conscripted for the British Army of

31150-401: Was shot dead by an Israeli soldier whilst walking through the Nablus Casbah . Witnesses told B'Tselem , the Israeli Human Rights group, that he was shot in the chest at close range after not responding to a soldier shouting "Ta'amod" (Halt!). The army indicated that an investigation was being carried out. B'Tselem understood that the victim was killed by a rubber bullet . Jurisdiction over

31328-476: Was taken after the 1929 Palestine riots which drove the Jews out of many majority-Arab cities. The majority of the inhabitants today are Muslim, but there are small Christian and Samaritan communities as well. Much of the local Palestinian Muslim population of Nablus is believed to be descended from Samaritans who converted to Islam. Certain Nabulsi family names are associated with Samaritan ancestry – Muslimani, Yaish, and Shakshir among others. According to

31506-413: Was the capital of a hilly region, in which there were no "foreigners" who held any military or bureaucratic posts. Thus, Nablus remained outside the direct "supervision" of the Ottoman government, according to historian Beshara Doumani . Between 19 September and 25 September 1918, in the last months of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War the Battle of Nablus took place, together with

31684-439: Was the suspected “mastermind” behind the August 18 shooting - Ahmed Izz Halaweh, a senior member of the armed wing of the Fatah movement the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. His death was branded by the UN and Palestinian factions as a part of “extrajudicial executions.” A widespread manhunt for multiple gunmen was initiated by the police as a result, concluding with the arrest of one suspect Salah al-Kurdi on 25 August. Nablus lies in

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