McMahon declares British support for postwar Arab…

McMahon declares British support for postwar Arab independence, subject to certain reservations and exclusions of territory not entirely Arab or concerning which Britain is not free "to act without detriment to the interests of her ally, France", in his letter of October 24, 1915, to Hussein on behalf of the British government.

The territories assessed by the British as not purely Arab include: "The districts of Mersin and Alexandretta, and portions of Syria lying to the west of the districts of Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Aleppo." (As with the later Balfour Declaration, the exact meaning is not clear, although Arab spokespersons ever since will usually maintain that Palestine was within the pledged area of independence.)