Origins: Ottoman collapse, Balfour 1917
As the Ottoman Empire collapsed after WWI, the Balfour Declaration (1917) backed a Jewish 'national home' in Palestine while promising not to prejudice existing communities. The League gave Britain the mandate over Palestine, setting Zionism against Arab nationalism - both encouraged by Britain. Jewish immigration rose in the 1930s as Jews fled Nazism, fuelling the Arab Revolt (1936-39); Britain handed the problem to the UN in 1947.
Weigh turning points: 1948, 1967, 1978
Section B rewards a judgement about CHANGE and significance across 1917-2012, not narrative. Apply criteria (map, power, relations, or lasting effect?) and weigh turning points: the 1948 war (Israel created; refugee crisis); Suez 1956 (British/French decline); the Six-Day War 1967 (created the occupied territories); Yom Kippur 1973; peace attempts (Camp David 1978, Oslo 1993). Reach an overall verdict - e.g. 1967 mattered most.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Kissinger worked for the USA, not the UN
When weighing outside powers, candidates confuse who Kissinger represented. His 'shuttle diplomacy' after the 1973 war was as US Secretary of State - the USA, not the UN. Crediting the UN misses the real change: the UN's decline and the USA's rise as broker. Get the actor right or the judgement collapses.
Digest (B7, Jun 2024 P2, (C)): many did not realise Kissinger was working for the USA, not the UN, when weighing the UN's declining influence after 1947.
No direct 1917-to-1946 comparison
On a change or 'explain two ways' question, examiners want a DIRECT date-to-date comparison. Contrast the optimistic tone of British rule in 1917 with the repression and decision by 1946 to hand Palestine to the UN. Name both dates and say WHAT changed between them; a general description of 'British rule' does not score.
Digest (B7, Jun 2024 P2, (A)): make direct date-to-date comparisons contrasting the optimistic tone of British rule in 1917 with repressive measures and the decision to hand Palestine to the UN by 1946.
Give two causes of opposition to peace
On 'explain two causes' (e.g. opposition to a peace deal), candidates often give only one developed cause. Give TWO distinct, explained causes - deep suspicion after decades of war, Hamas's belief that Israel should not exist, disputes over West Bank settlements, or Israeli government divisions - and explain WHY each obstructed peace.
Digest (B7, Jun 2024 P2, (B)): reasons for opposition included deep-seated suspicion, Hamas's belief Israel should not exist, West Bank settlement and divisions in the Israeli government; give TWO causes.
Only two turning points, no criteria
On the 16-mark question, weaker answers stop at the two obvious turning points and assert one was 'most significant' without criteria. The top band needs a THIRD turning point - a different war, a peace attempt, or a long-term consequence - plus explicit criteria (which changed the map or relations most, or lasted longest). Assertion caps the mark.
Digest (Generic skills, Section B (C), Jun 2024 P2): cover a THIRD aspect and judge using criteria; asserting significance without criteria is the ceiling.
Describing events, not tracing change
This is a study of CHANGE across 1917-2012, so narrating events without showing what altered stays low. Frame each turning point as a change - before 1948 there was no state of Israel; after 1967 the occupied territories dominated. Stay inside 1917-2012 and show movement over time, not a list of incidents.
(general exam technique)
Kissinger negotiated for the USA, not UN
A testable wrong belief: that Kissinger worked for the UN. He was the US Secretary of State; his shuttle diplomacy after the 1973 war was American, not a UN mission. The broker role passed from Britain, through the UN (declining after 1947), to the USA - Kissinger 1973-74, Carter at Camp David 1978, Clinton over Oslo 1993.
Digest (B7, Jun 2024 P2): many did not realise Kissinger was working for the USA, not the UN, when weighing the UN's declining influence after 1947.
Occupied territories: 1967, not 1948
A precise confusion of two wars. After the 1948 war the West Bank (with East Jerusalem) was held by Jordan and Gaza by Egypt - not Israel. The Six-Day War of 1967 took Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan from Syria - the 'occupied territories' central to the dispute. Dating these to 1948 wrecks the chronology.
Structure the 16-mark answer
For the (c) question: develop the two bullets with precise, dated support; add a THIRD aspect of your own; then judge by applying criteria (which changed the map or relations most, or lasted longest), not assertion.
Signpost two developed causes or ways
For 'explain two causes/ways', signpost explicitly - 'One... A second...' - and give each its own precise, dated detail. Two clearly separated, developed points beat one long paragraph in which the second point is barely explained.
Anchor points with precise dates
Precise, dated support lifts a knowledgeable answer. Anchor each point to its year: Balfour 1917, creation of Israel 1948, Six-Day War 1967, Camp David 1978, Oslo 1993. Vague, undated claims cannot reach the top level.
This breadth study traces how conflict in the Middle East changed across nearly a century, from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to the situation by 2012. The central thread is the struggle between Zionism (the movement for a Jewish national home) and Arab nationalism, which produced the state of Israel in 1948, a series of wars, and repeated attempts at peace. Always emphasise change over time and be precise with dates.
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