Final answer:
Palestine was to be governed by international administration shared by Britain, France, and Russia according to the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. The promise of Arab sovereignty and the support for a Jewish homeland, via the Balfour Declaration, led to conflicting commitments and subsequent tensions in the region. The British controlled the area until the UN partitioned Palestine in 1947.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the 1916 secret agreement known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Palestine was to be governed by international administration, which the British, French, and Russians were to share control of. The British and French had divided spheres of influence over the Arab territories of the defeated Ottoman Empire, with France getting areas like Lebanon and Syria, and Britain obtaining control over areas including Jordan, Kuwait, and southern Iraq. The agreement, and subsequent British actions, set the stage for conflict by promising, yet failing to deliver, a sovereign Arab nation and supporting an independent Jewish homeland in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration. Tensions grew as the British mandate system essentially continued the form of imperialism from the 19th century. Despite the promises made during World War I and again to support a Jewish homeland during World War II, and the Arabs' desire for independence, the British held administrative control until the United Nations took up the issue post-World War II, resulting in the 1947 UN resolution to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.