"لجنة الشرق الأوسط. مذكرة أُعدت لاجتماع ١٢ يناير ١٩١٨. مذكرة السير م. سايكس بشأن الوضع في فلسطين وغرب المنطقة العربية" [و‎‎٢‎٨] (٦/١)

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MIDDLE EAST COMIITTEE
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DOTE PREPAID FOR MEETIUR OF 12th JA1IUARY 1918
; kx-o ms's MElDRAIiDUIi QU f r?^ PALEr/fIM A!in \ 7 Rr,T
1 . this sucjpct fioP 3 not concpfn lll^^vlf| n l
QUMtloBS affpctin^; Tj/ria and Pal^stinf 1 2 3 KSilS^^lMC^lflR irtpr^at
in India, though India Iduhainrnadan afritatora would doubtless dp -
r^ady #nou^i to zaalS a ^ripvancp^d^^iy^ttibn on ofiir 1 part^it* 10 ^
£#nuBaim or cdul<'. 3 Pnd aa a
Islam. It is noV p worthy, howpviif^that thp M ifl3SS¥Rtp p^oautiohs
takon by General ^lllenby, on hii Pntry into Jerusalrem, to protert
the Mosque of Cmat and other MuliarxaadAh shrines, have-not evoked
so far as the India Office is aware, a aihfcle e'xp^i^ioh
gratitude from Muhammadan bodies,' either in India br^hgland;'
2. Sir M. Sykes speaks of Medina as being "now isolated", If
he means that the Hedjaz railway,, which connects Medina with
Damascus, Aleppo, and Asia Minor, is now permanently cut, it would
be interesting to know £he authority for hi a statement. Recent
reports indicate inc^asedf.Arab activity, ii\ ^tta.ckin^ ? .tiie railway,
particularly t ir>. t'n^Maajs region, ^ doub^les^ d^image ha a. been
considerable* But it is no^.plear .that raij.way, com .uiucation
has beem-perraaiienUy interrupted, or thaJSMe^na
isolated until .General AUenty is able^to cut f the line further {/
north f roQ-Ji&^or&n: .valley^ m ^ ]r Jo * i0aivt ,
3. Meanwhile King Husain is being urged, to take Medina. Should
he succeed in doing .30, , the pcsitiojv.pf the varipus sml.l Turkish
pefets along the line ought to become untenable, and ? „ i/. so .
practically tlie whole Arabian peninsula, except the Yemen, will be
clear of Turkish occupation. The task of clearing the Yemen, v/ill
still remain. The desirability, as a first step in this
direction, of a British advance from Aden against the Turkish
position