by British troops, ending 400 years of Ottoman rule. 8–26 December 1917: The British Sinai and Palestine Campaign: Battle of Jerusalem – The Ottomans are defeated by the British forces at the Battle of Jerusalem. The British Army's General Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot, in a reference to the entrance of Caliph Umar in 637. 15 November 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: British troops capture Tel Aviv and Jaffa. 2 November 1917: The Balfour Declaration is published in which the British Government declares its support for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. 31 October-7 November 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: Third Battle of Gaza – British forces capture Gaza and break the Turkish defensive line in southern Palestine. 31 October 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: Battle of Beersheba – Australian and New Zealand cavalry troops capture Beersheba from the Turks. 6 July 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence capture Aqaba from the Turks, and incorporate the territory into the Kingdom of Hejaz, under the rule of Prince Faisal. The capture of Aqaba helps open supply lines from Lower Egypt to the Arab and British forces in the field further north in Transjordan and Palestine, and more importantly alleviate a threat of a Turkish offensive against the strategically important Suez Canal. 19 April 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: Second Battle of Gaza – Turkey repels British assault on Gaza-Beersheba line. 6 April 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: The Tel Aviv and Jaffa deportation – The Ottoman authorities deport the entire civilian population of Jaffa and Tel Aviv pursuant to the order from Ahmed Jamal Pasha, the military governor of Ottoman Syria during the First World War. Although the Muslim evacuees are allowed to return before long, the Jewish evacuees were not able to return until after the British conquest of Palestine. 26 March 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: First Battle of Gaza – British fail to advance into Palestine after 17,000 Turkish troops block their advance. 9 January 1917: Sinai and Palestine campaign: Battle of Rafa – British Empire forces defeat the Turks in Rafah and complete the re-conquest of the Sinai Peninsula. 1916: The Mutasarrifiyet of Mount Lebanon is abolished. June 1916: Grand Sharif Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca who shared with his fellow Arabs a strong dislike for his Ottoman overlords, enters into an alliance with the United Kingdom and