Mandatory Palestine Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Politics== ===Palestinian Arab community=== {{further|Arab Higher Committee}} {{multiple image | footer = Passports from the British Mandate era | image1 = British Mandate Palestinian passport.jpg | caption1 = Front cover | width1 = 107 | image2 = 2011-07-04 09.41.jpg | caption2 = Biographical pages | width2 = 210 }} The resolution of the [[San Remo Conference]] contained a safeguarding clause for the existing rights of the non-Jewish communities. The conference accepted the terms of the Mandate with reference to Palestine, on the understanding that there was inserted in the memorandum a legal undertaking by the Mandatory Power that it would not involve the surrender of the rights hitherto enjoyed by the non-Jewish communities in Palestine.<ref>See Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States {{cite web |title=The Paris Peace Conference |year=1919|page =94 |url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=goto&id=FRUS.FRUS1919Parisv13&isize=M&submit=Go+to+page&page=94}}</ref> The draft mandates for [[Mandatory Iraq|Mesopotamia]] and Palestine, and all of the post-war peace treaties, contained clauses for the protection of religious groups and minorities. The mandates invoked the compulsory jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice in the event of any disputes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/summaryofworkofl00leagiala|title=Summary of the work of the League of Nations, January 1920 – March 1922|last=League of Nations Union|year=1922|publisher=London|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Article 62 (LXII) of the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]], signed on 13 July 1878,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1878berlin.html|title=Internet History Sourcebooks|website=www.fordham.edu|access-date=12 January 2010|archive-date=8 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608120300/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1878berlin.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> dealt with religious freedom and [[civil and political rights]] in all parts of the Ottoman Empire.<ref>See Defending the Rights of Others, by Carol Fink, Cambridge University, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-521-02994-0}}, p. 28</ref> The guarantees have frequently been referred to as "religious rights" or "minority rights". However, the guarantees included a prohibition against discrimination in civil and political matters. Difference of religion could not be alleged against any person as a ground for exclusion or incapacity in matters relating to the enjoyment of civil or political rights, admission to public employments, functions, and honours, or the exercise of the various professions and industries, "in any locality whatsoever". A legal analysis performed by the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) noted that the [[Covenant of the League of Nations]] had provisionally recognised the communities of Palestine as independent nations. The mandate simply marked a transitory period, with the aim and object of leading the mandated territory to become an independent self-governing State.<ref name=Ormsby>See the Statement of the Principal Accredited Representative, Hon. [[William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech|W. Ormsby-Gore]], C.330.M.222, Mandate for Palestine [http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0145a8233e14d2b585256cbf005af141/fd05535118aef0de052565ed0065ddf7?OpenDocument – Minutes of the Permanent Mandates Commission/League of Nations 32nd session, 18 August 1937] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232945/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0145a8233e14d2b585256cbf005af141/fd05535118aef0de052565ed0065ddf7?OpenDocument |date=3 June 2011 }}</ref> Judge Higgins explained that the Palestinian people are entitled to their territory, to exercise [[self-determination]], and to have their own State."<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1681.pdf See the Judgment in "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112025712/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1681.pdf |date=2011-01-12 }} (PDF)</ref><!-- Where does this quote begin? No beginning quotation mark present. --> The Court said that specific guarantees regarding freedom of movement and access to the Holy Sites contained in the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]] (1878) had been preserved under the terms of the Palestine Mandate and a chapter of the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]].<ref>See paragraphs 49, 70, and 129 of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory [http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706021237/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf |date=2010-07-06 }} and PAUL J. I. M. DE WAART (2005). "International Court of Justice Firmly Walled in the Law of Power in the Israeli–Palestinian Peace Process." ''Leiden Journal of International Law'', 18, pp. 467–487, {{doi|10.1017/S0922156505002839}}</ref> According to historian [[Rashid Khalidi]], the mandate ignored the political rights of the Arabs.{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|pp=32–33}} The Arab leadership repeatedly pressed the British to grant them national and political rights, such as representative government, over Jewish national and political rights in the remaining 23% of the Mandate of Palestine which the British had set aside for a Jewish homeland. The Arabs reminded the British of [[Woodrow Wilson|President Wilson]]'s [[Fourteen Points]] and British promises during the [[First World War]]. The British, however, made acceptance of the terms of the mandate a precondition for any change in the constitutional position of the Arabs. A legislative council was proposed in [[Constitution of Mandatory Palestine|The Palestine Order in Council]], of 1922, which implemented the terms of the mandate. It stated that: "No Ordinance shall be passed which shall be in any way repugnant to or inconsistent with the provisions of the Mandate." For the Arabs, this decree was unacceptable, akin to "self murder".{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|pp=33–34}} As a result, the Arabs boycotted the [[1923 Palestinian Legislative Council election|elections to the Council]] held in 1923, which were subsequently annulled.<ref>"Palestine. The Constitution Suspended., Arab Boycott Of Elections., Back To British Rule" ''The Times'', 30 May 1923, p. 14, Issue 43354</ref> During the interwar period, the British rejected the principle of majority rule or any other measure that would give Arabs control of the government.{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|pp=32, 36}} The terms of the mandate required the establishment of self-governing institutions in both Palestine and Transjordan. In 1947, the [[Foreign Secretary]], [[Ernest Bevin]], admitted that, during the previous twenty-five years, the British had done their best to further the legitimate aspirations of the Jewish communities without prejudicing the interests of the Arabs, but had failed to "secure the development of self-governing institutions" in accordance with the terms of the Mandate.<ref>See Foreign relations of the United States, 1947. The Near East and Africa Volume V, p. 1033</ref> ====Palestinian Arab leadership and national aspirations==== {{main|Palestinian Nationalism|Arab nationalism}} [[File:Palestine 1930.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1930 protest in [[Jerusalem]] against the British Mandate by Arab women. The sign reads "No dialogue, no negotiations until termination of the Mandate."]] Under the British Mandate, the office of "Mufti of Jerusalem", traditionally limited in authority and geographical scope, was refashioned into that of "Grand Mufti of Palestine". Furthermore, a Supreme Muslim Council (SMC) was established and given various duties, such as the administration of [[waqf|religious endowments]] and the appointment of [[qadi|religious judges]] and local muftis. In Ottoman times, these duties had been fulfilled by the Imperial bureaucracy in [[Constantinople]] ([[Istanbul]]).{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|p=63}} In dealings with the Palestinian Arabs, the British negotiated with the elite rather than the middle or lower classes.{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|p=52}} They chose [[Hajj Amin al-Husseini]] to become Grand Mufti, although he was young and had received the fewest votes from Jerusalem's Islamic leaders.{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|pp=56–57}} One of the mufti's rivals, [[Raghib al-Nashashibi|Raghib Bey al-Nashashibi]], had already been appointed [[Mayor of Jerusalem]] in 1920, replacing [[Musa al-Husseini|Musa Kazim]], whom the British removed after the [[1920 Palestine riots|Nabi Musa riots of 1920]],{{sfnm|Khalidi|2006|1pp=63, 69|Segev|2000|2pp=127–144}} during which he exhorted the crowd to give their blood for Palestine.{{sfn|Morris|2001|p=112}} During the entire Mandate period, but especially during the latter half, the rivalry between the mufti and al-Nashashibi dominated Palestinian politics. Khalidi ascribes the failure of the Palestinian leaders to enroll mass support to the fact that they had been part of the ruling elite and accustomed to their commands being obeyed; thus, the idea of mobilising the masses was unknown to them.{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|p=81}} On the Husseini-Nashashibi rivalry, an editorial in the Arabic-language ''[[Falastin]]'' newspaper in the 1920s commented:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nlis/en/jrayed/Pages/Filastin.aspx|title=Filastin|work=National Library of Israel|access-date=4 March 2019}}</ref> {{blockquote|The spirit of factionalism has penetrated most levels of society; one can see it among journalists, trainees, and the rank and file. If you ask anyone: who does he support? He will reply with pride, Husseini or Nashasibi, or ... he will start to pour out his wrath against the opposing camp in a most repulsive manner.}} There had already been rioting and attacks on and massacres of Jews in [[Jaffa riots|1921]] and [[1929 Palestine riots|1929]]. During the 1930s, Palestinian Arab popular discontent with Jewish immigration grew. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, several factions of Palestinian society, especially from the younger generation, became impatient with the internecine divisions and ineffectiveness of the Palestinian elite and engaged in grass-roots anti-British and anti-Zionist activism, organised by groups such as the [[Young Men's Muslim Association]]. There was also support for the radical nationalist [[Independence Party (Palestine)|Independence Party]] (''Hizb al-Istiqlal''), which called for a boycott of the British in the manner of the [[Indian Independence Movement#Salt March and civil disobedience|Indian Congress Party]]. Some took to the hills to [[Black Hand (Palestine)|fight the British and the Jews]]. Most of these initiatives were contained and defeated by notables in the pay of the Mandatory Administration, particularly the mufti and his cousin [[Jamal al-Husseini]]. A six-month general strike in 1936 marked the start of the great Arab Revolt.{{sfn|Khalidi|2006|pp=87–90}} ====Palestinian Arab journalism==== {{Main|History of Palestinian journalism}} [[File:A 1936 caricature published in the Falastin newspaper on Zionism and Palestine.png|thumb|The Palestinian [[Arab Christian]]-owned ''[[Falastin]]'' newspaper featuring a caricature on its 18 June 1936 edition showing Zionism as a crocodile under the protection of a British officer telling Palestinian Arabs: "don't be afraid!!! I will swallow you peacefully...."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sufian |first=Sandy |title=Anatomy of the 1936–39 Revolt: Images of the Body in Political Cartoons of Mandatory Palestine |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |date=1 January 2008 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=23–42|doi=10.1525/jps.2008.37.2.23 |url=https://www.academia.edu/13805989 |access-date=14 January 2008}}</ref>]] After the Palestinian Arab press during the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman period]] had been suppressed due to the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914, only two of the three leading newspapers of the Ottoman era were reopened during the mandate period, ''[[Al-Karmil (newspaper)|Al-Karmil]]'' and ''[[Falastin (newspaper)|Falastin]]''. During this period, the press became more diverse, and increasingly reflected different political factions and national consciousness. According to one survey in the mid 1930s, over 250 Arabic newspapers and 65 in other languages were circulating in Mandatory Palestine.{{sfn|Kominko|2015|p=384}} Twenty newspapers were established in [[Jerusalem]], six in [[Jaffa]], twelve in [[Haifa]], and others in [[Bethlehem]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and [[Tulkarem]].{{sfn|Kominko|2015|p=384}} The Ottoman Press Law, which mandated licensing and the submission of translations to government authorities, was adopted by the British, but they rarely interfered until the [[1929 Palestine riots]], which saw violent confrontations between Arabs and Zionists, and led to a radicalization of Arab newspapers. One outspoken newspaper was established in [[Jaffa]] called ''[[Al Difa|Al-Difa']]'' (''The Defense'') in 1934, which was associated with [[Independence Party (Mandatory Palestine)|Hizb Al-Istiqlal]] (The Independence Party).{{sfn|Kominko|2015|p=384}} ''Falastin'' and ''Al-Difa''' became the two most prominent dailies during the mandate period, and a rivalry developed between the two, which led to improvements in their quality.{{sfn|Gorman|Monciaud|2018|p=106}} Many of the editors and owners of newspapers were members of political organizations, and used their publications for mobilizing the public.{{sfn|Regan|2018|p=135, 137}} The British authorities' attitude towards Palestinian press was initially tolerant, given they had assessed that their impact on public life was minimal, but restrictive measures were soon increasingly introduced. A new Publications Law was issued in 1933, which gave the British authorities the power to revoke publication permits, suspend newspapers, and punish journalists. Regulations were issued that further restricted freedom of the press. Many major publications were suspended for extended periods between 1937 and 1938, including ''Falastin'', ''Al-Difa'', and ''Al-Liwa''. After the outbreak of [[World War II]], emergency laws were enacted and the British closed almost all the newspapers, with the exception of ''Falastin'' and ''Al-Difa'', due to the moderation of their tone and the publishing of censored news.{{sfn|Kominko|2015|p=386-387}} ===Jewish community=== {{further|Jewish National Council}} {{see also|History of Zionism|History of Israel}} The conquest of [[Ottoman Syria]] by British forces in 1917 found a mixed community in the region, with [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], the southern part of Ottoman Syria, containing a mixed population of Muslims, Christians, Jews and Druze. In this period, the Jewish community ([[Yishuv]]) in Palestine was composed of traditional Jewish communities in cities (the ''[[Old Yishuv]]''), which had existed for centuries,<ref>In June 1947, the British Mandate Government of Palestine had published the following statistics: "It is estimated that over a quarter of the Jewish population in Palestine are Sephardic Jews of whom some 60,000 were born of families resident in Palestine for centuries. The bulk of the Sephardic community, however, consists of oriental Jews emanating from Syria, Egypt, Persia, Iraq, Georgia, Bokhara and other Eastern countries. They are confined mainly to the larger towns ..." (From: ''Supplement to Survey of Palestine – Notes compiled for the information of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine – June 1947'', Gov. Printer Jerusalem, pp. 150–151)</ref> and the newly established agricultural Zionist communities (the ''New Yishuv''), established since the 1870s. With the establishment of the Mandate, the Jewish community in Palestine formed the Zionist Commission to represent its interests. In 1929, the [[Jewish Agency for Palestine]] took over from the Zionist Commission its representative functions and administration of the Jewish community. During the Mandate period, the Jewish Agency was a quasi-governmental organisation that served the administrative needs of the Jewish community. Its leadership was elected by Jews from all over the world by proportional representation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Home/About/History |title=Jewish Agency History |access-date=29 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215200224/http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Home/About/History |archive-date=15 February 2006 }}</ref> The Jewish Agency was charged with facilitating Jewish immigration to Palestine, land purchase and planning the general policies of the Zionist leadership. It ran schools and hospitals and formed the [[Haganah]]. The British authorities offered to create a similar ''Arab Agency'' but this offer was rejected by Arab leaders.<ref>''Palestine Jewry and the Arab Question, 1917–1925'', by Caplan, Neil. London and Totowa, NJ: F. Cass, 1978. {{ISBN|978-0-7146-3110-3}}. pp. 161–165.</ref> In response to numerous Arab attacks on Jewish communities, the [[Haganah]], a Jewish paramilitary organisation, was formed on 15 June 1920 to defend Jewish residents. Tensions led to widespread violent disturbances on several occasions, notably in 1921 (see [[Jaffa riots]]), 1929 (primarily violent attacks by Arabs on Jews{{Snd}}see [[1929 Hebron massacre]]) and 1936–1939. Beginning in 1936, Jewish groups such as [[Irgun|Etzel (Irgun)]] and [[Stern Gang|Lehi (Stern Gang)]] conducted campaigns of violence against British military and Arab targets. ====Jewish immigration==== {{main|Aliyah}} [[File:Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine (1920-1945).jpg|500px|thumb|Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine from 1920 to 1945]] During the Mandate, the Yishuv grew from one-sixth to almost one-third of the population. According to official records, 367,845 Jews and 33,304 non-Jews immigrated legally between 1920 and 1945.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry |volume=1|page=185|publisher=Govt. printer|location=Palestine|year=1946}}</ref> It was estimated that another 50–60,000 Jews and a marginal number of Arabs, the latter mostly on a seasonal basis, immigrated illegally during this period.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry |volume=1|publisher=Govt. printer|location=Palestine|year=1946}} p. 210: "Arab illegal immigration is mainly ... casual, temporary and seasonal". pp. 212: "The conclusion is that Arab illegal immigration for the purpose of permanent settlement is insignificant".</ref> Immigration accounted for most of the increase of Jewish population, while the non-Jewish population increase was largely natural.<ref>{{Cite book|author=J. McCarthy|title=The population of Palestine: population history and statistics of the late Ottoman period and the Mandate|publisher=Darwin Press|year=1995|location=Princeton, N.J.}}</ref> Of the Jewish immigrants, in 1939 most had come from Germany and Czechoslovakia, but in 1940–1944 most came from Romania and Poland, with an additional 3,530 immigrants arriving from Yemen during the same period.<ref>''Supplement to Survey of Palestine – Notes compiled for the information of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine – June 1947'', Gov. Printer Jerusalem, p. 18</ref> Initially, Jewish immigration to Palestine met little opposition from the [[Palestinian Arab]]s. However, as [[anti-Semitism]] grew in Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jewish immigration (mostly from Europe) to Palestine began to increase markedly. Combined with the growth of Arab nationalism in the region and increasing anti-Jewish sentiments the growth of the Jewish population created much Arab resentment. The British government placed limitations on Jewish immigration to Palestine. These quotas were controversial, particularly in the latter years of British rule, and both Arabs and Jews disliked the policy, each for their own reasons. Jewish immigrants were to be afforded Palestinian citizenship: {{blockquote|Article 7. The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Statehood of Palestine: International Law in the Middle East Conflict |publisher=Cambridge University Press |author=John B. Quigley |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTR3BQ0aJ6UC&pg=PA54 |page=54 |isbn=978-0-521-15165-8}}</ref>}} ====Jewish national home==== In 1919, the general secretary (and future President) of the Zionist Organisation, Nahum Sokolow, published ''History of Zionism (1600–1918)''. He also represented the Zionist Organisation at the Paris Peace Conference. {{rquote|The object of Zionism is to establish for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law." ... It has been said and is still being obstinately repeated by anti-Zionists again and again, that Zionism aims at the creation of an independent "Jewish State" But this is fallacious. The "Jewish State" was never part of the Zionist programme. The Jewish State was the title of Herzl's first pamphlet, which had the supreme merit of forcing people to think. This pamphlet was followed by the first Zionist Congress, which accepted the Basle programme—the only programme in existence.|Nahum Sokolow, History of Zionism<ref>See History of Zionism (1600–1918), Volume I, Nahum Sokolow, 1919 Longmans, Green, and Company, London, pp. xxiv–xxv</ref>}} One of the objectives of British administration was to give effect to the [[Balfour Declaration]], which was also set out in the preamble of the mandate, as follows: {{blockquote|Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the [[Balfour Declaration|declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917]], by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a [[national home for the Jewish people]], it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.<ref name=Avalon>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp|title=The Avalon Project : The Palestine Mandate|website=avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref>}} The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine said the Jewish National Home, which derived from the formulation of Zionist aspirations in the 1897 [[Basle program]] has provoked many discussions concerning its meaning, scope and legal character, especially since it had no known legal connotation and there are no precedents in international law for its interpretation. It was used in the Balfour Declaration and in the Mandate, both of which promised the establishment of a "Jewish National Home" without, however, defining its meaning. A statement on "British Policy in Palestine", issued on 3 June 1922 by the Colonial Office,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/brwh1922.asp|title=British White Paper of June 1922|website=avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref> placed a restrictive construction upon the Balfour Declaration. The statement said the British government did not contemplate "the disappearance or subordination of the Arabic population, language or customs in Palestine" or "the imposition of Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole", and made it clear that in the eyes of the mandatory Power, the Jewish National Home was to be founded in Palestine and not that Palestine as a whole was to be converted into a Jewish National Home. The Committee noted that the construction, which restricted considerably the scope of the National Home, was made prior to the confirmation of the Mandate by the Council of the League of Nations and was formally accepted at the time by the Executive of the Zionist Organisation.<ref>See the report of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, UN Document A/364, 3 September 1947</ref> In March 1930, Lord Passfield, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, had written a Cabinet Paper<ref>Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, "Palestine: High Commissioners Views on Policy", March 1930, UK National Archives Cabinet Paper CAB/24/211, formerly C.P. 108 (30)</ref> which said: {{blockquote|In the Balfour Declaration there is no suggestion that the Jews should be accorded a special or favoured position in Palestine as compared with the Arab inhabitants of the country, or that the claims of Palestinians to enjoy self-government (subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory as foreshadowed in Article XXII of the Covenant) should be curtailed in order to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people." ... Zionist leaders have not concealed and do not conceal their opposition to the grant of any measure of self-government to the people of Palestine either now or for many years to come. Some of them even go so far as to claim that that provision of Article 2 of the Mandate constitutes a bar to compliance with the demand of the Arabs for any measure of self-government. In view of the provisions of Article XXII of the Covenant and of the promises made to the Arabs on several occasions that claim is inadmissible.}} The League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission took the position that the Mandate contained a dual obligation. In 1932 the Mandates Commission questioned the representative of the Mandatory on the demands made by the Arab population regarding the establishment of self-governing institutions, in accordance with various articles of the mandate, and in particular Article 2. The chairman noted that "under the terms of the same article, the mandatory Power had long since set up the Jewish National Home".<ref>{{cite web|title=PERMANENT MANDATES COMMISSION MINUTES OF THE TWENTY-SECOND SESSION|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B887C0FE3914081705256616005A499B|publisher=LEAGUE OF NATIONS|access-date=8 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810180913/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B887C0FE3914081705256616005A499B|archive-date=10 August 2011}}</ref> In 1937, the [[Peel Commission]], a British Royal Commission headed by [[William Peel, 1st Earl Peel|Earl Peel]], proposed solving the Arab–Jewish conflict by partitioning Palestine into two states. The two main Jewish leaders, [[Chaim Weizmann]] and [[David Ben-Gurion]], had convinced the [[World Zionist Congress|Zionist Congress]] to approve equivocally the Peel recommendations as a basis for more negotiation.<ref name=Louis/><ref name=Morris66/><ref name=Morris48/><ref>''Partner to Partition: The Jewish Agency's Partition Plan in the Mandate Era'', by [[Yossi Katz (geographer)|Yossi Katz]], Routledge, 1998, {{ISBN|978-0-7146-4846-0}}</ref> The US Consul General at Jerusalem told the State Department that the Mufti had refused the principle of partition and declined to consider it. The Consul said that the [[Abdullah I of Jordan|Emir Abdullah]] urged acceptance on the ground that realities must be faced, but wanted modification of the proposed boundaries and Arab administrations in the neutral enclave. The Consul also noted that Nashashibi sidestepped the principle, but was willing to negotiate for favourable modifications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=goto&id=FRUS.FRUS1937v02&isize=M&submit=Go+to+page&page=894|title=FRUS: Foreign relations of the United States diplomatic papers, 1937. The British Commonwealth, Europe, Near East and Africa: Palestine|website=digicoll.library.wisc.edu}}</ref> A collection of private correspondence published by David Ben Gurion contained a letter written in 1937 which explained that he was in favour of partition because he did not envision a partial Jewish state as the end of the process. Ben Gurion wrote "What we want is not that the country be united and whole, but that the united and whole country be Jewish." He explained that a first-class Jewish army would permit Zionists to settle in the rest of the country with or without the consent of the Arabs.<ref>See ''Letters to Paula and the Children'', David Ben Gurion, translated by Aubry Hodes, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1971 pp. 153–157</ref> Benny Morris said that both Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion saw partition as a stepping stone to further expansion and the eventual takeover of the whole of Palestine.<ref>See ''Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist–Arab Conflict, 1881–1999'', by Benny Morris, Knopf, 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-679-42120-7}}, p. 138</ref> Former Israeli Foreign Minister and historian Schlomo Ben Ami writes that 1937 was the same year that the "Field Battalions" under Yitzhak Sadeh wrote the "Avner Plan", which anticipated and laid the groundwork for what would become in 1948, [[Plan Dalet|Plan D]]. It envisioned going far beyond any boundaries contained in the existing partition proposals and planned the conquest of the Galilee, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.<ref>See ''Scars of war, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli–Arab Tragedy'', by Shlomo Ben-Ami, Oxford University Press, USA, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-19-518158-6}}, p. 17</ref> In 1942, the [[Biltmore Program]] was adopted as the platform of the World Zionist Organisation. It demanded "that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth". In 1946 an Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry noted that the demand for a Jewish State went beyond the obligations of either the Balfour Declaration or the Mandate and had been expressly disowned by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency as recently as 1932.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/angch05.asp|title=Avalon Project – Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry – Chapter V|website=avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref> The Jewish Agency subsequently refused to accept the subsequent [[Morrison-Grady Plan]] as the basis for discussion. A spokesman for the agency, Eliahu Epstein, told the US State Department that the Agency could not attend the London conference if the Grady-Morrison proposal was on the agenda. He stated that the Agency was unwilling to be placed in a position where it might have to compromise between the Grady-Morrison proposals on the one hand and its own partition plan on the other. He stated that the Agency had accepted partition as the solution for Palestine which it favoured.<ref>See Foreign relations of the United States, 1946, The Near East and Africa Volume VII, pp. 692–693</ref> ===Land ownership=== {{See also|Jewish land purchase in Palestine}} [[File:Palestine Land ownership by sub-district (1945).jpg|thumb|Map of Palestinian land ownership by sub-district (1945) originally published in the [[Village Statistics, 1945]]]] [[File:Palestine Index to Villages and Settlements, showing Land in Jewish Possession as at 31.12.44.jpg|thumb|Palestinian index of villages and settlements, showing land in Jewish possession as of 31 December 1944]] After transition to the British rule, much of the agricultural land in Palestine (about one third of the whole territory) was still owned by the same landowners as under Ottoman rule, mostly powerful Arab clans and local Muslim sheikhs. Other lands had been held by foreign Christian organisations (most notably the Greek Orthodox Church), as well as Jewish private and Zionist organisations, and to lesser degree by small minorities of Baháʼís, Samaritans and Circassians. As of 1931, the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine was {{convert|26625600|dunam|km2|lk=in}}, of which {{convert|8252900|dunam|km2}} or 33% were arable.{{sfn|Stein|1984|p=4}} Official statistics show that Jews privately and collectively owned {{convert|1393531|dunam|km2|2}}, or 5.23% of Palestine's total in 1945.<ref>"Land Ownership in Palestine", CZA, KKL5/1878. The statistics were prepared by the Palestine Lands Department for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, 1945, ISA, Box 3874/file 1. See {{harvnb|Khalaf|1991|p=27}}</ref>{{sfn|Stein|1984|p=226}} The Jewish owned agricultural land was largely located in the Galilee and along the coastal plain. Estimates of the total volume of land that Jews had purchased by 15 May 1948 are complicated by illegal and unregistered land transfers, as well as by the lack of data on land concessions from the Palestine administration after 31 March 1936. According to Avneri, Jews held {{convert|1850000|dunam|km2}} of land in 1947, or 6.94% of the total.{{sfn|Avneri|1984|p=224}} Stein gives the estimate of {{convert|2000000|dunam|km2}} as of May 1948, or 7.51% of the total.{{sfn|Stein|1984|pp=3–4, 247}} According to Fischbach, by 1948, Jews and Jewish companies owned 20% percent of all cultivable land in the country.<ref name=Fischbach24>{{cite book |author=Fischbach, Michael R. |title=Jewish Property Claims Against Arab Countries |date=13 August 2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51781-2 |page=24 |quote=By 1948, after several decades of Jewish immigration, the Jewish population of Palestine had risen to about one third of the total, and Jews and Jewish companies owned 20 percent of all cultivable land in the country |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38xyBIqKgkwC}}</ref> According to Clifford A. Wright, by the end of the British Mandate period in 1948, Jewish farmers cultivated 425,450 dunams of land, while [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] farmers had 5,484,700 dunams of land under cultivation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Clifford A. |title=Facts and Fables (RLE Israel and Palestine): The Arab-Israeli Conflict |date=2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-44775-7 |page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0CsCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> The 1945 UN estimate shows that Arab ownership of arable land was on average 68% of a district, ranging from 15% ownership in the Beer-Sheba district to 99% ownership in the Ramallah district. These data cannot be fully understood without comparing them to those of neighbouring countries: in Iraq, for instance, still in 1951 only 0.3 per cent of registered land (or 50 per cent of the total amount) was categorised as 'private property'.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13530194.2013.878518 | doi=10.1080/13530194.2013.878518 | title=Whose Land? Land Tenure in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Palestine | year=2014 | last1=Kamel | first1=Lorenzo | journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies | volume=41 | issue=2 | pages=230–242 | s2cid=153944896 }}</ref> ====Land ownership by district==== The following table shows the 1945 land ownership of mandatory Palestine by [[Districts of Mandatory Palestine|district]]: {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;" |+ Land ownership of Palestine in 1945 by district |- ! District !! Sub-district !! Arab-owned !! Jewish-owned !! Public / other |- | style="text-align:left;"|Haifa |align="left"| [[Haifa Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Haifa]] || 42% || 35% || 23% |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"|Galilee |align="left"| [[Acre Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Acre]] || 87% || 3% || 10% |- |align="left"| [[Beisan Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Beisan]] || 44% || 34% || 22% |- |align="left"| [[Nazareth Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Nazareth]] || 52% || 28% || 20% |- |align="left"| [[Safad Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Safad]] || 68% || 18% || 14% |- |align="left"| [[Tiberias Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Tiberias]] || 51% || 38% || 11% |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Lydda |align="left"| [[Jaffa Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Jaffa]] || 47% || 39% || 14% |- |align="left"| [[Ramle Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Ramle]] || 77% || 14% || 9% |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"|Samaria |align="left"| [[Jenin Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Jenin]] || 84% || <1% || 16% |- |align="left"| [[Nablus]] || 87% || <1% || 13% |- |align="left"| [[Tulkarm Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Tulkarm]] || 78% || 17% || 5% |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"|Jerusalem |align="left"| [[Hebron Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Hebron]] || 96% || <1% || 4% |- |align="left"| [[Jerusalem Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Jerusalem]] || 84% || 2% || 14% |- |align="left"| [[Ramallah]] || 99% || <1% || 1% |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Gaza |align="left"| [[Beersheba Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Beersheba]] || 15% || <1% || 85% |- |align="left"| [[Gaza Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Gaza]] || 75% || 4% || 21% |- |colspan="7" style="background:#e9e9e9;font-size:90%;"| Data from the Land Ownership of Palestine<ref>[http://domino.un.org/maps/m0094.jpg Land Ownership of Palestine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029103953/http://domino.un.org/maps/m0094.jpg |date=29 October 2008 }} – Map prepared by the Government of Palestine on the instructions of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestine Question.</ref> |} ====Land ownership by corporation==== The table below shows the land ownership of Palestine by large Jewish Corporations (in square kilometres) on 31 December 1945. {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;" |+ Land ownership of Palestine by large Jewish Corporations (in square kilometres) on 31 December 1945 |- ! Corporations !! Area |-<!-- Original figures in metric dunams, now converted to km2.ha --> |align="left"| [[Jewish National Fund|JNF]] || {{rnd|(600800+59300)/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| [[Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association|PICA]] || {{rnd|(189800+3900)/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Palestine Land Development Co. Ltd. || {{rnd|(9500+200)/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Hemnuta Ltd || {{rnd|(5700+10800)/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Africa Palestine Investment Co. Ltd. || {{rnd| 9900/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Bayside Land Corporation Ltd. || {{rnd| 8500/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Palestine Kupat Am. Bank Ltd. || {{rnd|(6300+2100)/1000|2}} |-style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold" |align="left"| Total || {{rnd|906800/1000|2}} |- |colspan="7" style="background:#e9e9e9;font-size:90%;"| Data is from Survey of Palestine (vol. I, p. 245).<ref>[http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/A-Survey-of-Palestine/Story6686.html Table 2 showing Holdings of Large Jewish Lands Owners as of December 31st, 1945, British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I – Page 245. Chapter VIII: Land: Section 3., prepared by the British Mandate for the United Nations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618235225/https://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/A-Survey-of-Palestine/Story6686.html |date=18 June 2021 }} Survey of Palestine Retrieved 4 July 2015</ref><ref name=AngloAmCom>{{cite book|title=A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December, 1945 and January, 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry |volume=1 |publisher=[[Institute for Palestine Studies]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-88728-211-9 |author=Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Jewish Problems in Palestine and Europe, J. V. W. Shaw, General Assembly, Special Committee on Palestine, United Nations |author-link=Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry}}</ref> |} ====Land ownership by type==== The land owned privately and collectively by Jews, Arabs and other non-Jews can be classified as urban, rural built-on, cultivable (farmed), and uncultivable. The following chart shows the ownership by Jews, Arabs and other non-Jews in each of the categories. {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;" |+ Land ownership of Palestine (in square kilometres) on 1 April 1943 |- ! Category !! Arab / non-Jewish ownership !! Jewish ownership !! Total |-<!-- Original figures in dunams, now converted to km2.ha --> |align="left"| Urban || {{rnd|76662/1000|2}} || {{rnd|70111/1000|2}} || {{rnd|146773/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Rural built-on || {{rnd|36851/1000|2}} || {{rnd|42330/1000|2}} || {{rnd|79181/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Cereal (taxable) || {{rnd|5503183/1000|2}} || {{rnd|814102/1000|2}} || {{rnd|6317285/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Cereal (not taxable) || {{rnd|900294/1000|2}} || {{rnd|51049/1000|2}} || {{rnd|951343/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Plantation || {{rnd|1079788/1000|2}} || {{rnd|95514/1000|2}} || {{rnd|1175302/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Citrus || {{rnd|145572/1000|2}} || {{rnd|141188/1000|2}} || {{rnd|286760/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Banana || {{rnd|2300/1000|2}} || {{rnd|1430/1000|2}} || {{rnd|3730/1000|2}} |- |align="left"| Uncultivable || {{rnd|16925805/1000|2}} || {{rnd|298523/1000|2}} || {{rnd|17224328/1000|2}} |-style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold" |align="left"| Total | {{rnd|24670455/1000|2}} || {{rnd|1514247/1000|2}} || {{rnd|26184702/1000|2}} |- |colspan="7" style="background:#e9e9e9;font-size:90%;"| Data is from Survey of Palestine (vol. II, p. 566).<ref name=AngloAmCom/><ref>[http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Articles/Story1000.html Ownership of land in Palestine, Share of Palestinan (sic) Arabs and Jews as of 1 April 1943, prepared by the British Mandate for the United Nations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929194842/http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Articles/Story1000.html |date=29 September 2018 }} Survey of Palestine Retrieved 25 August 2014</ref> By the end of 1946, Jewish ownership had increased to 1624 km<sup>2</sup>.<ref>''ibid'', Supplement p30.</ref> |} ====List of Mandatory land laws==== [[File:WhitePaper.jpg|thumb|140px|Land classification as prescribed in 1940]] * Land Transfer Ordinance of 1920 * 1926 Correction of Land Registers Ordinance * Land Settlement Ordinance of 1928 * Land Transfer Regulations of 1940 In February 1940, the British Government of Palestine promulgated the ''Land Transfer Regulations'' which divided Palestine into three regions with different restrictions on land sales applying to each. In Zone "A", which included the hill-country of Judea as a whole, certain areas in the [[Jaffa]] sub-District, and in the [[Gaza District]], and the northern part of the [[Beersheba]] sub-District, new agreements for sale of land other than to a Palestinian Arab were forbidden without the High Commissioner's permission. In Zone "B", which included the [[Jezreel Valley]], eastern Galilee, a parcel of coastal plain south of [[Haifa]], a region northeast of the Gaza District, and the southern part of the Beersheba sub-District, sale of land by a Palestinian Arab was forbidden except to a Palestinian Arab with similar exceptions. In the "free zone", which consisted of Haifa Bay, the coastal plain from [[Zikhron Ya'akov]] to [[Yibna]], and the neighborhood of Jerusalem, there were no restrictions. The reason given for the regulations was that the Mandatory was required to "ensur[e] that the rights and positions of other sections of the population are not prejudiced", and an assertion that "such transfers of land must be restricted if Arab cultivators are to maintain their existing standard of life and a considerable landless Arab population is not soon to be created"<ref>''A Survey of Palestine'' (Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the information of the [[Anglo-American Committee]] of Inquiry), vol. 1, chapter VIII, section 7, Government Printer of Jerusalem, pp. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/A-Survey-of-Palestine/Story6703.html 260–262] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912192325/http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/A-Survey-of-Palestine/Story6703.html |date=12 September 2017 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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