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! ===1920s=== [[File:Crowded shops. Goods are stalled in the street and men are sitting down, NINO F Scholten Jaffa 01 076.tiff|thumb|Palestinians in Jaffa in the 1920s]]Following the arrival of the British, Arab inhabitants established [[Muslim-Christian Associations]] in all of the major towns.<ref name=lapidus>Ira M. Lapidus, ''A History of Islamic Societies'', 2002: "The first were the nationalists, who in 1918 formed the first Muslim-Christian associations to protest against the Jewish national home" p.558</ref> In 1919 they joined to hold the first [[Palestine Arab Congress]] in Jerusalem.<ref>Tessler, ''A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Second Edition'', 2009: "An All-Palestine Congress, known also as the First Congress of the Muslim-Christian Societies, was organised by the MCA and convened in Jerusalem in February 1919." p.220-221</ref> It was aimed primarily at representative government and opposition to the [[Balfour Declaration]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.ecf.org.il/files/M00661_FirstArabCongress1919ParisResolutionArabic.pdf|title=First Arab Congress 1919 Paris Resolution (in Arabic)|website=ecf.org.il|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925040044/http://content.ecf.org.il/files/M00661_FirstArabCongress1919ParisResolutionArabic.pdf|archive-date=25 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Concurrently, the [[Zionist Commission]] formed in March 1918 and actively promoted Zionist objectives in Palestine. On 19 April 1920, [[1920 Assembly of Representatives election|elections]] took place for the [[Assembly of Representatives (Mandate Palestine)|Assembly of Representatives]] of the [[Yishuv|Palestinian Jewish community]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14037 |title= Palestine Through History: A Chronology (I) |access-date= 14 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110617020548/http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14037 |archive-date= 17 June 2011 }} The Palestine Chronicle</ref> In March 1920, there was an [[Battle of Tel Hai|attack]] by Arabs on the Jewish village of [[Tel Hai]]. In April, there was another [[1920 Nebi Musa riots|attack]] on Jews, this time in Jerusalem. In July 1920, a British civilian administration headed by a [[High Commissioners of Palestine|High Commissioner]] replaced the military administration.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/FB6DD3F0E9535815852572DD006CC607|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140603191241/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/FB6DD3F0E9535815852572DD006CC607|url-status=dead|title=United Nations Maintenance Page|archivedate=3 June 2014|website=unispal.un.org}}</ref> The first High Commissioner, [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Sir Herbert Samuel]], a Zionist and a recent British cabinet minister, arrived in Palestine on 20 June 1920 to take up his appointment from 1 July. Samuel established his headquarters and [[official residence]] in part of the [[Augusta Victoria Hospital]] complex on [[Mount Scopus]] on what was then the northeastern edge of Jerusalem, a building that had been constructed for the Germans ''circa'' 1910.<ref name="Haaretz"> 'A Colonial Room With a View of Jerusalem' (''[[Haaretz]]'', 24 April 2012). https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2012-04-24/ty-article/a-colonial-room-with-a-view-of-Jerusalem/0000017f-deec-db22-a17f-fefd9e520000</ref> Damaged by an earthquake in 1927, this building served as the headquarters and official residence of the British High Commissioners until 1933.<ref name="Haaretz"/> In that year, a new, purpose-built headquarters and official residence for the High Commissioner was completed on what was then the southeastern edge of Jerusalem.<ref name="Haaretz"/> Referred to as ''[[Armon HaNetziv]]'' by the Jewish population, this building, located on the 'Hill of Evil Counsel' on the ridge of [[Jabel Mukaber]], remained in use as the headquarters and official residence of the British High Commissioners until the end of British rule in 1948.<ref name="Haaretz"/> [[File:A world in perplexity (1918) (14780310121).jpg|left|thumb|The formal transfer of Jerusalem to British rule, with a "native priest" reading the proclamation from the steps of the [[Tower of David]]]] [[File:Samuelarrival.jpg|thumb|upright|The arrival of [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Sir Herbert Samuel]]. From left to right: [[T. E. Lawrence]], [[Abdullah I of Jordan|Emir Abdullah]], Air Marshal [[Geoffrey Salmond|Sir Geoffrey Salmond]], [[Wyndham Deedes|Sir Wyndham Deedes]] and others]] [[File:Palestinian delegation 1929.jpg|thumb|An Arab "protest gathering" in session, in the Rawdat el Maaref hall, 1929. From left to right : unknown β [[Amin al-Husayni]] β [[Musa al-Husayni]] β [[Raghib al-Nashashibi]] β unknown]] One of the first actions of the newly installed civil administration was to begin granting [[Concessions in Mandatory Palestine|concessions from the Mandatory government]] over key economic assets. In 1921 the government granted [[Pinhas Rutenberg]] β a Jewish entrepreneur β concessions for the production and distribution of electrical power. Rutenberg soon established an electric company whose shareholders were Zionist organisations, investors, and philanthropists. Palestinian-Arabs saw it as proof that the British intended to favour Zionism. The British administration claimed that electrification would enhance the economic development of the country as a whole, while at the same time securing their commitment to facilitate a Jewish National Home through economic{{Snd}}rather than political{{Snd}}means.<ref>Shamir, Ronen (2013) ''Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine'' Stanford: Stanford University Press</ref> In May 1921, following a disturbance between rival Jewish left-wing protestors and then attacks by Arabs on Jews, almost 100 died in [[1921 Jaffa riots|rioting in Jaffa]]. High Commissioner Samuel tried to establish self-governing institutions in Palestine, as required by the mandate, but the Arab leadership refused to co-operate with any institution which included Jewish participation.<ref>Caplan, Neil. ''Palestine Jewry and the Arab Question, 1917 β 1925''. London and Totowa, NJ: F. Cass, 1978. {{ISBN|978-0-7146-3110-3}}. pp. 148β161.</ref> When [[Kamil al-Husayni]], the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]], died in March 1921, High Commissioner Samuel appointed his half-brother, [[Mohammad Amin al-Husseini]], to the position. Amin al-Husseini, a member of the [[al-Husayni]] clan of Jerusalem, was an [[Arab nationalist]] and Muslim leader. As Grand Mufti, as well as in the other influential positions that he held during this period, al-Husseini played a key role in violent opposition to [[Zionism]]. In 1922, al-Husseini was elected President of the [[Supreme Muslim Council]] which had been established by Samuel in December 1921.<ref name=Mattar2003>{{cite encyclopaedia |last= Mattar |first= Philip |author-link= Philip Mattar |editor= Mattar, Philip |encyclopaedia= Encyclopedia of the Palestinians |title= al-Husayni, Amin |edition= Revised |year= 2003 |publisher= Facts On File |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-8160-5764-1}}</ref><ref>"It was not scholarly religious credentials that made Hajj Amin an attractive candidate for president of the SMC in the eyes of colonial officials. Rather, it was the combination of his being an effective nationalist activist and a member of one of Jerusalem's most respected notable families that made it advantageous to align his interests with those of the British administration and thereby keep him on a short tether." Weldon C. Matthews, ''Confronting an Empire, Constructing a Nation: Arab Nationalists and Popular Politics in Mandate Palestine'', I.B.Tauris, 2006 pp. 31β32</ref> The Council controlled the [[Waqf]] funds, worth annually tens of thousands of pounds,<ref>For details see Yitzhak Reiter, ''Islamic Endowments in Jerusalem under British Mandate'', Frank Cass, London Portland, Oregon, 1996</ref> and the orphan funds, worth annually about Β£50,000, as compared to the Β£600,000 in the [[Jewish Agency]]'s annual budget.<ref>Excluding funds for land purchases. Sahar Huneidi, ''A Broken Trust: Herbert Samuel, Zionism and the Palestinians 1920β1925'', I.B. Tauris, London and New York, 2001 p. 38. The 'Jewish Agency', mentioned in article 4 of the Mandate only became the official term in 1928. At the time the organisation was called the Palestine Zionist Executive.</ref> In addition, he controlled the [[Shariah|Islamic]] courts in Palestine. Among other functions, these courts had the power to appoint teachers and preachers. The 1922 Palestine [[Order in Council]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C7AAE196F41AA055052565F50054E656|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916132453/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C7AAE196F41AA055052565F50054E656|title=1922 Palestine Order in Council|archivedate=16 September 2014}}</ref> established a Legislative Council, which was to consist of 23 members: 12 elected, 10 appointed, and the High Commissioner.<ref name=T1/> Of the 12 elected members, eight were to be Muslim Arabs, two Christian Arabs, and two Jews.<ref name=A>[http://www.answers.com/topic/legislative-council-palestine Legislative Council (Palestine)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015060758/http://www.answers.com/topic/legislative-council-palestine |date=15 October 2018 }} Answers.com</ref> Arabs protested against the distribution of the seats, arguing that as they constituted 88% of the population, having only 43% of the seats was unfair.<ref name=A/> [[1923 Palestinian Legislative Council election|Elections]] took place in February and March 1923, but due to an Arab [[boycott]], the results were annulled and a 12-member Advisory Council was established.<ref name=T1>"Palestine. The Constitution Suspended. Arab Boycott Of Elections. Back To British Rule" ''The Times'', 30 May 1923, p. 14, Issue 43354</ref> At the [[First World Congress of Jewish Women]] which was held in [[Vienna]], Austria, 1923, it was decided that: "It appears, therefore, to be the duty of all Jews to co-operate in the social-economic reconstruction of Palestine and to assist in the settlement of Jews in that country."<ref name=jwa>{{cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/international-council-of-jewish-women|title=International Council of Jewish Women|author=Las, Nelly|publisher=International Council of Jewish Women|access-date=20 November 2018 }}</ref> In October 1923, Britain provided the League of Nations with a report on the administration of Palestine for the period 1920β1922, which covered the period before the mandate.<ref>League of Nations, ''Official Journal'', October 1923, p. 1217.</ref> In August 1929, there were [[1929 Palestine riots|riots]] in which 250 people died. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page