British Mandate for Palestine
The British administration held authority over Palestine from 1923 to 1946, managing protests and uprisings from both Jewish and Palestinian Arab populations. The Mandate for Palestine, established by the League of Nations, assigned British administration over Palestine and Transjordan. The goal of the mandate was to guide these territories until they could sustain themselves independently. Throughout the mandate period, nationalist movements emerged among both populations, leading to conflicts and uprisings. Eventually, the United Nations approved the Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, leading to the establishment of Israel..
FACTSHEET
By Abbi
. The British administration held authority over Palestine for nearly thirty years, spanning from 1923 to 1946, during which they managed a series of demonstrations, uprisings, and rebellions from both the Jewish and Palestinian Arab populations. . . . . The Mandate for Palestine, under the League of Nations, assigned British administration over the regions of Palestine and Transjordan. These territories were previously under the Ottoman Empire for four centuries, until the collapse of the empire in World War I.
. Britain received the mandate for Palestine from the San Remo conference in April 1920, following France's concession in the 1918 Clemenceau–Lloyd George Agreement regarding the agreed "international administration" of Palestine under the Sykes–Picot Agreement. . . . . . Transjordan was incorporated into the mandate following the defeat of the Arab Kingdom in Damascus by the French during the Franco-Syrian War. Civil administration was established in Palestine in July 1920 and in Transjordan in April 1921, with the mandate being effective from September 29, 1923, to May 15, 1948, and May 25, 1946, respectively.
. The mandate document drew inspiration from Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations dated 28 June 1919, as well as the San Remo Resolution of 25 April 1920 by the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers. The aim of the mandates for the former territories of the Ottoman Empire was to offer "administrative guidance and support by a Mandate until they can independently sustain themselves. " The delineation of the border between Palestine and Transjordan was established in the ultimate mandate document, while the rough demarcation of the northern border with the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon was reached through the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement on December 23, 1920.
. In Palestine, as per the Mandate, Britain was obligated to implement the Balfour Declaration's concept of establishing a "national home for the Jewish people" in conjunction with the Palestinian Arabs, who formed the majority of the indigenous population. Notably, this obligation and others did not extend to the distinct Arab emirate to be formed in Transjordan.
. The British administration held authority over Palestine for nearly thirty years, managing a series of demonstrations, disturbances, and uprisings involving the Jewish and Palestinian Arab populations. In the course of the Mandate period, two nationalist movements emerged in the region - one among the Jewish population and another among the Palestinian Arabs.
. Inter-communal conflict in Mandatory Palestine eventually led to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt followed by the 1944–1948 Jewish insurgency. On 29th November 1947, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was approved. It outlined the establishment of distinct Jewish and Arab states working together within an economic union, and proposed that Jerusalem be placed under the trusteeship of the United Nations. Two weeks later, Arthur Creech Jones, the Colonial Secretary, declared that the British Mandate would come to a close on 15 May 1948. On the final day of the Mandate, the Jewish community released the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Following the unsuccessful United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the 1947–1949 Palestine war concluded with the division of Mandatory Palestine between Israel, the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, and the establishment of the Egyptian All-Palestine Protectorate in the Gaza Strip.
. Transjordan was incorporated into the mandate subsequent to the Cairo Conference of March 1921, during which it was decided that Abdullah bin Hussein would oversee the region under the supervision of the Palestine Mandate. After the war ended, it was managed from Damascus by a combined Arab-British military leadership led by Abdullah's younger brother Faisal. Subsequently, it turned into a neutral zone when Faisal's army was defeated by the French in July 1920, and the British initially refrained from establishing a direct association with Palestine.
. The formal inclusion of Transjordan was solidified on 21 March 1921, as the British authorities integrated Article 25 into the Palestine Mandate. Article 25 came into effect through the Transjordan memorandum dated 16 September 1922. This memorandum set up an independent "Administration of Trans-Jordan" to carry out the Mandate, overseeing the process under the guidance of Great Britain. . . In April 1923, a declaration was made by Britain to acknowledge an "independent Government" in Transjordan five months prior to the mandate being implemented. This autonomy was later expanded through a treaty on 20 February 1928, with full independence being granted under the Treaty of London on 22 March 1946.
. The Zionist Proposal presented in February 1919 at the Peace Conference did not receive attention then, as the Allies were preoccupied with discussions on other matters. Direct negotiations between the British Foreign Office and the Zionists commenced in July 1919, subsequent to the British providing a complete draft mandate. The British draft presented 29 articles, while the Zionist proposal had only five articles. Nevertheless, as per the Zionist Organisation Report, a proposal was submitted by the Zionist Organization to the British on July 15, 1919.
. Balfour gave permission to the diplomatic secretary, Eric Forbes Adam, to initiate discussions with the Zionist Organization. Ben Cohen headed the drafting process for the Zionist faction, representing Weizmann along with other Zionist leaders such as Felix Frankfurter. By December 1919, a "compromise" draft had been negotiated by them.
. Following strong resistance to the suggested modifications, the reference to the historical ties between the Jews and Palestine was reinstated into the Mandate in December 1920. The finalized version was presented to the League of Nations on December 7, 1920, and later printed in the Times on February 3, 1921.
. Public and government sentiment in Britain started turning more against the idea of providing state assistance for Zionism. In June 1922, the House of Lords gracefully declined a Palestine Mandate that included the Balfour Declaration with a majority of 60 votes against 25. This decision came after the issuance of the Churchill White Paper and was brought forth through a proposal made by Lord Islington. The Cabinet gave its approval to the subcommittee's report on July 31, 1923, during the presentation of the report to the Cabinet.
. In his memoirs, Weizmann highlighted that he viewed the acknowledgment of "the historical connection of the Jews with Palestine" as the most crucial aspect of the mandate and the most challenging negotiation.
. In April 1923, five months ahead of the mandate's activation, Britain declared their plan to acknowledge an "independent Government" in Transjordan. Transjordan gained significant autonomy under British guidance as per a February 20, 1928 arrangement and achieved complete independence through a treaty with Britain on March 22, 1946.
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