The British Mandate of Palestine was passed at the League of Nations on 25th April 1920. Before the mandate, political interests marred by rivaling territorial claims determined the fate of Palestine and its people, the loss of which is still visible in the remnants of the conflicts that the region underwent.
The population of Palestine around the late 19th century comprised of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The Ottoman Empire ruled Palestine and much of the region four centuries-long.
Conflicts between the Jews and Muslims started to appear around the 1880s. This clash has reasons that can be traced back to Europe. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Jews were faced with anti-Semitic experiences in Europe. It led to the migration of European Jews in numbers amounting to millions.
A large number of them migrated to Palestine, and the Jewish population, in a few years, grew tenfold. It threatened the very existence of Muslims, and hence, tension arose in between the communities.
The Jewish resistance took the form of the Zionist Movement that romanced the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
This vision clashed with the ideals of the Muslim nationalist, who promulgated the same thought of a Muslim state in the same territory. To make things worse, the British Government played its cards to achieve their self-interest in the region.
Events linked to the Mandate
Two exceptionally notable events in the history of the World had its hand in shaping the fate of Palestine. The events are (I) the First World War and (II) Rise of Nazism.
The First World War
The Great War started in July 1914 and lasted until November 1918. The confrontation was between Allied powers and Central powers with wars on different fronts. Zeroing down to the correlation with the Mandate- France, British Empire, and the United Kingdom were part of the Allied Powers. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire and Germany formed part of the Central Powers.
After four long years of battle and more than 22 million armed forces and civilians dead, the Allied Forces emerged victoriously. All continental Empires in Europe fell, including Germany, and several treaties were signed with the defeated powers. United States, Great Britain, Italy, and France forced their terms and conditions on the overpowered.
Rise of Nazism
The National Socialist German Workers’ Party or the Nazi Party was formed in Germany around the end of the First World War. In 1932, it was a right-wing extremist political group that soon gained the support of the masses and to become the largest party in Germany in 1932. The Party campaigned for extreme nationalism, Pan-Germanism, and anti-Semitism.
Following the 1932 Nazi Party victory, Jews faced persecution in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in 1933 paved the way for dictatorial tyranny in years to come, the effect of which was perceptible even in Mandatory Palestine. Anti-semitism grew at a scale never seen before, and Jews migrated out of Europe for their lives. Because of the immigration restrictions elsewhere, the Jews fled to Palestine.
Prelude to the Mandate
As the First World War was coming to an end, the British took over the area in late 1917 after overthrowing the Ottoman ruler by rallying the Arabs against the weakening Emperor. Sir Henry McMahon was the British High Commissioner in Egypt. He convinced the Arabs to support in overthrowing the Ottoman Emperor in return of an independent Arab state in areas including Palestine.
A little later, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Balfour, in the Balfour Declaration of 1917 stated the British Government’s support in instituting a ‘Jewish National Home’ in Palestine. In between these contradictory statements, the British and the French came to a secret agreement to carve out the Arab provinces and divided control of the region.
Fast Track>> The Balfour Declaration stated that Britain would aid in forming a Jewish National Home in Palestine provided, Jewish interests do not threaten the rights of the non-Jewish population in Palestine.
The First World War ended, Britain and France together influenced the League of Nations to grant them quasi-colonial authority over the Ottoman territories that were under their control. This regime of the colonials came to be known as ‘Mandates.’ France obtained a mandate over Syria while Britain obtained a mandate over the areas which now comprise Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Jordan. The western part of the Jordan River came under the ‘Palestine Mandate.’
British Mandate for Palestine
A civil administration was established in July 1920 to take over the control of Palestine from the British army. On 25th April 1920, at the San Remo Conference, Britain was granted the ‘Mandate.’ On 24th July 1922, the mandate was approved by the League of Nations.
Palestine became a unified political entity and yet two separate systems existed within the unified form- both for the ruler and the ruled. League of Nations granted Britain a dual mandate, one on behalf of the Palestinian inhabitants and the other on behalf of the International Society.
The Mandate seemed to favor the Jews and its promise of a National Home, as stated in the Balfour Declaration (the Declaration was incorporated in the Mandate). On the other hand, the Palestinian Arabs opposed the Mandate because it failed to fulfill the promise (by McMahon) of an Independent Arab State.
Britain was now obliged to conduct its policies in Palestine according to the needs of both Jews and Arabs. These two societies were independent and had their own educational, cultural, and developmental institutions.
For securing the well being of the Palestinians, the Mandatory powers had to rule under the support of the League of Nations. This Mandate became effective in September 1923.
The Zionist movement originates from the term Zion, meaning Jerusalem, the Land of Israel. The objective of this term was to bring back all Jews and form a Jewish national state in Palestine. This movement took wings in the last part of the 19th century.
The British Government, in the course of the World War-I, made a public statement, known as the Balfour Declaration. The foreign secretary of Britain at that time was Arthur James Balfour. The Declaration stated that Britain would aid in forming a Jewish National Home in Palestine provided, Jewish interests do not threaten the rights of the non-Jewish population in Palestine.
While all these diplomacies were being finalized on paper, the Zionists kept immigrating along with the acquisition of land. Zionist Capitalists and Organisations purchased properties in huge. The Jewish and Arab populations in Palestine transformed dramatically in the light of all the Jewish immigration taking place. While the Arab population doubled, the Jewish community grew tenfold. The demography of Mandatory Palestine grew from approximately 7,00,000 inhabitants in 1922 to around 18,00,000 in 1945.
For more than a decade starting the 1920s, there were violent outbreaks in between the Arabs and the Jews, costing hundreds of lives. One event that served a turning point in the history of Palestine was the Wailing Wall Riots of 1929.
The British set up the Shaw Commission to investigate the 1929 Riot
The Commission reiterated to review Jewish immigration and land purchases. This Commission thus stood for a shift in British policy toward the Zionist movement and Balfour Declaration.
Jewish immigration increased yet again in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. The same phenomenon of Jewish land purchases and migration surfaced. It led to another significant Arab Revolt in 1936, only this time; the revolt was more meaningful and lasted two phases.
The first Revolt started in April 1936 with a general strike by the Arab community and violent attacks on both British and Jewish targets. It came to a ceasefire in October 1936, with diplomatic efforts involving other Arab countries. William Peel headed a Royal Enquiry Commission that was established in 1937.
The Shaw Commission suggested partition as a solution to the conflicts as it recognized two incongruous societies. The Arab Higher Committee rejected the conclusion of the Commission, and it led to the outbreak of the second phase of the revolt in September 1937.
The Revolt took an unprecedented turn with internal struggles within the Arab community and Britain’s response through violence and destruction. It is said, close to 5,000 Arabs were killed in the confrontation with the British army. The Mandate Government declared the Arab Higher Committee as illegal and dissolved it.
Table1.0 Major Revolts in Mandatory Palestine
| Event | Proceeding | Outcome |
| The Wailing Wall Riots/ Western Wall Riots of 1929 | Though conflicts and unrest formed part of the society in Mandatory Palestine, this riot of August 1929 was the first significant strife.
The Jewish population was increasing at an alarming rate, and this had tensed the Arabs. In a stressed atmosphere, the two communities clashed over their claim to the Wailing Wall, a religious site for both faiths, also known as Al-Burqa. Violence ensued, and more than 250 Jews and Arabs were dead in a week. |
Sir Walter Shaw, an English judge, was instituted to investigate the cause of the riot. The Shaw Commission, as it was popularly known, came to the conclusion that the Balfour Declaration and Zionist Movement needed a review and a check on Jewish immigration and land purchases. |
| Arab Revolt of April 1936- the start of ‘The Great Revolt’ | The Arab Higher Committee led a series of protests and strikes to state its animosity against the government on the ever-growing Jewish immigration and land purchases.
These protests started in April 1936 and came to a halt in October 1936 with the efforts of the British civil administration. |
William Peel, a British politician, was appointed to investigate the six months long Arab general strike. The Commission unanimously agreed that partition of Palestine would be the only feasible solution to the unrest. |
| ‘The Great Revolt’ of September 1937 | The Arab Higher Commission rejected the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry. Revolts broke out, which then resulted in violent internal conflicts.
Britain also responded with violence and struggles, resulting in the deaths of both Arabs and British forces. |
The British Government declared the Arab Higher Commission as illegal. A White Paper was issued subsequently, and finally, Britain’s Retreat. |
Termination of the Mandate
The Revolt forced the British government to issue the White Paper of 1939. The White Paper stated that Palestine should be a bi-national state, inhabited by both Arabs and Jews.
Jewish immigrations required Arab consent and were to be limited to five years. The White paper also called for restrictions on land purchases by Jews.
While the White Paper was in full play, Hitler’s rise to power compelled the Jews to look for refuge in Palestine. But, the borders were closed and restrictions were sanctioned, the options were not many. The Zionist organizations arranged for illegal immigration to Palestine, which continued until British rule ended.
The deteriorating situation in Palestine and violence on both sides made the mandate increasingly unpopular in Britain. The British Government now pronounced its intention to terminate the mandate and return the Palestine question to the United Nations. The resolution for the partition of Palestine was passed by the UN General Assembly on 29th November 1947. On 14th May 1948, at midnight, the State of Israel declared its independence. Effective 15th May 1948, Britain terminated its Mandate for Palestine.
Credits:
Map depicting the British mandate for Palestine in 1920.
Imphal, India
M.A History, Criminology
