Balfour Declaration, 1917
During the First World War, the British became gradually
committed to the idea of establishing a Jewish national home in Palestine .
The Balfour Declaration represents the first political recognition of Zionist
aims by a Great Power, with the document receiving subsequent public
endorsement by France
and Italy in
1918 and the U.S. Congress in 1922, quite apart from its incorporation
into the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine .
After discussions in the British cabinet, and consultation with Zionist
leaders, the British communicated their policy through a letter by Arthur James
Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild, then a leading representative of the
Jewish community in Britain .
Foreign Office, November
2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His
Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist
aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
“His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment
in Palestine of a national home for
the
Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to
facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that
nothing shall be done which may 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.”
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to
the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour
After World War I, the League of Nations
established the mandates system, an undertaking inspired by President Woodrow
Wilson’s Fourteen Points and designed to guide administration and development
of self-government in territories ceded by Germany
and the Ottoman Empire . Under this system, Britain
was entrusted, as mandatory power, with implementing the Balfour Declaration.
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the
purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the
League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the
administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the
Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that
the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the (Balfur)
declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His
Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor 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; and
Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical
connection of the Jewish people with Palestine
and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His
Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine ;
and
Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine
has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the
League for approval; and
Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in
respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of
Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it
is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be
exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by
the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of
the League of Nations;
Confirming the said Mandate, defines its terms as follows:
ARTICLE 1. The Mandatory shall have full powers of
legislation and of administration, save as they may be limited by the terms of
this mandate.
ART. 2. The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing
the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as
will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the
preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for
safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine ,
irrespective of race and religion.
ART. 3. The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit,
encourage local autonomy.
ART. 4. An appropriate Jewish agency shall be
recognized as a public body for the purpose of advising and co-operating with
the Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as
may affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of
the Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the
Administration, to assist and take part in the development of the country.
The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and
constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be
recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His
Britannic Majesty’s Government to secure the co-operation of all Jews who are
willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
ART. 5. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that
no Palestine territory shall be
ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the Government
of any foreign Power.
ART. 6. The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring
that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced,
shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall
encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4,
close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not
required for public purposes.
ART. 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 .
ART. 8. The privileges and immunities of foreigners,
including the benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly
enjoyed by Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire ,
shall not be applicable in Palestine .
Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the
afore-mentioned privileges and immunities on August 1st, 1914, shall have
previously renounced the right to their re-establishment, or shall have agreed
to their non-application for a specified period, these privileges and
immunities shall, at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately
re-established in their entirety or with such modifications as may have been
agreed upon between the Powers concerned.
ART. 9. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that
the judicial system established in Palestine
shall assure to foreigners, as well as to natives, a complete guarantee of
their rights.
Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and
communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In
particular, the control and administration of Wakfs shall be exercised in
accordance with religious law and the dispositions of the founders.
ART. 10. Pending the making of special extradition
agreements relating to Palestine ,
the extradition treaties in force between the Mandatory and other foreign
Powers shall apply to Palestine .
ART. 11. The Administration of Palestine shall take all
necessary measures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection
with the development of the country, and, subject to any international
obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for
public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or
of the public works, services and utilities established or to be established
therein. It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the
country, having regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting
the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency
mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms,
any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural
resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly
undertaken by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that
no profits distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a
reasonable rate of interest on the capital, and any
further profits shall be utilized by it for the benefit of
the country in a manner approved by the Administration.
ART. 12. The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control
of the foreign relations of Palestine
and the right to issue exequaturs to consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He
shall also be entitled to afford diplomatic and consular protection to citizens
of Palestine when outside its
territorial limits.
ART. 13. All responsibility in connection with the Holy
Places and religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of
preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places,
religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring
the requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who
shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected
herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory
from entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the
Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into effect;
and provided also that nothing in this mandate shall be construed as conferring
upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the management of
purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which are guaranteed.
ART. 14. A special commission shall be appointed by the
Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection
with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different
religious communities in Palestine .
The method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission
shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the
Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without
the approval of the Council.
ART. 15. The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of
conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the
maintenance of public order and morals, are ensured to all. No discrimination
of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine
on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine
on the sole ground of his religious belief.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for
the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such
educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose,
shall not be denied or impaired.
ART. 16. The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising
such supervision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Palestine
as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government.
Subject to such supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine
to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate
against any representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or
nationality.
ART. 17. The Administration of Palestine may organize on a
voluntary basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order,
and also for the defense of the country, subject, however, to the supervision
of the Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes other than those above
specified save with the consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no
military, naval or air forces shall be raised or maintained by the
Administration of Palestine.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of
Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the
Mandatory in Palestine .
The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the
roads, railways and ports of Palestine
for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies.
ART. 18. The Mandatory shall see that there is no
discrimination in Palestine against the nationals of any State Member of the
League of Nations (including companies incorporated under its laws) as compared
with those of the Mandatory or of any foreign State in matters concerning
taxation, commerce or navigation, the exercise of industries or professions, or
in the treatment of merchant vessels or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall
be no discrimination in Palestine
against goods originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there
shall be freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated
area.
Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this
mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory,
impose such taxes and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take
such steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural
resources of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It
may also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement
with any State the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic
Turkey or Arabia .
ART. 19. The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the
Administration of Palestine to any general international conventions already
existing, or which may be concluded hereafter with the approval of the League
of Nations, respecting the slave traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition,
or the traffic in drugs, or relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit
and navigation, aerial navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless
communication or literary, artistic or industrial property.
ART. 20. The Mandatory shall co-operate on behalf of the
Administration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other conditions
may permit, in the execution of any common policy adopted by the League
of Nations for preventing and combating disease, including
diseases of plants and animals.
ART. 21. The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within
twelve months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law of
Antiquities based on the following rules. This law shall ensure equality of
treatment in the matter of excavations and archaeological research to the
nationals of all States Members of the League of Nations .
(1) “Antiquity” means any construction or any product of
human activity earlier than the year 1700 A.D.
(2) The law for the protection of antiquities shall proceed
by encouragement rather than by threat.
Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without being
furnished with the authorization referred to in paragraph 5, reports the same
to an official of the competent Department, shall be rewarded according to the
value of the discovery.
(3) No antiquity may be disposed of except to the competent
Department, unless this Department renounces the acquisition of any such
antiquity.
No antiquity may leave the country without an export licence
from the said Department.
(4) Any person who maliciously or negligently destroys or
damages an antiquity shall be liable to a penalty to be fixed.
(5) No clearing of ground or digging with the object of
finding antiquities shall be permitted, under penalty of fine, except to
persons authorized by the competent Department.
(6) Equitable terms shall be fixed for expropriation,
temporary or permanent, of lands which might be of historical or archaeological
interest.
(7) Authorization to excavate shall only be granted to
persons who show sufficient guarantees of archaeological experience.
The Administration of Palestine shall not, in granting these
authorizations, act in such a way as to exclude scholars of any nation without
good grounds.
(8) The proceeds of excavations may be divided between the
excavator and the competent Department in a proportion fixed by that
Department. If division seems impossible for scientific reasons, the excavator
shall receive a fair indemnity in lieu of a part of the find.
ART. 22. English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official
languages of Palestine . Any
statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine
shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be
repeated in Arabic.
ART. 23. The Administration of Palestine
shall recognize the holy days of the respective communities in Palestine
as legal days of rest for the members of such communities.
ART. 24. The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League
of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as
to the measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions of the
mandate. Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated or issued during the
year shall be communicated with the report.
ART. 25. In the territories lying between the Jordan and the
eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be
entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone
or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider
inapplicable to the existing local conditions, and to make such provision for
the administration of the territories as he may consider suitable to those
conditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is inconsistent with
the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18.
ART. 26. The Mandatory agrees that, if any dispute whatever
should arise between the Mandatory and another member of the League of Nations
relating to the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the
mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be
submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by
Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
ART. 27. The consent of the Council of the League
of Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this mandate.
ART. 28. In the event of the termination of the mandate
hereby conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall
make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in
perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13
and 14, and shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the
League, that the Government of Palestine will fully honor the financial
obligations legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the
period of the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions
or gratuities.
The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the
archives of the League of Nations and certified copies
shall be forwarded by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations
to all members of the League.
Done at London
the twenty-fourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-two.
THE SAN REMO
CONVENTION 1920
The San Remo Conference decided on April 24, 1920 to assign the Mandate [for Palestine ]
under the League of Nations to Britain .
The terms of the Mandate were also discussed with the United
States which was not a member of the League.
An agreed text was confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations
on July 24, 1922 , and it
came into operation in September 1923.
The Council of the League of Nations :
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the
purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the
League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the
administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the
Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that
the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the (Balfur)
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; and
Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical
connexion of the Jewish people with Palestine
and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that
country;
and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic
Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine ;
and
Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine
has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the
League for approval; and
Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in
respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of
Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it
is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be
exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the
Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League
of Nations;
Confirming the said Mandate, defines its terms as
follows:
Article 1.
The Mandatory shall have full powers of legislation and of
administration, save as they may be limited by the terms of this mandate.
Article 2.
The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country
under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the
establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and
the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the
civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine ,
irrespective of race and religion.
Article 3.
The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit,
encourage local autonomy.
Article 4.
An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognized as a public
body for the purpose of advising and cooperating with the Administration of
Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may affect the
establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish
population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the
Administration, to assist and take part in the development of the
country.
The Zionist Organization, so long as its organization and
constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate shall be
recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic
Majesty's Government to secure the cooperation of all Jews who are willing to
assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
Article 5.
The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine
territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control
of, the Government of any foreign Power.
(Britain
then gave Transjordanian Palestine- about 70% of Palestine-
to King Abdullah and called it Transjordan . It is now
called Jordan .
This is not to say that that the Jews were promised that they could settle in
all of Palestine . Palestine
was a loose regional term in those days and even included Damascus .
See article 25 and chapter 11 on the Weizmann-Faisal agreement)
Article 6.
The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the
rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced,
shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall
encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4,
close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not
required for public purposes.
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 .
Article 8.
The privileges and immunities of foreigners, including the
benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly enjoyed by
Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire , shall not
be applicable in Palestine .
Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the aforementioned
privileges and immunities on August 1st, 1914, shall have previously renounced
the right to their re-establishment, or shall have agreed to their
non-application for a specified period, these privileges and immunities shall,
at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately re-established in their
entirety or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between the
Powers concerned.
Article 9.
The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that the
judicial system established in Palestine
shall assure to foreigners, as well as to natives, a complete guarantee of
their rights.
Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and
communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In
particular, the control and administration of Waqfs shall be exercised in
accordance with religious law and the dispositions of the founders.
Article 10.
Pending the making of special extradition agreements
relating to Palestine , the
extradition treaties in force between the Mandatory and other foreign Powers
shall apply to Palestine .
Article 11.
The Administration of Palestine shall take all necessary
measures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection with the
development of the country, and, subject to any international obligations
accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for public
ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of the
public works, services and utilities established or to be established therein.
It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the country having
regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting the close
settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency
mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms,
any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural
resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly
undertaken by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that no
profits distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a
reasonable rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be
utilized by it for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the
Administration.
Article 12.
The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control of the
foreign relations of Palestine , and
the right to issue exequaturs to consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He shall
also be entitled to afford diplomatic and consular protection to citizens of Palestine
when outside its territorial limits.
Article 13.
All responsibility in connexion with the Holy Places and
religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of preserving
existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places, religious
buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring the
requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who
shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected
herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory
from entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the
Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into
effect; and provided also that nothing in this Mandate shall be construed as
conferring upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the
management of purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which are
guaranteed.
Article 14.
A special Commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to
study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy
Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious
communities in Palestine . The
method of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission
shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the
Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the
approval of the Council.
Article 15.
The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of conscience
and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance
of public order and morals are ensured to all. No discrimination of any kind
shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine
on the ground of race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine
on the sole ground of his religious belief.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for
the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such
educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose,
shall not be denied or impaired.
Article 16.
The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising such
supervision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Palestine
as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government.
Subject to such supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine
to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate
against any representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or
nationality.
Article 17.
The Administration of Palestine may organize on a voluntary
basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order, and also
for the defence of the country, subject however, to the supervision of the
Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes other than those above specified
save with the consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes no military,
naval or air forces shall be raised or maintained by the Administration of
Palestine.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of
Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the
Mandatory in Palestine .
The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the
roads, railways and ports of Palestine
for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies.
Article 18.
The Mandatory shall see that there is no discrimination in
Palestine against the nationals of any State Member of the League of Nations
(including companies incorporated under its laws) as compared with those of the
Mandatory or of any foreign State in matters concerning taxation, commerce or
navigation, the exercise of industries or professions, or in the treatment of
merchant vessels or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall be no discrimination
in Palestine against goods
originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there shall be
freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated area.
Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this
mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory,
impose such taxes and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take
such steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural
resources of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It
may also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement
with any State the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic
Turkey or Arabia .
Article l9.
The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the Administration
of Palestine to any general international conventions already existing, or
which may be concluded hereafter with the approval of the League of Nations,
respecting the slave traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition, or the
traffic in drugs, or relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit and
navigation, aerial navitation and postal, telegraphic and wireless
communicatiion or literary, artistic or industrial property.
Article 20.
The Mandatory shall co-operate on behalf of the
Administration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other conditions
may permit, in the execution of any common policy adopted by the League
of nations for preventing and combating disease, including
diseases of plants and animals.
Article 21.
The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within twelve
months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law of Antiquities
based on the following rules. This law shall ensure equality of treatment in
the matter of excavations and archaeological research to the nationalals of all
States Members of the League of Nations ....
Article 22.
English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages
of Palestine . Any statement or
inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine
shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be
repeated in Arabic.
Article 23.
The Administration of Palestine shall recognize the holy
days of the respective communities in Palestine
as legal days of rest for the members of such communities.
Article 24.
The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League
of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as
to the measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions of the
mandate. Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated or issued during the
year shall be communicated with the report.
Article 25.
In the territories lying between the Jordan
and the eastern boundary of Palestine
(Palestine
originally included land in what is now Jordan )
as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled,
with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations ,
to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he
may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions,
(Jewish immigration east of the Jordan
might be put on hold if the Mandate authorities thought it inapplicable.)
and to make such provision for the administration of the
territories as he may consider suitable to those conditions, provided that no
action shall be taken which is inconsistent with the provisions of Articles 15,
16 and 18.
Article 26.
The Mandatory agrees that if any dispute whatever should
arise between the Mandatory and another Member of the League of Nations
relating to the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the
mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be
submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by
Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
Article 27.
The consent of the Council of the League of
Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this
mandate.
Article 28.
In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby
conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall make
such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in perpetuity,
under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and 14, and
shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that
the Government of Palestine will fully honour the financial obligations
legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the period of
the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions or
gratuities.
The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the
archives of the League of Nations and certified copies
shall be forwarded by the Secretary General of the League of Nations
to all Members of the League.
DONE AT LONDON the twenty-fourth day of July, one thousand
nine hundred and twenty-two.
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