1922: The British Mandate for Palestine

  
1922: The British Mandate for Palestine

1922: "The British Mandate for Palestine, or simply the Mandate for Palestine, was a legal commission for the administration of the territory that had formerly constituted the Ottoman Sanjaks of Nablus, Acre, the Southern portion of the Beirut Vilayet, and the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, prior to the Armistice of Mudros. The draft of the Mandate was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922, amended via the 16 September 1922 Transjordan memorandum and which came into effect on 29 September 1923 following the ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne. The mandate ended at midnight on 14 May 1948." Wiki

An important factor concerning the British Mandate for Palestine is that it embodied the Balfour Declaration of 1917 (Statement by British gov, British White Paper of 1939) - that of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. The British Mandate for Palestine gave official legs to the Declaration.

The Balfour Declation was the next step after the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. "This agreement was officially known as the Asia Minor Agreement, was a secret agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and France, with the assent of Russia, defining their proposed spheres of influence and control in Middle East should the Triple Entente succeed in defeating the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The negotiation of the treaty occurred between November 1915 and March 1916. The agreement was concluded on 16 May 1916." Wiki

One can almost imagine Mark Sykes saying "Now, come on old chaps, we're going to carve up the Middle East between us here."

The preamble of the Mandate document declared:

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Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home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 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 the 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 afore-mentioned 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."

It is a widely held contention that the British Cabinet was out of line to authorise any promise of any kind of homeland to any kind of people via the Balfour Declaration. The land in 1917 was being OCCUPIED by Britain and was not British sovereign territory. Thus, the land was not the property of the British government to promise "for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" or, indeed, to promise for any preferred reason to any preferred party.

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."

The words of Lord Balfour written as a letter in 1917 are one thing, albeit important - the official 1922 Mandate for Palestine is another thing entirely.

"The mandates for Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine were assigned by the Supreme Court of the League of Nations at its San Remo meeting in April 1920. Negotiations between Great Britain and the United States with regard to the Palestine mandate were successfully concluded in May 1922, and approved by the Council of the League of Nations in July 1922. The mandates for Palestine and Syria came into force simultaneously on September 29, 1922. In this document, the League of Nations recognized the "historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine" and the "grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country." (Modern History Sourcebook)

The exit clause of the Mandate for Palestine was:

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."
By the British succeeding in incorporating the intent of the Balfour Declaration into the British Mandate for Palestine, thus legitimising the intent of the Declaration, brought about the longest conflict of war in modern history. Every politician in the world knows this, but the pro-Zionist lobby refuses to acknowledge it for the simple reason that it is not politically expedient for them to do so. They got the land they wanted and as far as they are concerned, keeping hold of it is all that matters. 

If anyone seeks redress of the injustice of the Palestinian conflict, then it is the roots of the problem that need to be addressed. Everything that came afterwards is the result of what was officially formalised by the League of Nations in 1922.
Full text of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine here.

Links

United Nations: "AN INTERIM REPORT ON THE CIVIL ADMINISTRATION OF PALESTINE,"
during the period 1st JULY, 1920--30th JUNE, 1921.

"End British Mandate System of Injustice" by Michele Steinberg

"Mandate for Palestine" The Legal Aspects of Jewish Rights" by Eli E. Hertz

"Injustice made in Palestine" by Kathy Malas

"The Mandate" by the Jewish Virtual Library