Districts of Mandatory Palestine

Last updated

district of Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine 1945 subdistricts and districts.png
CategoryDistrict
Location Mandatory Palestine
Created
  • 1922
Abolished
  • 1948
Number6 (as of 1945)
Government
  • District Commissioner
Subdivisions
  • sub-district, division

The Districts and Sub-districts of Mandatory Palestine formed the first and second levels of administrative division and existed through the whole era of Mandatory Palestine, namely from 1920 to 1948. The number and territorial extent of the districts varied over time, as did their subdivision into sub-districts.

Contents

In Arabic, a district was known as a minṭaqah (منطقة, plural manaṭiq مناطق), while in Hebrew it was known as a mahoz (מחוז, plural mehozot מחוזות).

Each district had an administration headed by a District Governor, a role renamed as District Commissioner in 1925. [1] Sub-districts were managed by an Assistant District Commissioner. They were aided by a District Officer, who was typically either Jewish or Arab, based on the ethnic make-up of the sub-district.

By the end of the mandate period, Palestine was divided into 6 districts and 16 subdistricts. [2]

Administrative divisions prior to 1922

During the Ottoman period, Palestine was divided into different provinces, each centered around a main city: Safed, Acre, Nablus, Jerusalem and Gaza. These provinces contained sub-districts centered around provincial towns. For example, during the 18th and 19th centuries, sub-district of Lod encompassed the area between Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut in the south to the present-day city of El'ad in the north, and from the foothills in the east, through the Lod Valley to the outskirts of Jaffa in the west. This area was home to thousands of inhabitants in about 20 villages, who had at their disposal tens of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land. [3]

Until June 1920, Palestine was under a formal military regime called O.E.T.A. (South). Initially the country was divided into 13 administrative districts, reduced to 10 in 1919, each under a military government. [4]

At the start of 1920 there were 9 districts: Jerusalem, Jaffa, Hebron, Jenin, Safed, Acre, Tiberias, Tulkarem and Beersheba, [5] but this division was modified by the following month to Jerusalem, Haifa, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Safed, Acre, Tiberias, Galilee, Tulkarem and Beersheba. [6]

The division was revised after the adoption of a civilian administration in the middle of 1920. In September 1920, the districts were Jerusalem, Galilee, Phoenicia (formerly Haifa), Samaria, Jaffa, Gaza and Beersheva. [7]

Administrative divisions in 1922

In July 1922, administrations of the districts of Phoenicia and Galilee were combined, as were the districts of Jerusalem and Jaffa, and the districts of Gaza and Beersheba. [8] Some reassignment of sub-districts also occurred. [8]

At the time of the October, 1922, census of Palestine, there were four districts divided into 18 sub-districts. [9]

  • Jaffa Sub-district
  • Ramleh Sub-district
  • Jericho Sub-district
  • Jerusalem Sub-district
  • Ramallah Sub-district

Administrative divisions in 1924–1925

A proclamation of June 1924 divided the country into three districts with 18 sub-districts. [10]

In August 1925, the Southern and Jerusalem-Jaffa Districts were combined into the Jerusalem-Southern District. [11]

Administrative divisions in 1927

In July 1927, the divisions were proclaimed to consist of two districts and one division, divided into 18 sub-districts. [12]

Administrative divisions in 1931

In October 1931, the Hebron Sub-district was combined with the Jerusalem Division to form the Jerusalem District. [13] This was the subdivision at the time of the November 1931 census of Palestine. [14]

Administrative divisions in 1937

In July 1937, but not gazetted until October, Administrative Divisions (Amendment) Proclamation divided the Northern District into two districts. [15]

Administrative divisions in 1938–1940

In 1938, the Beersheba and Gaza sub-districts were separated from the Southern District. [16] Then in 1939, the Administrative Division (Amendment) Proclamation reshaped the country into six districts. [17] The name of the Galilee and Acre District was changed to Galilee District in December. [18] Some minor adjustments were made in December 1940. [19]

Administrative divisions in 1942–1945

The Administrative Divisions (Amendment) Proclamation, 1942 reduced the number of sub-districts of the Jerusalem District to three, [20] merging the Bethlehem and Jericho sub-districts into the Jerusalem sub-district. [2] Further minor adjustments were made in 1945. [21] This division was retained by the State of Israel until 1953, where district boundaries were redrawn to their modern form.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Electric Corporation</span> Israeli electricity company

Israel Electric Corporation is the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The IEC builds, maintains, and operates power generation stations, sub-stations, as well as transmission and distribution networks in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judea and Samaria Division</span> Military unit

The Israel Defense Forces 877th Judea and Samaria Division is a regional division in the Israeli Central Command. It is responsible for Israeli military activity in the Judea and Samaria Area, i.e. the main part of the West Bank presently under Israeli-occupation. The current commander of the division is Brigadier-General Yaniv Alaluf, who was appointed to the position in September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral regions in the State of Palestine</span>

The 16 Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority are divided into 16 electoral regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway 60 (Israel–Palestine)</span> Road in Israel and the West Bank

Highway 60 or is a south–north intercity road in Israel and Judea and Samaria that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth through the West Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tegart fort</span> Militarized police forts constructed by British authorities in Mandatory Palestine

A Tegart fort is a type of militarized police fort constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period, initiated as a measure against the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the State of Palestine</span> Overview of and topical guide to the State of Palestine

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the State of Palestine:

The Palestinian National Authority requires their residents register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates. There are two different registration systems in use: one for West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.

Following are timelines of the history of Ottoman Syria, taken as the parts of Ottoman Syria provinces under Ottoman rule.

The Peasants' Revolt was a rebellion against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies in Palestine. While rebel ranks consisted mostly of the local peasantry, urban notables and Bedouin tribes also formed an integral part of the revolt. This was a collective reaction to Egypt's gradual elimination of the unofficial rights and privileges previously enjoyed by the various classes of society in the Levant under Ottoman rule.

Al-Manshiyya may refer to:

Events in the year 2002 in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Way of the Patriarchs</span> Transportation route in ancient Israel

The Road of the Patriarchs or Way of the Patriarchs, is an ancient north–south route traversing the land of Israel and the region of Palestine. The modern Highway 60 (Israel-Palestine) follows roughly the route of the Way of the Patriarchs. The name is used by biblical scholars because of mentions in biblical narratives that it was frequently travelled by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem</span> 1872–1917 special administrative district of the Ottoman Empire

The Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, also known as the Sanjak of Jerusalem, was an Ottoman district with special administrative status established in 1872. The district encompassed Jerusalem as well as Hebron, Jaffa, Gaza and Beersheba. During the late Ottoman period, the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, together with the Sanjak of Nablus and Sanjak of Akka (Acre), formed the region that was commonly referred to as "Palestine". It was the 7th most heavily populated region of the Ottoman Empire's 36 provinces.

For millennia, the Greeks in Israel have been prominently present in the land. Greek expatriates comprise most of the leadership of the Eastern Greek Orthodox Church in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, in an arrangement that long predates the modern State of Israel.

Russians in Israel or Russian Israelis are post-Soviet Russian citizens who immigrate to Israel and their descendants. As of 2022, Russian-speakers number around 1,300,000 people, or 15% of the Israeli population. This number, however, also includes immigrants from the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states other than Russia proper.

<i>Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt</i> 1881 books series edited by Charles William Wilson

Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt was a lavishly illustrated set of books published by D. Appleton & Co. in the early 1880s based on their phenomenally successful Picturesque America and Picturesque Europe series. It was edited by Charles William Wilson, following his leadership of the seminal Ordnance Survey of Palestine and PEF Survey of Palestine. The Appleton series was issued as "two volumes or four divisions"; it was reprinted in London by J.S. Virtue & Co., simply published as four volumes.

The Survey of Palestine was the government department responsible for the survey and mapping of Palestine during the British mandate period.

References

  1. ↑ Peel Commission report, p. 159
  2. 1 2 Essaid, Aida (4 December 2013). Zionism and Land Tenure in Mandate Palestine. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-134-65368-3.
  3. ↑ Marom, Roy (2022). "Lydda Sub-District: Lydda and its countryside during the Ottoman period". Diospolis - City of God: Journal of the History, Archaeology and Heritage of Lod. 8: 103–136.
  4. ↑ A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December, 1945 and January, 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, Volume I, p.125, J. V. W. Shaw (Editor)
  5. ↑ Official Gazette, O.E.T.A. (South), No. 12, January 1, 1920.
  6. ↑ Official Gazette, O.E.T.A. (South), No. 14, February 1, 1920.
  7. ↑ Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 26, September 1, 1920.
  8. 1 2 Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 70, July 1, 1922.
  9. ↑ J. B. Barron, ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
  10. ↑ Official Gazette, No. 116, June 1, 1924, pp. 684–690.
  11. ↑ Official Gazette, No. 147, 16 September 1925, p.459.
  12. ↑ Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 190, 1 July 1927, page 392.
  13. ↑ Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, 16 October 1931, p763
  14. ↑ E. Mills, ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
  15. ↑ Supplement No. 2 to the Palestine Gazette No. 733, October 28, 1937, pp. 1001–1002. At first, the Galilee and Acre District was called the Galilee District.
  16. ↑ Palestine Post, December 1, 1938, p2.
  17. ↑ Palestine Post, July 2, 1939, p1.
  18. ↑ Supplement No. 2 to the Palestine Gazette, December 30, 1939, p. 1529. Palestine Post, January 1, 1940, p. 2.
  19. ↑ Supplement No. 2 to the Palestine Gazette, December 19, pp. 770–783
  20. ↑ Government of Palestine, Supplement No. 2 to The Palestine Gazette No. 1163 of 15 January 1942, pp. 119–132.
  21. ↑ Government of Palestine, Supplement No. 2 to The Palestine Gazette No. 1415 of 7 June 1945, pp. 621–629.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.