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Mandate for Palestine was established after World War I by the Treaty of Versailles for the administration of the former overseas possessions of Germany and parts of the Turkish Empire. Its purpose was to implement the principles of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, which said in paragraph 4: Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized, subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory.
Class A of the mandates included former Turkish provinces constituted as Palestine, Iraq, and Syria. The first two were assigned to the administration of Great Britain and the third to France. The mandates for Iraq and Syria ended in 1932 and 1936, respectively, their main purpose having been to prepare the countries to be able "to stand alone." The mandate for Palestine differed from the other "A" mandates in that its primary purpose was the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, as stated in its preamble, paragraph 3, "putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2, 1917 [the Balfour Declaration] by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the other Allied Powers..." Moreover, the reason for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine is related to the recognition of "the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country" (para. 3). Great importance was attached to the wording of this paragraph, as it made it clear that Palestine was not just a country in which a national home should be built, but was taken as the historic land of the Jews. Therefore the national home is to be reconstituted, and not just constituted, there. |
