Settlement is the cornerstone of Zionist thought and a foundation for building the Hebrew state. Zionist settlement is fundamentally different from other settlement patterns that the world has witnessed. This is because it is based on several dimensions, foremost among which are religion and myth. Consequently, it attempts to create existential facts within the Arab Palestinian communities, with the aim of harassing them and then expelling them.

Perhaps it is useful to try to re-read the Zionist settlement thought from its beginnings, as those beginnings still exist in one form or another within the contemporary Israeli political frameworks and approaches.

Beginnings

The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 can be considered a result of the religious conflict between Judaism and Christianity. The Jews who were expelled from Spain (who later became known as Sephardic Jews – from Sephardim (Spain in Hebrew) and are generally called Eastern Jews) headed to the areas that were under Ottoman rule in Europe and Asia, while some of them reached Palestine. (1)

Until the mid-nineteenth century, before the arrival of the first Zionist immigrants from Russia and Romania, the Jews in Palestine were a small minority among the Arab population, living in about ten different places in Palestine. The presence of Jews in Palestine in modern times dates back to the end of the fifteenth century, that is, after the arrival of the Sephardim.

According to the Israeli yearbook, there were approximately 24,000 Jews in Palestine in 1822. (2)

This number seems to be close to the Ottoman estimate, as the Ottoman authorities did not conduct official population statistics whose results could be relied upon. However, according to the estimated statistics in the mid-nineteenth century, the population of Palestine amounted to about half a million people, 80% of whom were Muslim Arabs, 10% Christian Arabs, and perhaps 5%-7% Jews. (3)

Given the small number of Jews in Palestine, Zionist ideas began to crystallize outside Palestine and the Arab region in general, since the end of the eighteenth century, and calls for settling Palestine and encouraging Jewish immigration to it began to appear clearly. In this context, Zvi Hirsch Kalisher HZ (1795-1874) wrote the book “The Quest for Zion”. It stated: “The salvation of the Jews will not be at the hands of an expected Messiah, but rather through Jewish human effort, to save themselves by taking the initiative to build a society that depends on the Jew’s connection to the land that he cultivates as a national homeland for him, and this can only be achieved in Palestine.”(4)

To realize his idea, Kalischer took practical steps. He asked Jewish financiers to contribute to the formation of an association whose goal was to invest in Palestine, and thus encourage the Jews of Eastern Europe and Germany to immigrate to it. Through his tireless efforts, Kalischer was able to establish the “Eretz Israel Investment Association” in 1864. It cooperated with the Alliance Israel Internationale, and established the first Jewish agricultural school in Palestine at the entrance to the city of Jaffa in 1870, known as the “Netter” School. Since its establishment, Palestinian farmers have opposed its establishment, and problems have arisen over its borders, as Palestinian farmers did not welcome the presence of a foreign institution in the middle of their villages. (5)

In 1882, Dr. Leo Pinsker (1812-1891) – whose real name was Judah Leib – wrote the book “Auto Emancipation” in which he called for a solution to the Jewish problem. He said: “The Jews, wherever they are, are looked upon as strangers, and for that reason they are despised, and that true emancipation lies in creating a Jewish nationality for the Jewish people, so that this people may live on a unified and defined land.”

Pinsker called for holding a world Jewish conference, with the aim of purchasing land that would accommodate the settlement of several million Jews, without specifying Palestine as its location. (6)

Given the importance of the pamphlet “Self-Emancipation,” Theodor Herzl acknowledged its value and role, and stated that he had not read it until after he published his call for the establishment of the Jewish state in 1896. He added that if he had read it before, he would not have found a justification for publishing his similar views in the pamphlet “The Jewish State.” (7)

In practice, Jewish immigration from Russia to Palestine began in 1881. It was highly racist and poorly organized. This immigration came after the assassination of the Russian Tsar Alexander II in March 1881. As a result of the participation of Jews in it, it was followed by migrations, the vast majority of which headed to Western Europe and the United States. Some of them immigrated to Palestine. The name “Lovers of Zion” or “Lovers of Zion” was given to the movement of Jewish immigrants from Russia, Poland, and Romania to Palestine. They were the ones who established the first Jewish settlements in the country, according to their political style, through the first immigration 1881-1904. (8)

In Britain, the Anglo Jewish Association was founded in 1870. In 1873, the Alliance Israel was founded in Germany. Jews from the alliance, in cooperation with Jews from Jerusalem, were able to purchase a plot of land on which they established the colony of Peta Tekivah (meaning Gate of Hope in Hebrew) in 1878.

In the same context, the head of the Alliance, Adolphe Cremet – a Jewish deputy in the French Parliament in 1868 – succeeded in obtaining a charter from the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Aziz, granting the Alliance a 2,600-dunam plot of land near Jaffa, under a 19-year lease to establish an agricultural school. The school was built in 1870, in cooperation with Baron Edmond Rothschild, and was known as the Mikveh Israel School (the Hope of Israel).

In 1871, Rabbi Yehuda Shilom Chai Alkalai founded a land colonization association in Jerusalem. His goal was to free the Jews from the diaspora, considering that Palestine was the only way for the Jews, since immigration to it meant repentance, and repentance did not only mean returning to God, but also returning to the land and searching for Zion.

In addition, Rothschild financed the settlement operations and helped the Jews since 1877, through the Russian leader Weinberg, which contributed to building the first five colonies and providing them with funds.

In Romania, the first Jewish immigration association was established in Bucharest in 1880, and in 1882 they were able to purchase 270 dunams in Ja’una, and established the settlement of Rosh Pina (Ras al-Zawiya). On November 2, 1882, immigrants from Romania established the settlement of Zmain (Zikhron Ya’akov). During the years 1882-1884, the number of settlements established by the pioneers of the first immigration in Palestine reached eight. Thus began the Zionist settlement infiltration into Palestine, and thus the year 1882 can be considered an important turning point in the history of Palestine during the nineteenth century, as it recorded the first organized steps of Jewish immigration to Palestine, with political purposes, from Europe to Palestine.

According to British sources, the Jews were able to purchase a total of 420,600 dunams of Palestinian land from 1882 to 1914. The main means of purchase were institutions and individuals, who obtained 404,200 dunams from the first immigration until World War I, and the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet), which obtained 16,400 dunams in 1914, as shown in Table 1.(9) Jewish Agricultural Settlement 1882-1914 (10).

Table No. (1)

Jewish settlements in Palestine before the First Zionist Congress 19-21/8/1897 Basel – Switzerland as shown in Table No. (2)

Table No. (2)

Ottoman position

The Ottoman authorities were aware of the dangers of Jewish immigration to Palestine and the establishment of settlements there since the beginning of the settlement movement. Accordingly, in 1855, the Sublime Porte issued a law prohibiting foreigners from keeping or purchasing land in Palestine. In 1869, the Sublime Porte issued another law known as the Foreign Citizenship Property Acquisition System. In February 1887, new orders were issued regarding Jewish immigration to the Mutasarrifs of Jerusalem and Jaffa, informing them that Jews would be allowed to enter the country only as pilgrims or visitors, and that every Jew arriving in Jaffa would have to pay 50 Turkish liras in exchange for his pledge to leave the country within 31 days. (11)

In 1882, the Sublime Porte issued several laws regarding Jewish immigration to the Ottoman Empire. However, the Jews continued their efforts to convince Sultan Abdul Hamid of the need to abandon these laws. In this context, the Zionist leader Herzl tried to convince Sultan Abdul Hamid of the benefits of Jewish immigration to Palestine through various means, but his efforts did not deter the Ottoman authorities from adhering to the law preventing Jews from residing in Palestine. (12)

However, these laws and legislations did not prevent the continuation of immigration and the establishment of settlements, as the Jewish investment associations continued their activities in Palestine through illegal methods, relying on purchasing land from feudal lords, adopting the method of bribery with the corrupt Turkish administration, so that it would turn a blind eye to the purchases. The Sursock family alone owned vast areas in Palestine, which they traded and invested in. Herzl says in his diaries, “The Jewish Investment Association is negotiating with a Roman family named Sursock, to buy ninety-seven villages in Palestine. These Romans live in Paris, and they have lost their money in gambling and they want to sell their properties, which are 3% of the area of ​​Palestine.” (13)

Since the beginning of the settlement, the Zionist efforts have met with clear official and popular opposition. In this context, Selamerl, the American consul in Jerusalem, sent reports to his government in 1891, explaining the political situation and the position of the Ottoman government on Jewish immigrants. It stated: “Muslim Turkey will not accept the establishment of a Jewish kingdom in Palestine, and that Palestine is a poor country. If Jewish immigration continues in its current flow, the result will be disastrous for the Jews and the indigenous people of the country together, and that the Muslims will not allow the Jews to establish a state in Palestine.” (14)

In response, the Zionist movement resorted to devious and illegal methods to establish settlements. An example of this is that the Turkish government had previously decided to sell a plot of land belonging to the village of Ayoun Qara, south of the city of Jaffa (12 km). This was due to the inability of its owners to pay the taxes due on them. At that time, the “Yesodha Ma’aleh Pioneer Battalion,” a Russian organization battalion, tried to buy the land, but the governor of Jerusalem refused to sell it to the Jews. The British Vice-Consul in Jaffa intervened and was able to buy the area offered for sale, which was approximately 3,340 dunams, and transferred it to Jewish immigrants. In August 1882, Russian families arrived in Palestine and laid the foundations for the establishment of a settlement, which was called Rishon LeZion (the first of Zion) (15). In this context, it is worth mentioning that the Sublime Porte was aware, from the beginning, of the dimensions of the political risks behind the settlement. Perhaps what Sultan Abdul Hamid wrote in his memoirs (16) is likely to reveal this. Sultan Abdul Hamid says: “Zionism does not only want agricultural lands in Palestine to practice agriculture, but it also wants to establish a government and have representatives abroad. I know their ambitions well, and I know this baseness because they think that I do not know their intentions, and I will not accept their attempts. Let them know how many individuals in our empire harbor hatred for the Jews, as long as these are their intentions, and that the Sublime Porte looks at them in this way, and that I tell them that they must rule out the idea of ​​establishing a state in Palestine, because I am still their greatest enemy.”

Perhaps this explains the role of the Jews and their movements in the 1908 revolution and the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1909. (17)

On the popular level, Palestinian farmers from the village of al-Ja’una in the Safad district attacked the Rosh Pina settlement in 1883. In the same context, farmers expelled from their land in Hadera and Malbis launched an attack on the Petah Tikva settlement in March 1886. In late October 1888, the settlement of Ghadera witnessed an attack, and the settlement of Rehboot witnessed a similar attack in March 1893, as did the settlement of Be’er Tuvia in 1896, and in 1901 against Hadera.

On the political level, the notables of Jerusalem in the last decade of the nineteenth century sent cables to the Grand Vizier, expressing their fear of the entry of large numbers of Jewish immigrants, demanding that they be prevented from entering Palestine, given the inability of the Muslim population to compete with the Jewish immigrants in economic aspects, which would result in the poor economic condition of the population. (18)

Following the approval of the Baal Program in 1897, Palestinian efforts focused on preventing other lands from being transferred to Zionism. To this end, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Tahir al-Husayni, headed a local body with governmental powers whose mission was to review requests for transfer of ownership in the Jerusalem Governorate, which contributed to preventing Jews from obtaining new agricultural lands for many years. In 1897, the Palestinians in Jaffa founded the National Party to Combat Zionism, and the party considered dealing with Zionism a national crime. (19)

Institutionalization of settlement

The Zionist movement was launched under the leadership of Theodor Herzl, and according to the Basel Conference program, to enhance its activities in the following three ways: organization, settlement, and diplomacy. To indicate the importance of the Basel Conference and its program in the lives of the Jews, Herzl expressed this by saying: “If the Basel Conference were asked to summarize in one word, and I had to pronounce it in a low voice, it would be: In Pal I founded the Jewish state. If I said it out loud, everyone would laugh at me, but perhaps in about five years, and certainly after fifty years, everyone will know about it.” Perhaps in saying this, Herzl was referring in a hidden way to what the conference’s decisions included, in terms of formulating the institutions of immigration and settlement. His first decisions stated: “Zionism seeks to establish a homeland for the Jews in the Land of Israel, recognized in accordance with public law. To achieve this goal, the conference will take several measures, the first of which is to develop the Land of Israel in an organized manner by settling it with Jewish farmers, craftsmen, and interested people.” (20)

Through these measures, during the years 1904-1914, as part of the second wave of Zionist immigration, about 35-40 thousand Jewish immigrants entered Palestine (21). The second immigration laid the foundations of the Zionist entity in Palestine, upon which the Hebrew state was later established. From the children of this immigration emerged a number of Zionist leaders, in various fields of Zionist work, who played important roles in the history of Zionism in Palestine or outside of it. Among them are David Ben-Gurion, Secretary of the Histadrut (1921-1935), Chairman of the Jewish Agency (1935-1948), Israel’s first Prime Minister and Minister of Defense (1948-1953 and 1955-1963), Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Chairman of the National Committee, the executive committee of the Jewish Local Council in Palestine, the Knesset Yisrael (1931-1948), and Israel’s second President (1952-1963), Levi Eshkol, a leading figure in the Zionist settlement in Palestine during the Mandate period, and Israel’s third Prime Minister (1963-1969), Yosef Sprintzak, Secretary of the Histadrut (1945-1948) and Speaker of the Knesset (1949-1959), Berl Katznelson, founder of the newspaper Davar (1925) and the publishing house Am Oved, The cultural commissioner of the labor settlers in Palestine, Yitzhak Tabenkin, the theorist of the kibbutz movement and leader of the Ahdut Haavoda party (1954-1968), Avraham Harzfeld, the chief implementer of the Zionist settlement programs in Palestine since the mid-1920s, Shmuel Dayan (father of Moshe Dayan), one of the founders of the moshav-type settlements, and Ede Yesmon (Neshmal), one of the founders of the labor movement. (22)

In any case, the political and economic scene in Palestine, at the end of the nineteenth century, witnessed the beginning of Zionist immigration and the establishment of the Jewish National Fund project, and was prepared for the conflict between the new immigrants and the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine.

The convening of the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, from December 16 to 20, 1906, was an important turning point, as fundamental decisions were made on the Zionist level. The most important decision in this conference, regarding the future of Palestine, was the establishment of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet), to purchase land in Palestine, make it collectively owned rather than private, employ Jewish workers only, and Judaize the Holy Land again. The Fund made it clear that preferential conditions would be granted to the Jewish farmer, who only employed Jewish workers on his land.

Despite the decision of the Fifth Zionist Congress to establish the fund, an office was opened for it in the city of Vienna, but it remained without legal status until it was officially registered in England in April 1907. This delay was caused by disagreements regarding the methods of Jewish colonization of Palestine, the role of the fund in it, and its activities with its specific goal, which was to purchase land in Palestine and Syria. (23)

In fact, the only thing the Fifth Zionist Congress did with regard to the Jewish National Fund was to adopt a resolution, according to a speech given by Hermann Schapira at the Second Zionist Congress in August 1898: “The Congress declares that in principle the establishment of a national fund and the founding of a Jewish bank are essential, and for this purpose it will elect a works committee which will present a carefully prepared plan to the next Congress.” Eight months after the Second Zionist Congress, Schapira died, and so he did not see the establishment of the Jewish National Fund, and Zionist literature still regards him as “the father of the Jewish National Fund.”

The Jewish National Fund carried out significant activity with other Zionist forces such as the Haluka and the Khalutzim to improve the conditions of the Jews in Palestine. However, the importance of the fund lies in its purchase of land from the Jews and its transformation into collective ownership. It also succeeded in purchasing large areas of land in the Hittin Plain and the Jordan Valley. The fund was able to purchase about 15 thousand dunams of land in the Jaffa and Galilee regions in 1905. (24)

Despite the Fund’s activities after it was legally registered in England, it did not take on its effective role and carry out its extensive activities in Palestine until it opened an office known as the Palestine Office, in implementation of the decision of the Eighth Zionist Congress in August 1907. The office began its work by purchasing land and expanding agriculture in early 1908 in Jaffa, under the management of Arthur Ruppin (25). This coincided with the establishment of the World Zionist Organization of a company to purchase and develop land in Palestine, to be a central agency that would purchase land. Since the Fund was prohibited from doing this work, which seemed to be increasingly needed, the establishment of this company was considered essential. By this means, the organization hoped to limit the increase in land prices, the increase in speculation, and the unorganized and random purchases of small or scattered plots of land. The company was registered in England in 1909 under the name of the Development Company of Palestine Land Limited, with a capital of 50,000 pounds sterling (26).

The Zionist movement established many economic institutions that carried out investment activities in Palestine. For example, most of these companies were established in London and then opened branches in Palestine. These companies were nothing more than joint Zionist-British investment companies at the same time.

As for the banking movement, the Second Jewish Congress, 1898, approved a proposal to establish a bank called the “Jewish Colonial Bank,” to be registered in London as a joint-stock company (27). In 1902, the British-Palestinian Company was established in London, which dealt with the Jewish Colonial Trust, and gradually transformed into the central bank to finance settlement activities in Palestine (28).

Through the work of the National Fund and the role of the Jewish Colonial Bank, in addition to the activities of the Palestine Land Development Company Limited, the number of Jews in Palestine doubled between 1882 and 1900, reaching about 24,000 in 1882, then their number rose to 50,000 in 1900, and in 1914 they became 85,000, while they did not exceed six thousand in 1839. (29)

With the outbreak of World War I in late July 1914-1918, new data entered the equation of international balances and their repercussions in the Levant region. Most of these data served the Zionist orientations. First and foremost, the map of international alliances changed, and this crystallized in the start of negotiations between the three Allied countries: Britain, France and Russia, with the aim of determining the fate of the regions under Turkish rule, which in turn contributed to lifting the grip of Ottoman laws and procedures related to limiting immigration and settlement. Given Britain’s central role in international politics at the time, the Zionist center of gravity moved to London. Signs of Zionist activity and its cooperation with the British authorities began to appear clearly through the Hussein-McMahon correspondence. When Sykes and Picot went to Russia to negotiate the Arab East, Britain had clearly pledged to establish a Jewish national home. One year after the Sykes-Picot Agreement was announced, the Balfour Declaration was issued, clearly including Britain’s pledge to establish a Jewish national home. The declaration came in the form of a letter sent by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to the wealthy Zionist Lord Rothschild. It stated: “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that no measure will be permitted 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” (30). This declaration described the Palestinian people in their country as the non-Jewish communities existing in Palestine. Although the population of Palestine at the time of its issuance was about 670 thousand people, of whom only about 60 thousand were Jews, and in 1920 the number of Jews in Palestine was estimated at 85 thousand, while the military administration report before that stated that their number was about 55 thousand. (31)

The Balfour Declaration was accompanied by the joining of 150 Jewish volunteers to the British Army, who became the nucleus of the Jewish Legion in 1917. This was the result of Jabotinsky’s activity. On December 11, 1917, 40 days after the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, General Allenby, commander of the British forces, entered the city of Jerusalem, thus opening a new era in Palestine.

Settlement under the British Mandate

It was clear since the declaration of the mandate over Palestine that Britain was determined to implement the Balfour Declaration and Judaize Palestine in preparation for the establishment of a Jewish national home. Perhaps what was known as the Churchill memorandum dated 1/7/1922 represents the first official British disclosure in this regard. The memorandum clearly stated that the Balfour Declaration was “unchangeable” so that the Jewish community would have the best prospects for free development and provide a full opportunity for the Jewish people to demonstrate their capabilities. It is necessary to guarantee the establishment of a Jewish national home, with an international guarantee and to officially recognize that it is based on an ancient historical connection. In order to implement this policy, it is necessary to enable the Jewish community in Palestine to increase its numbers through immigration, so that this immigration is not so large that it exceeds, under any circumstances, the country’s economic capacity – at that time – to absorb new arrivals” (32).

In accordance with this official orientation, British measures followed one after the other, helping to push the Zionist project forward in Palestine, on three basic levels: facilitating Jewish immigration, restricting Palestinian peasants, and granting major privileges to Zionist Jews. The mandate authorities relied, in what they enacted, on the Mandate, especially in its second article, which stipulated that the mandated state would be responsible for placing the country in political, administrative, and economic conditions that would guarantee the establishment of the Jewish national home. As for Article Four, it stipulated recognition of the Jewish Agency as an appropriate public body that would advise and cooperate in the administration of Palestine.

Article Eleven of the instrument also stipulated that the administration of the country may agree with the Jewish Agency to establish or continue, on terms of work and fairness, public works and services, and to develop the country’s natural facilities, where the government does not undertake these matters itself. (33)

Facilitating Jewish immigration to Palestine

Since the British Mandate authorities recognized the legitimacy of the Jewish Agency, Jewish immigration to Palestine took on a legal character. On August 26, 1920, the first law for immigration to Palestine was imposed. Under this law, the High Commissioner was given the right to determine the number of immigrants, from time to time, based on the conditions and requirements of the country, and to issue rules that allow the following categories to immigrate to Palestine, namely:

1. Persons whose means of support are guaranteed by the Zionist Organization, for one year.
2. People who have independent resources, or who provide evidence of their ability to support themselves.
3. Clergymen who have the means to support them in Palestine.(34)

However, the serious change in the balance of Jewish immigration to Palestine began in the second half of 1928, when the British Mandate government enacted a new immigration law, according to which immigrants allowed to enter the country were classified. The new law adopted the economic status of the immigrant. It defined the categories allowed to immigrate as follows: (35)

• People with at least £1,000, and their families.
• Professionals who have at least 500 pounds.
• Skilled craftsmen, who have at least 250 pounds.
• People who have a fixed income of not less than four pounds per month.
• Orphans arriving at shelters in Palestine.
• Men and women who engage in religious work that secures their livelihood and the livelihood of their families.
• Students whose living expenses are guaranteed.
• Male and female workers.
• Persons who depend for their livelihood on relatives in Palestine, and these relatives are in a position to support them.

Although this law allowed for the immigration of large numbers, the Zionist movement was able to circumvent it and bring in more immigrants, which would have created a new imbalance in the Palestinian demographic structure, which in turn led to the outbreak of the 1929 uprising.

The law was circumvented in various ways and means, including entering Palestine, after fulfilling the financial condition, from categories (A, B, C), and then returning the amount abroad, to bring in new immigrants.

As well as entering the country for a year and not leaving it, in addition to the sham marriage between Jews from outside Palestine and inside it, in addition to impersonating clergymen to fulfill the requirements of this category of immigrants. In addition to these methods, there was clandestine immigration, which was clearly indicated by the Peel Royal Commission report, as the report stated: “Illegal Jewish immigration went hand in hand with legal immigration, and was done by entering the country secretly and avoiding border control centers, or the traveler who entered the country legally remained in the country after the expiration of the permitted period, or by a sham marriage” (36).

On the other hand, the Jewish Agency was allowed, according to the mandate procedures, to play a major role in encouraging Jewish immigration and supervising their selection. Immigration permits were delivered to the Jewish Agency, which distributed them to its offices abroad, without any supervision or control. It was also granted the right to be considered an employer, and was thus able to bring in more Jewish workers under its guarantee. Thus, the number of immigrants in 1922 reached (7,844) immigrants, including (3,310) workers, and the number of immigrants in 1925 reached (33,801), including (16,161) workers. (37)

Restricting Palestinian farmers

On the eve of the end of World War I, the Palestinian peasant was suffering from the crises and woes of that war, and perhaps his concern was the weight of his debts, and most of the peasants were borrowing money from the Ottoman Agricultural Bank. As soon as the mandate put in place the beginnings of its legislation in Palestine, it abolished the Ottoman Bank on 19/3/1921, thus depriving the peasants of obtaining loans with moderate interest. The mandate authorities were not satisfied with that, but began demanding that the peasant pay the loans of the “Ottoman Agricultural Bank,” which he had borrowed before the British occupation. (38)

The Constitution of Palestine also stipulated that the High Commissioner has the right to dispose of public lands, and has the authority to exercise those rights on those lands, because he is the trustee of the Government of Palestine. Article 13 of the Constitution gave the High Commissioner absolute authority to donate or lease those lands, or any mineral or mine, and he may authorize the occupation of those lands. That article stipulated that the High Commissioner shall carry out every donation, lease or disposal of these lands, in accordance with a decree or law. (39)

This was also confirmed after the peace treaty with Turkey in 1925, as Article 60 of the treaty stipulated that the countries whose territories were seceded from the Ottoman Empire, pursuant to this treaty, had the right to own all the money and property therein belonging to the Ottoman authority, without paying its value. (40)

Based on this, the Mandate authorities enacted the Expropriation Law in 1926, which allowed the British authorities to expropriate land by dividing the common lands in the villages, reviewing property records, seizing land whose ownership was not proven, registering it in the name of the Mandate government, and then disposing of it to establish public projects. (41)

The mandate authorities also resorted to imposing heavy taxes on the lands, which burdened the peasants, who sold their land to get rid of debts and taxes.

Perhaps the most prominent measures of the mandate in this area were its legislation that doubled taxes on land and agricultural products, while not providing any services commensurate with those taxes, the most prominent of which were:

• Tithe tax.
• werco tax.
• Livestock census tax.(42)

These taxes were accompanied by other accompanying measures, most notably the acceleration of collecting the accumulated taxes on farmers, after World War II and the great difficulties left behind by the Ottomans.

The British authorities also deliberately neglected to open roads to the villages and connect them to the cities. The mandate authorities also neglected to spread agricultural awareness among the peasants or organize the means of exporting their products. In fact, during the period of military rule, they prevented them from exporting. (43)

It is worth mentioning, in the context of taxes, that they were applied to Jewish farmers as well as Arab farmers. However, a closer look at the matter shows us that the Jewish farmer in the colonies established during the mandate period benefited from the fact that the tithe tax that was replaced was based on the low production of Arab farmers, who were few in number. It would be easy for the Jewish farmer to bear the burden of taxes, as his total net income was so large that what he paid in taxes on that income was equal to twice the total income of the Arab farmer from the same area. (44)

Perhaps what confirms this is what was stated in the Jewish Agency’s report for the year 1937, where it says: “While a dunum of Jewish land planted with wheat yields a crop weighing 110 kg, and one planted with grapes yields a crop weighing 450 kg, and while a single dairy cow among the Jews yields 3,500 liters of milk annually, among the Arabs it yields no more than 500 liters of milk.” (45)

Granting major privileges to Jewish institutions

The British Mandate authorities in Palestine, based on what was included in the Mandate, especially Article Eleven, which stipulated the possibility of the government agreeing with the Jewish Agency regarding the development and advancement of Palestinian resources, resorted to contracting with Zionist companies and granting them major basic privileges in the country, the most prominent of which were:

Palestine Electricity Company

The Palestine Electric Company was officially established in 1923, after Pinhas Rutenberg’s agreement with the High Commissioner in Palestine, Herbert Samuel, in 1921, and the Mandate contracted with Rutenberg regarding the use of the waters of the Auja Basin to generate electrical power and supply it for irrigation and lighting in the Jaffa District. This concession was developed, in March 1926, to include the use of the waters of the Jordan and Yarmouk to generate electrical power for a period of seventy years. (46)

The Mandate authorities also provided the company with many facilities, including the right to expropriate the lands and buildings it needed. They also provided it with a loan of 250,000 pounds sterling, guaranteed by the British Treasury. Rutenberg also obtained citizenship before obtaining the concession. This project allowed the Jews to expand the lands, bring in more immigrants and employ them. (47) Article (10) of the concession explicitly states: “The High Commissioner, upon the request of the company and at its expense, or in cases where it is not possible to purchase by mutual agreement in return for compensation agreed upon by the company, or if an agreement is not possible, may expropriate real estate, lands or buildings.” (48) In fact, this company was given ownership of 18 thousand dunams, in addition to the lands occupied by the project’s buildings. (49)

In addition to facilitating the project, the Mandate authorities exempted the Palestine Electricity Company from profit taxes for a period of ten years, and considered profits as expenses.(50)

The company produced 3,048,442 kilowatts per hour in 1926, which jumped in 1929 to 4,930,960 kilowatts per hour. (51)

Dead Sea salt and mineral extraction privilege

The Dead Sea water contains various dissolved minerals, namely sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, magnesium bromide, calcium chloride, and calcium sulphate. (52) The Mandate authorities decided to invest in these salts in 1925, after the investment proved to be feasible. This privilege was quickly given to Meir Novomsky, a Jewish immigrant to Palestine from Russia, with the participation of the British Thomas Tulloch. An investment company was established in Britain under the name of the Palestine Potash Company and was officially registered in 1929 with a capital of 400,000 pounds. (53)

The articles of the agreement between the company and the mandated government stipulated that the concession period would be 75 years, with the right to monopolize the marketing and sale of extracted minerals and salts in domestic markets, and export, and the government would provide, when necessary, the land necessary to establish the company. What Britain granted the company outside the concession area amounted to 987 thousand dunams for free. (54)

Hula Land Concession

The area of ​​the Hula region is about 237 thousand dunams, and the region and its swamps are located in the far north of Palestine. The Turkish government had previously granted Omar Bayhum and Michel Sursock a concession in June 1914 to drain and revitalize the lands of Hula (55). However, they (Bahum and Sursock) relinquished the concession on 10/3/1934 to the Palestine Land Development Company Limited. With the intention of enabling the concession holders to take control of the lands of Hula and expel the farmers from them, the mandate authority issued the Hula Concession Boundaries Law No. (6) of 1938. This law did not recognize the rights of the Arab farmers who began to cultivate what they had drained during the Turkish era until they enjoyed the rights of farmers and possession for twenty years. The number of those affected was (1500) families. (56)

Jewish institutions: the beginnings of establishing an entity within an entity

The Zionist movement began, before the declaration of the Mandate over Palestine, to establish the necessary frameworks to achieve immigration to Palestine and establish the Jewish national homeland. However, the facilities provided by the British Mandate accelerated the growth of these institutions and the achievement of their programs, especially after the Mandate document included a legal recognition of the Jewish Agency.

The most prominent Zionist institutions that were able to lay the foundations necessary for establishing an entity within the state were: the Jewish Agency, the Histadrut, the Colonization Association Palestine Jewish (ACJP), the Jewish Colonial trust, the Jewish National Fund, and the Palestine Foundation Fund. These institutions, and in particular the Jewish Agency, formed an entity within the state, with the approval and facilitation of the Mandate authorities.

Jewish Agency: Preparing the Conditions for the Establishment of a Zionist Entity

The proposal for a Jewish agency for Palestine had been originally contained in the Mandate, Article 4 of which called on the Government of Palestine to recognize “a Jewish agency as a public body, which shall advise and co-operate 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 shall assist and take part in the development of the country, always under the control of its Government.”

“Article 6 of that instrument also imposed on the Mandate Government, in agreement with that agency, to “strengthen the intensive Jewish settlement on agricultural lands.” While Article (11) allowed the government to agree with it “to establish or invest public works and interests, and develop the country’s natural resources, where the government does not directly undertake these matters itself.” “The aim of establishing this agency, as stated in Article 4 of the Mandate, was to obtain the assistance of all Jews “who are not Zionists and who wish to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home,” by including such Jews in the agency and activating them within its framework. (57) At the meeting of the Zionist Labor Committee in October 1923, it was agreed to present a draft resolution to the Zionist Congress, stipulating the formation of the Jewish Agency Council, from the Zionist Labor Committee, which had acquired the rights of the Jewish Agency in accordance with Article 4 of the Mandate, and representatives of the major Jewish organizations that recognized the principles of establishing the Jewish national home in Palestine and accepted participation in its establishment, as well as representatives of Keren Hayesod. With the progress of the discussions between Chaim Weizmann and a group that included representatives of non-Zionist Jewish organizations, a preliminary formulation of the constitutional framework for the proposed expansion of the Jewish Agency was presented to the Zionist Labor Committee in 1924. (58) Matters remained under discussion within the Zionist institutions until 1929, when the expansion of the Jewish Agency was approved.

It is worth noting that this date was not a coincidence, as it came in the year of the outbreak of the crisis within the capitalist world on the one hand and the beginning of serious clashes in Palestine on the other hand.

In this context, the Central Bureau of the World Zionist Organization issued a statement stating that the Zionist Committee had set August 11, 1929, as the date for holding the opening session of the Agency Council in its expanded form in Zurich. Chaim Weizmann explained in a statement that he had reached, through his discussions with the parties concerned with expanding the framework of the Jewish Agency, the general features of the agreement with the non-Zionists, which are: encouraging immigration, spreading the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, and possessing the land as eternal property of the Jewish people, in addition to employing Jewish workers in all works, through the mediation of the Jewish Agency and under its supervision, and placing the Keren Hayesod at the disposal of the Jewish Agency. Weizmann pointed out in a message to the conference three central points that must be taken into consideration when setting the general program of the Agency in its expanded form, which are:

• Care of previously established settlements and colonies.
• Strengthening the economic capacity of the Jewish worker.
• Securing sufficient areas of land to enable the settlement movement to advance without obstacles (59). The expanded general meeting of the Jewish Agency was held on August 11, 1929, and the agreement was signed between the leadership of the Zionist movement and representatives of the Jewish Agency on the fourteenth of the same month, despite the emergence of some opposition within the Zionist movement.

Thus, the Zionist movement wanted, by attracting non-Zionist capitalists, in particular, to support the settlement project in Palestine. Moreover, the establishment of the Jewish Agency, in its expanded form, was intended to clearly indicate the organic connection between the Zionist movement and the capitalists whose interests were vitally linked to the British regime in Palestine. For this reason, the Zionist organization worked to exploit the outbreak of the global economic crisis, with the aim of pushing forward the project of establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This was done by mobilizing the Jews of the world, especially the wealthy ones, to extend a helping hand to the Zionist settlement in Palestine, and to help it impose its economic control, and to bring about a qualitative change in the battle of the conflict with the Palestinian presence, in favor of the Jewish national homeland. Therefore, “the Zionist organization exploited the popular economic crisis in the capitalist countries to push the Jews to immigrate to Palestine, and in 1929, the year of the uprising in Palestine against colonialism and Zionism, organized the fifth immigration, which continued until 1931. The basic feature of this immigration was that it was a civil immigration, from the medium and small social classes, industrial and commercial, whose interests in the capitalist countries were affected by the crisis, and who immigrated to Palestine in the hope of regaining their “lost paradise” in the market and industry in Palestine.” (60)

Histadrut

The establishment of the Histadrut, as a modern labor union, came in the context of building the foundations necessary for the establishment of the Zionist entity and the building of the Hebrew state. Thus, its work was not merely a trade union, or a popular organization in the prevailing sense of the expression in its trade union-political sense. Therefore, its primary concern was to create the appropriate conditions for building the working class, and then organizing and framing it in a way that would lead to an integrated social construction, within the framework of a new political formation. Accordingly, it devoted all its attention to providing the financial conditions for building its labor project, and from its beginnings in 1921, it established the Workers’ Bank (Hapoalim), which later became its financial arm. It played an important role in organizing financing and investment operations and providing bank credits to the financial sector, and it carried out financial work on a large scale, in the field of lending, whether to individuals or institutions.

The Histadrut grew rapidly, with 4,433 members in 1920, and 9,000 in 1929. Through its activities, the Histadrut became both a union of workers and employers. It established the following economic institutions:

• Nir Company, an institution that provides cash loans to agricultural settlers, has a capital of approximately 215,000 Palestinian pounds.
• Tnuva, an agricultural marketing company, traded goods worth about 500,000 Palestinian pounds until 1935.
• The Central Supply Corporation was tasked with supplying agricultural cooperatives with modern machinery. The company’s turnover, until 1935, amounted to approximately 750,000 Palestinian pounds.
• The Shukun Foundation, an engineering institution whose mission was to supervise the construction of workers’ houses, had a capital of approximately 70,000 Palestinian pounds in 1935.
• Hakobrazia, a cooperative of transport and industrial producers, and Yakhin Company, which supervised the citrus farms in the absence of their owners.
• Solel Bonne Company, an engineering construction company, in addition to its other industrial activities and production of construction equipment such as glass, cement, and tiles.
• Hesneh Insurance Company, the number of its insured people, until August 1937, was about 2,563 people, and the value of its insurance, until that date, was 773.00 Palestinian pounds.
• The Health Fund (Kupat HaHolim) was established in 1933. It ran three large hospitals and a number of sanatoriums and convalescent homes. Its services were free, and its budget, until 1937, amounted to about 220,000 Palestinian pounds.
• The Unemployment Fund was established in 1933 and operated until 1936. It collected capital from Histadrut members, in addition to aid received from abroad. Its revenues until 1937 amounted to about 138,000 Palestinian pounds, of which the workers themselves collected 120,000 pounds.

In addition to the role of the Histadrut, industrial institutions grew with the growth of Jewish capital in Palestine, and the Histadrut truly constituted the financial, trade union and political institution of workers, while the Histadrut, upon its establishment, established a constitution, the first article of which stated: “The General Union (Histadrut) unites all workers and self-employed persons in the country, who live by their own toil, without exploiting the labor of others, in order to organize the settlement, economic and cultural affairs of workers in the country.” The Histadrut grew rapidly (and the number of its members increased from 4,433 in 1920 to 9,000 in 1929), (61) and membership in the Histadrut was Arab-Jewish.

The activities of the Histadrut also witnessed attempts to get closer to the activities of the Arab workers, on the basis of the joint Palestinian-Jewish workers’ struggle, which was most clearly manifested in 1924, when the Railway Workers’ Union was established, which included about three hundred Arab and Jewish workers. That union was the first union in Palestine to be recognized by the employer, which was the Railway Administration, and the workers’ leadership was composed of ten members, five of whom were Arabs and five were Jews.” (62)

However, Arab-Jewish labor cooperation began to gradually diminish, until it reached the point of disappearance, after the 1929 uprising in Palestine, and the negative effects it left on this cooperation. What the Zionist movements were seeking to achieve within the labor unions prevailed, which is the “Judaization of labor” or what was called at the time the “Hebrew labor” policy, which is based on the Histadrut and other unions being Jewish unions only, and that no Arabs work in Jewish institutions. (63)

As for the justification of the advocates of Hebrew labor, it is that “Jewish labor” was created thanks to the activity of Jewish capital itself, and that those concerned with developing this economy are not primarily concerned with the Arab worker. (64)

Since 1929, the Hebrew labor policy began to include all aspects, agricultural, industrial, and others. In 1933, David Ben-Gurion, the Secretary-General of the Histadrut, gave a speech at the Technion Institute in Haifa, in which he called for the necessity of Judaizing labor and preventing the employment of Arab workers, even by force, in Jewish projects, industrial and agricultural.

The Histadrut played the role of the mother incubator for all Zionist trade union federations, as it was able to establish affiliated federations such as the Agricultural Workers’ Union, the Writers’ Union, the Construction and Contracting Workers’ Union, the General Industry Workers’ Union, the Metal Workers’ Union, the Teachers’ Union, the Metal Workers’ Union, the Teachers’ Union, the Food Industries Workers’ Union, the Textile, Clothing and Leather Workers’ Union, the Transportation Workers’ Union, the Woodworkers’ Union, the Health Sector Workers’ Union, the Technical Engineers’ Union, the Printing and Paper Workers’ Union, the Seafarers’ and Diamond Industry Workers’ Union, and the Free Enterprises’ Union. (65)

The Jewish Colonization Society in Palestine, this society was founded by the wealthy Jew Edmund Rothschild, in the year 1883. Its goal was to provide services and facilities to Jewish immigrants to Palestine, and to encourage them to own land. (66)

The Jewish Trust Fund: It was established by a decision of the World Zionist Organization in 1899. Since 1903, the Fund established a subsidiary company in Palestine, called the Anglo-Palestine Bank. This bank had a notable activity in providing loans to Jewish institutions during the mandate period. (67)

The Jewish National Fund: It was established in 1907 at the initiative of the World Zionist Organization in Britain. Since 1922, its name was changed to Kern Kaymeth. This fund played an important role in purchasing land, absorbing immigrants, and providing them with the necessary services. (68)

The Palestine Foundation Fund: It was established in 1920 by a decision of the Zionist Congress, and its goal was to help settle and absorb Jewish immigrants. Its headquarters was in London. It was registered as a British company. (69) This fund also played a prominent role in creating suitable conditions for industrial activity and participating in spending on education, public works, urban development, and others. The fund covered the expenses of the Jewish Agency, which amounted to 204,600 Palestinian pounds in 1932, according to the following distribution. (70)

Here, we can clearly note that agricultural colonization received the highest proportion of the fund’s expenditures, due to what the Zionist movement was counting on and its role in establishing the Zionist entity during that period.

Settlement, Jewish Capital and Its Impact on the Palestinian Economy 1932-1939

Jewish immigration to Palestine witnessed a remarkable movement, which coincided with the rise of Nazism to power in Germany in 1933.

With this immigration, capital flowed into Palestine. (71) Except for the money of German Jews that entered Palestine through German banks, in an official manner, and in implementation of the agreement to separate the money of German Jews in exchange for German goods, and except for the money coming from other sources, in this context the Mandate Government encouraged the transfer of Jewish money, during the period of Nazi rule in Germany, without imposing customs duties on it, so that German Jewish immigrants could transfer their money to Palestine.

The British measures, which accompanied the rise of Nazism, allowed Jewish tourists to enter Palestine, in an exceptional manner, which the Jews exploited to bring in 44,474 tourists between 1931-1935, without leaving. (72) Thus, the Zionist movement exploited the issue of Hitler’s violence on the one hand, and the circumvention of British laws and procedures on the other hand, in order to bring in an average of 40,000 immigrants annually to Palestine, in addition to the influx of capital.

The following table shows the migration of Jewish capitalists to Palestine between 1933-1935. (73)

Table No. (3)

The number of immigrants to Palestine reached 9,000 in 1932, 30,000 in 1933, 40,000 in 1934, and 61,000 in 1935. (74)

Perhaps the most prominent manifestations resulting from migration during that period, in addition to the economic and political factors, is the difference that migration left behind in clothing, behavior, and lifestyles between those coming from the heart of Europe and the Arab population. The demographics that these people brought, in addition to their social values, seemed to contradict the social structure of the Arabs. (75)

The available figures indicate that between the years 1933-1936, according to official statistics, 13,870 Jews entered Palestine, owning more than a thousand Palestinian pounds, and 1,719 Jews who depended on them, compared to about 130,000 Jews who were officially described as coming for employment or dependent on these newcomers or on immigrants who preceded them. (76)

During that period (1933-1936), the Zionist movement continued its campaign of buying land and displacing its inhabitants. The Mandate government enacted a series of laws that were in favor of the settlement process. Among these laws was the provision of guarantees for the farmer who was expelled from his land. According to the British administration report for the year 1933, the British Minister of State announced in the House of Commons on July 14, 1933, his government’s intention to settle the displaced farmers with a loan to be spent on developing the land. This announcement and the guarantees of the law were nothing more than a verbal tax aimed at misleading and providing legal cover for the Zionist practices and the displacement of Arab farmers. Thus, until 1936, the severity of the agricultural crisis in the Arab sector intensified, and the area of ​​land owned by the Arabs decreased. From 1933 to 1936, the large landowners continued to sell land to the Jews. According to the numerical data, between 1933 and 1936, 62.7% of the total land purchased by the Zionists was land owned by landowners present in Palestine, 14.8% was land owned by absentee landowners, and 22.5% was land owned by small farmers. (77) According to the survey conducted by the British government in 1936, which included 322 villages, the distribution of land ownership in Palestine in that year was as follows:

Distribution of land ownership in Palestine in 1936. (78)

Table No. (4)

The strengthening of private ownership led to the transformation of land into a commodity, with Zionist institutions able to buy it, and the spread of extreme poverty among Palestinian peasants.

The transfer of land ownership was an important factor in the displacement of Arabs to the cities, which had negative consequences, including that the only option left for those former farmers, in many cases, was to join the ranks of the unemployed. It is likely that the rate of Jews moving to the countryside was approximately equal to the rate of Arabs moving to the cities during that period.

Distribution of ownership and possession of lands transferred to Jews in Palestine 1882-1939 (79)

Table No. (5)

The Jews, in their majority, lived in cities, especially the larger ones. Of the total Jewish population at that time, which was 174,809, there were 119,918 (68.6 percent) living in the three largest cities: Jerusalem (51,222 Jews out of 90,503 people who lived in the city at that time), (56.6 percent), Jaffa (Tel Aviv) (52,773), of whom 45,564 were in Tel Aviv, out of 97,967, or 53.9 percent), and Haifa (15,923 out of 50,403, or 31.6 percent). In addition, the Jews formed a majority in Tiberias as well (5,381 out of 8,601, or 62.6 percent), and a significant percentage in Safed (2,547 out of 9,441, or 27.30 percent) (80).

With the increase in this immigration, the immigrants to Palestine, between 1932-1935, brought 31 million Palestinian pounds (81), which increased the strength of the Jewish community and motivated it towards capitalist development and competition with the Arab economy and existence.

The Jewish Agency was also busy, during that period, studying projects for the transfer of the Arab population from the area proposed for the Jewish state. A month before the Peel Commission report was issued, Moshe Sharett learned that the committee viewed positively the proposal submitted to it by the Jewish Agency regarding the transfer of the Arab population from the area designated for the Jewish state, as it approved the partition plan (82). The Peel Commission actually accepted this proposal and recommended in its report the forced transfer of the Arab population from the Jewish state, after estimating their number at about 225,000 people, compared to 1,250 Jews who should be transferred from the Arab state. By presenting this proposal, the committee made it clear that this was the only way, in its opinion, to ensure the establishment of two independent and stable states that would not suffer from problems of national minorities within them, citing as an example the forced population transfer exchange between Turkey and Greece following the war that broke out between them in 1922 (83). This proposal had a greater impact on Ben-Gurion than on other leaders of the Jewish Agency, so he rushed to the High Commissioner and offered to transfer the Arab peasants from Palestine and resettle them in lands purchased for them in eastern Jordan, and the High Commissioner favored this proposal (84).

All means of deportation took many paths, the most prominent of which was the High Commissioner’s disposal of the princely lands and the deportation of the Arabs from them.

During the years 1932-1935, Zionist settlement witnessed an unprecedented boom, to the point that the newspaper Filastin went so far as to say that: “The waves of Jewish immigration are increasing and overwhelming the Arab front, thanks to the money of the Jews and the strength of their organization, and the day will not be far when Zionism succeeds in obliterating the Arab landmarks in the country.” (85)

The number of Jews in the three cities, Jerusalem, Jaffa-Tel Aviv and Haifa, and their districts had increased significantly. During the twenties, as a result of their tendency to settle in these cities, during the period between the 1922 and 1931 censuses, the number of Jews in the Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa districts rose from 67,314 to 147,694, an increase of 58.4 percent; in the Haifa district from 24,138 to 69,789, an increase of 189.1 percent; and in the Jaffa district from 8,745 to 23,367, an increase of 167.2 percent. The number of Jews, however, continued to increase in these cities after that, and these facts had an impact on their control over them during the early stages of the 1948 war.

The other Jews, who lived outside the six cities mentioned above, and numbered 46,963 people, were residing in 101 different settlements and settlement points, in addition to Tel Aviv, and the population of each of them ranged, in general, between a few dozen and a few hundred. These settlements were distributed over 11 districts out of the eighteen districts of Palestine, including 7 in the Safad district, 18 in Haifa, 11 in Tiberias, 6 in Beit Shean, 16 in Nazareth, 5 in Tulkarm, 3 in Jerusalem, 14 in Ramla, 17 in Jaffa, including Tel Aviv, 1 in Beersheba and 3 in Gaza. As for the remaining areas, which are the districts of Acre, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem and Hebron, they were devoid of any Jewish settlements. (86)

By the end of the four years (1932-1935), 53 new settlements had been established, compared to 101 settlements established during the fifty years (1882-1931). The number of settlements in Palestine reached 154 by the end of 1935, which, with their population and lands, formed a material basis for the Jewish community in Palestine.

With the increase in the number of settlements, the area of ​​agricultural land that the Jews were exploiting increased, especially that which was planted with citrus trees, the fruits of which were a main commodity. The area of ​​land that was in the possession of the Jews in 1936 reached about 12 thousand dunams, compared to 106.4 thousand dunams owned by the Arabs. (87)

The numbers of immigrants were witnessing qualitative leaps. After the number of Jews in 1922 was 93,794, this number jumped to 164,796 in 1931, and to 445,457 in 1939. (88)

The waves of immigration and their increase were accompanied by the expansion in the purchase of land and its cultivation. The area planted with citrus fruits expanded from 22,000 dunams belonging to Arabs and 10,000 dunams belonging to Jews in 1922, to 278,000 dunams, of which 135,000 dunams belonged to Arabs and 143,000 dunams belonged to Jews, in 1935. (89) In the context of Jewish expansion in the lands, what the Jews paid for purchased Palestinian lands amounted to 1,700,000 Palestinian pounds, compared to (72,905 dunams). (90)

This resulted, according to testimonies given by British officials, in more Palestinian farmers losing their lands, without finding land to replace them. The testimonies indicated a continuous increase in the class of displaced Arabs who reached the level of misery they reached, due to their lands being taken from them and transferred to the Jews. (91)

Table No. (6)

The land acquisition policies that the Jewish Agency established and implemented during the years 1920-1936 can be summarized as follows: seeking out and winning over sellers of land (especially large plots of land) rather than simply acquiring what was offered for sale; avoiding isolating the colonies and turning them into “colony complexes” or “Jewish areas.” This sometimes led to the expansion of the colonies rather than the establishment of new ones; acquiring land for various purposes—agriculture, industry, and urban development—although the emphasis remained on rural land; acquiring as much land as possible, as quickly as possible (92). This acceleration was the result of two considerations: first, the continuous rise in land prices, and the Fund held Arab land brokers and owners responsible (because they refused to sell because they expected further increases). More important than all of this was the speculation of the Jews, which raised prices to astronomical amounts; and second, the constant expectation of a change in British policy toward the national homeland. It is important to note that the Fund did not anticipate any changes in the interest of its project, and in addition to these policies there were practices or guidelines that could be considered policies (93), limiting the acquisition of good land, i.e. suitable or cultivable, purchasing plots of land (especially large plots), on condition that the owner expels all farmers, and is free from any claim (to rights in the land or to legal protection.

The transfer of Arab lands to the Jews, through various methods, temptations, and tricks of intermediaries and brokers, and the pressures and harsh conditions under which the Palestinian peasant suffered under the Mandate government, led to the creation of the appropriate climate for inciting acts of violence, discontent, and bloody conflict in the Arab community, against both the Jews and the Mandate authorities.

The settlements, which were established during the revolution period of 1936-1939, and numbered fifty, were characterized by two landmarks: the barbed wire wall surrounding them and the watchtower in their center, or what was called “a wall and a tower.” (94)

According to the Peel Commission report, the Jewish colonies had their own entity, consisting of land, population, economic, social, military and political institutions, growing and expanding in a way that threatened to impose their control over most of Palestine and transform it into a Jewish state (a state within a state) (95).

During the Great Arab Revolt in Palestine (1936-1939), collective settlements (kibbutz) increased. This was based on collective ownership, as the village land, buildings and tools were collectively owned by the village, and life in it was shared, as the kibbutz members ate their food collectively, and the children slept in one dormitory. The number of kibbutz residents reached 15,500 in the first year of the 1936 revolt, after their number had been 4,506 in 1930. (96)

The establishment of the kibbutz had two goals: the first was economic, based on settling immigrants and providing them with housing and food, and the second was military, aiming to supervise the Arab regions and isolate them from each other. For this reason, the military character prevailed among its inhabitants, as the young men among them were trained to carry weapons and do agricultural work, at the same time.

As for the cooperative settlements (moshavs), they were agricultural villages with a cooperative family character, and their number rose in 1939 to 103 after having been 27 moshavs in 1936. (97)

Geographical distribution of Jewish settlements 1936-1939. (98)

Table No. (7)

It is evident from the above table that Zionist settlement activity was mostly located in the coastal plain, and that the number of settlements increased during the 1936-1939 revolution at high rates that completely doubled in the Upper and Lower Galilee.

The waves of immigration, which reached their peak in terms of the number of immigrants in the year 1935, led to several results that had the greatest impact on shaping the course of development until the end of the year 1939. The most important of these results are:

1. A qualitative change in the demographic structure of Palestine, as Jews now constituted about a third of the population. (99)
2. Bringing about a qualitative change in the ownership of arable land in favor of Zionist settlement.
3. The distinctive feature of immigration, in the years 1931-1936, was the influx of wealthy immigrants with capital, and their immigration to Palestine led to a radical transformation in the economic structure in favor of Zionist settlement.

The Jewish capital that flowed into Palestine, from the imposition of the British Mandate in 1922 until 1939, amounted to 126 million Palestinian pounds, which truly contributed to the formation of two industries in Palestine (the Jewish industry in Palestine) and (the Palestinian industry). In fact, there were two economies in Palestine during the Mandate, sharing a common land, but determined by different, and sometimes conflicting, forces. The Jewish economy, which was born from the desire of the Zionists in Europe and America to establish a Jewish national homeland in Palestine, was characterized by a continuous influx of immigrants and capital. Alongside it was the Arab economy, which was mostly agricultural, and was characterized by rapid natural population growth and slow accumulation of capital and skilled labor. (100)

Key findings

Based on the digital and informational facts provided, which are mainly derived from original documentary sources, mostly British and Zionist, what can be objectively concluded is:

1. The Zionist movement relied primarily on immigration to and settlement in Palestine. Moreover, settlement formed the cornerstone of Zionist thought, and all Zionist activities revolved around it, including finance, politics, diplomacy, economy, security, and others. With the growth of settlement activity, Zionist institutions grew and their role increased. With the fragility of the Jewish situation and settlement in general in Palestine, during the first period of activity, under the Ottoman era, Zionism was unable to achieve any significant progress in the field of settlement. Its settlement activity in its early stages resulted in the awakening of Palestinian national sentiments and Islamic fears in general of the Jewish presence. The intensity of Palestinian-Jewish contradictions began to emerge on the surface, after they had been completely absent before the start of settlement. The settlement pattern, in terms of its reliance on immigrants coming from Russia, Romania and Germany, and the difference between their language, customs and traditions from the language and customs of the region on the one hand, in addition to what they brought to Palestine, of the pattern of “isolation” and the attempt to close off, withdraw into oneself, and view the surroundings as hostile on the other hand, contributed greatly to creating a hostile gap between the new arrivals and the local population, and this resulted in the emergence of Palestinian resistance against the settlements and immigrants, since the beginnings of settlement.
2. Despite the clarity of Ottoman legislation regarding limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine and preventing their settlement there, the Zionist movement was able to lay some of the first building blocks in the settlement structure in Palestine, taking advantage of the administrative weakness of the Ottoman Empire during the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.
3. The British Mandate over Palestine was the true incubator for the growth of settlement and the intensification of immigration. Under its auspices, the Zionist movement was able to establish a state within a state. This was done through British legislation to open the doors of immigration, facilitate the transfer of lands to the Zionist movement, and protect settlement by force of arms.
4. By the end of the Great Palestinian Revolution in Palestine in 1939, the Zionist movement, in cooperation with the British Mandate at all levels, had practically completed the establishment of the Hebrew state within the framework of the British Mandate. Consequently, the Zionist movement had practically controlled the financial and economic market, and had become the decisive force capable of controlling local capital, and in the security and military field, the Zionist movement benefited from the course of events during the years of the revolution and employed them for its security interests, and through the blatant British collusion with the Zionist project, the Zionist military structure was built according to modern rules, and all settlements became residential-military complexes surrounded by a wall, with a watchtower in the middle.
5. Jewish capital contributed fundamentally to the settlement project, and international political balances played a decisive role in facilitating its growth as a parallel project that supported the British colonial project in the region.
6. Although the Zionist movement was able to purchase some of the lands of absentees, and other lands from the large families of owners, this did not constitute a decisive pillar in the success of the Zionist project, and the return on agricultural settlements was less than what was spent on them, and therefore, settlement constituted a colonial political project aimed at harassing the local population and then expelling them. Moreover, settlement did not contribute to developing the Jewish economic capacity, as much as it contributed to establishing a colonial reality at the expense of expelling the indigenous population, and thus exploiting the state of aggression, rather than developing the local economy.