Ruling Palestine

Contents
Executive summary 6
1 Introduction 8
Outline of this study 10
2 Jewish-Zionist colonisation and land acquisition in Palestine (pre-1923) 12
2.1 Early beginnings of Jewish immigration and land purchases in Palestine 13
2.2 The Basle Programme to the end of World War I (1897-1918) 13
2.2.1 Jewish land-purchasing and colonisation activity during World War I 15
2.3 The Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate (1917-1923) 15
3 Jewish-Zionist land acquisition and policies during the British Mandate in Palestine (1923-1948) 17
3.1 Jewish agencies and organisations 18
3.2 Types, amounts and origins of land purchases 19
3.3 Intercessions with the British to further Zionist goals 23
3.3.1 Findings of commissions of inquiry to Palestine regarding land and Jewish immigration 23
3.4 The Biltmore Programme and US support for partition (1942-1946) 26
3.5 The UN Partition Plan and termination of the British Mandate (1947-1948) 27
3.5.1 Plan Dalet (Plan D) and territorial acquisition 28
4 Land acquisition, land laws and colonisation policies within the State of Israel (1948-1967) 29
4.1 The creation of the Palestinian refugee issue: depopulation and ‘transfer’ 30
4.1.1 Zionism and the idea of ‘transfer’ 30
4.2 Destruction and depopulation of Arab villages and towns (1947-1949) 32
4.2.1 The creation of the Palestinian refugee issue 33
4.2.2 Refugees and their rights under international law 35
4.3 Israel’s land and property laws 37
4.3.1 Backdrop to legislation: Israel as a ‘Jewish State’ 37
4.3.2 Land and property laws in Israel: introductory comments 38
4.3.3 Israeli land and property laws: summary of major legislation 39
4.3.3.1 Initial emergency laws and other regulations 39
4.3.3.2 ‘Absentees’ property’ laws and related laws 41
4.3.3.3 Laws enacted to legalise further acquisition of Palestinian lands, and related laws. 43
4.4 The legal framework and Judaisation 56
4.4.1 The Government of Israel and the ‘National Institutions’ 56
4.4.1.1 The Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency 57
4.4.1.2 The Government of Israel and the Jewish National Fund 57
4.5 The legal system and housing rights for Palestinians in Israel 58
4.5.1 Land and property issues in the Arab Galilee and the Negev 59
4.5.1.1 The Arab Galilee 60
4.5.1.2 The Negev 62
4.6 Summary 64