Districts of Mandatory Palestine

Districts of Mandatory Palestine
Location Mandatory Palestine
Created 1922
Subdivisions sub-district, division

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

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]

Administrative divisions prior to 1922

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.[2]

At the start of 1920 there were 9 districts: Jerusalem, Jaffa, Hebron, Jenin, Safed, Acre, Tiberias, Tulkarem and Beersheba,[3] but this division was modified by the following month to Jerusalem, Haifa, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Safed, Acre, Tiberias, Galilee, Tulkarem and Beersheba.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] Some reassignment of sub-districts also occurred.[6]

At the time of the October, 1922, census of Palestine, there were four districts divided into 18 sub-districts.[7]

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

Administrative divisions in 1924

A proclamation of June 1924 divided the country into three districts with 18 sub-districts.[8]

Administrative divisions in 1931

At the time of the November, 1931, census of Palestine, there were three districts divided into 18 sub-districts.[9]

Administrative divisions in 1939

In 1937, the Acre, Beisan, Nazareth, Safad and Tiberius sub-districts were removed from the Northern District to form a new Galilee District headquartered at Nazareth.[10] In 1938, the Beersheba and Gaza sub-districts were separated from the Southern District.[11] Then in 1939, the Administrative Division (Amendment) Proclamation reshaped the country into six districts.[12] The name of the Galilee and Acre District was changed to Galilee District in December.[13]

Administrative divisions in 1945

Districts and Sub-Districts of Palestine in 1945.

The Administrative Divisions (Amendment) Proclamation, 1945 reduced the number of sub-districts of the Jerusalem District to three.[14][15] Although not published until June, it stated that the change "shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st January, 1945".[16]


See also

References

  1. ↑ Peel Commission report, p. 159
  2. ↑ 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)
  3. ↑ Official Gazette, O.E.T.A. (South), No. 12, January 1, 1920.
  4. ↑ Official Gazette, O.E.T.A. (South), No. 14, February 1, 1920.
  5. ↑ Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 26, September 1, 1920.
  6. 1 2 Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 70, July 1, 1920.
  7. ↑ J. B. Barron, ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
  8. ↑ Official Gazette, No. 116, June 1, 1924, pp. 684–690.
  9. ↑ E. Mills, ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
  10. ↑ Palestine Post, July 15, 1937, p3.
  11. ↑ Palestine Post, December 1, 1938, p2.
  12. ↑ Palestine Post, July 2, 1939, p1.
  13. ↑ Supplement No. 2 to the Palestine Gazette, December 30, 1939, p. 1529. Palestine Post, January 1, 1940, p. 2.
  14. ↑ Government of Palestine, Village Statistics 1945 (Hadawi Edition) p12
  15. ↑ Palestine Post, June 11, 1945, p. 3
  16. ↑ Supplement No. 2 to The Palestine Gazette No. 1415 of 7th June, 1945, pp. 621–629.

External links

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