Online British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine

 [First posted in AWOL 27 October 2010. Updated 20 December 2023]

British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine, prepared by the British Mandate for UN prior to proposing the 1947 partition plan

This is the official books produced by Government of Palestinian (British Mandate) for the years of 1944-1945 which was prepared by the British Mandate for the United Nation Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) in 1946. These three volumes contain a wealth of information about Palestine until the end of 1946...

Volume I

• Chapter I: The Mandate
• Chapter II: Historical Summary of Principal Events Since British Occupation
• Period I 1917-1920
• Period II: 1920 - 1923
• Period III: A period of consolidation and comparative tranquility
• Period IV: September, 1928 - December 1932
• Period V: January, 1933 - March 1936
• Period VII: November, 1936-Ausgust, 1939
• Period VIII: September, 1939-October, 1942
• Period IX: November, 1942 - December, 1945
• Annexure I: The White Paper of June, 1922
• Annexure II: The White Paper of May, 1939
• Chapter III: Geographic Summary
• Chapter IV: The Central Government and Its Finances
• Chapter V: Local Government
• Chapter VI: Population
• A. The Increase in Population
• B. Geographical Distribution of the Population
• Chapter VII: Immigration
• Section 1: Immigration Legislation And Its Administration
• Section 2: Immigration Statistics
• Section 3: Acquisition of Palestinian Citizenship
• Section 4: Illegal Immigration
• Section 5: Refugees
• Chapter VIII: Land
• Section 1: Land Tenure in Palestine. Legislation and Type of Holding
• Section 2: Settlement of Title to Land
• Section 3: Land Registration
• Section 4: System of Land Taxation
• Section 5: The Public Lands of Palestine
• Section 6: State Domain and Re-Settlement of Jewish Ex-Servicemen
• Section 7: The Land Transfer Regulation
• Section 8: Administrative Problems Regarding to State Holdings
• Chapter IX: Agriculture
• Section 1: Agriculture Production.
• Section 2: Animal Health and Produce.
• Section 3: The Citrus Industry.
• Section 4: Measures Taken To Increase Agricultural Productivity
• Section 5: Agricultural Credit and Co-operative Societies
• Section 6: Investigations Affecting Development In the Negeb
• Section 7: Jewish Agricultural Settlements
• Section 8: Agricultural Advisory Bodies
• Chapter X: Irrigation and Drainage
• Chapter XI: Forestry and Soil Conservation
• Chapter XII: Fisheries
• Chapter XIII: Trade And Industry
• Section 1: Trade Agreements, The Customs Tariff and Excise Duties.
• Section 2: Foreign Trade of Palestine.
• Section 3: Trade With Middle Eastern Countries
• Section 4: A Survey of Industry

Volume II Chapter XIV: Finance Section 1: The Budget Section 2: The System of Taxation Section 3: Colonial Development Fund Section 4: Banking Section 5: Ownership of Capital Section 6: Relative Contribution of Arabs and Jewish Government Revenue Chapter XV: Law and Order (a) Prevention and Detection of Crime (b) Arms Traffic (c) Armed Bands and Illegal Organizations (d) The Cost of Public Security Chapter XVI: Social Services Section 1: Health Services Section 2: Description of Education Systems Section 3: Jewish Education And Cultural Activities Section 4: Social Welfare Section 5: The Standard of Living of Palestinian Arabs Chapter XVII: Labour And Wages Section 1: Employment and Unemployment Section 2: Wages and Earnings Section 3: The Administration of Labor Matters Section 4: Legislation Section 5: International Convention Affecting Labor Section 6: Labor Organizations Section 7: The Re-Settlement of Ex-Service Men and Women Section 8: The Employment of Arab And Jewish Labor By Government Chapter XVIII: Town Planning and The Problem of Housing Section 1: Town Planning And Building Control Section 2: Present Housing Needs Section 3: Measures Taken To Remedy The Position in Housing Section 4: The Cost of Building Section 5: The Supply of Building Material Chapter XIX: Food And Clothing Section 1: General Survey of The Present Food Situation Section 2: Subsidization Policy Section 3: Human Nutrition Section 4: Regards to The Provision of Clothing and Essential Household Textiles Chapter XX: Communication Section 1: Railways Section 2: Ports Haifa Port Jaffa Port Section 3: The Road System Section 4: Road Transport Section 5: Post Office Service Chapter XXI: The Press Section 1: Control of The Press Section 2: The Public Information Office Chapter XXII: Community And Religious Affairs Section 1: Christian Community And Christian Holy Places Section 2: The Supreme Moslem Council and The Waqf Commission Section 3: The Zionist Organization and The Jewish Agency Section 4: Statuary Jewish Community Section 5: Agudat Israel Section 6: Other Religious Communities Section 7: Official Holiday Section 8: The Official Languages Section 9: Two Community Problems Chapter XXIII: Political Parties Section 1: The Arab Political Parties Section 2: The Jewish Political Parties Chapter XXIV: International Agreements, Conventions, And Treats Chapter XXV: Concessions and Mining Section 1: Concessions Section 2: Mining And Oil Mining Chapter XXVI: War Economic Measures Section 1: The War Supply Board Section 2: The War Economic Advisory Council Section 3: The Custodian of Enemy Property Section 4: War Time Economic Control Appendix A: Orders in Council Applicable to Palestine Appendix B: Advisory And Statuary Official Bodies Appendix C: Glossary Index

Volume III: Supplement to The Survey of Palestine

• The Central Government And Its Finances
• Local Government: Supplementing Volume V
• Population: Supplementing Volume I, Chapter VI
• Immigration: Supplementing Volume I, Chapter VII
• Illegal Immigration
• Land: Supplementing Volume I
• Agriculture: Supplementing Volume I, Chapter IX
• Forestry And Soil Conservation: Supplementing Volume I
• Trade And Industry: Supplementing Volume I, Chapter XIII
• Finance: Supplementing Volume II, Chapter XIV
• Town Planning And The Problem of Housing: Supplementing
• Food And Clothing: Supplementing Volume II, Chapter XIX
• Communication: Supplementing Volume II, Chapter XX
• Community And Religious: Supplementing Volume II, Chapter XXII
• Political Parties: Supplementing Volume II, Chapter XXIII

And see AWOL's Roundup of Resources on Ancient Geography