Summary
The February 1940 land regulations issued by the Palestine authorities in implementation of the 1939 White Paper, dividing Palestine into three zones in which transfers of land were prohibited, restricted to transfers between “Palestinian Arabs”, or unrestricted, in the United Nations study’s account (Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917-1947 (Part I), lines 1173-1175).
Details
- The study places the regulations under the implementation of the 1939 White Paper: despite the demands of the war effort, the British Government, disturbed by the dangerous situation in Palestine, proceeded with the White Paper’s policy in an effort to diminish the political tension, and in February 1940 the Palestine authorities issued the Land Transfer regulations (Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917-1947 (Part I), line 1175).
- The regulations divided Palestine into three zones: in the largest zone, any transfer of land to a person who was not a “Palestinian Arab” was prohibited, exceptions being permitted only under specific conditions and with the High Commissioner’s permission; in the second zone “Palestinian Arabs” were permitted to transfer land only between themselves; in the third zone there were no restrictions on land transfers (printed “there were not restrictions”, as printed) (line 1175).
- In the official British document quoted in the study, “The Jewish community resented the Land Transfers Regulations and the measures taken against unauthorized immigration” (line 1189).
- The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, in the study’s account, recommended among its immediate measures “the rescinding of the 1940 Land Transfer Regulations so as to allow free transfers of land”, alongside the immediate issue of 100,000 immigration certificates (line 1283).
Related pages
British White Paper of 1939, Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917-1947 (Part I)