Summary
The partly elected council for Palestine directed by the Palestine Order in Council of 1 September 1922 — the High Commissioner as President, ten official and 12 elected non-official members — whose establishment failed in the deadlock the 1930 statement of policy sets out to avoid repeating, and which that statement again intends to set up, with an appointment device if elections fail through non-cooperation (Palestine: Statement of Policy by His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, lines 233-261).
Details
- In the June 1922 statement the Council is the second step in self-government by gradual stages, with control of the Executive by the Assembly deferred to a later review, and a special committee of its elected members is to confer with the Administration on regulating immigration (British Policy in Palestine — British White Paper of June 1922, lines 45-49).
- In Banko’s account the first legislative council elections were held in 1922, and due to the Arabs’ boycott of them the creation of a legislative council failed, the proposed body being so composed that nominated British and Jewish members would outnumber Arab representatives and the High Commissioner could veto or change any legislation (The Invention of Palestinian Citizenship, 1918–1947, PDF p.53 / printed p.42, as recorded on Palestine Order-in-Council 1922).
- The 1930 statement’s history gives the election attempt under February and March dates printed as 1928, the failure through the Arab population’s refusal as a whole to co-operate, and the suspension of the Council (lines 233-237); its own decision paragraph speaks instead of avoiding “the repetition of the deadlock which occurred in 1923” (line 259). Both dates are held as printed on the 1930 source page.
- Under the 1930 decision the Council will consist of the High Commissioner and 22 members, ten official and 12 unofficial, normally elected by primary and secondary elections, with steps devised to ensure the appointment of the requisite unofficial members if any fail to be elected through non-cooperation or for any other reason; the High Commissioner retains power for urgently required legislation and the maintenance of order (line 259).
Related pages
Palestine: Statement of Policy by His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, British Policy in Palestine — British White Paper of June 1922, Palestine Order-in-Council 1922, Passfield White Paper