British Mandate for Palestine

A League of Nations-administered territory governed by Britain from 1920 to 1948. Its administration was shaped by conflicting commitments concerning a Jewish national home and the rights of its existing communities.

Mandate for Palestine: The League of Nations instrument defining Britain's authority and obligations in Palestine. Its articles gave international legal form to the administration and its stated commitments.
Sykes–Picot Agreement: A secret 1916 agreement in which Britain and France planned spheres of influence in parts of the Ottoman Empire. Its imperial partition plans formed part of the wartime context for British rule.
Herbert Samuel: A British Liberal politician who served as the first high commissioner for Palestine from 1920 to 1925. His administration established early civilian institutions under British rule.
United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine: The 1947 UN General Assembly plan recommending separate Jewish and Arab states and an international regime for Jerusalem. It proposed a political settlement as Britain prepared to withdraw.
Zionism: A Jewish national movement supporting self-determination and, historically, a homeland or state in the Land of Israel. Its aims informed the mandate's national-home commitment and Jewish political organization.
Balfour Declaration: A 1917 British statement supporting a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, while protecting the rights of existing non-Jewish communities. The mandate incorporated this declaration as a central policy commitment.
McMahon–Hussein Correspondence: An exchange of letters during World War I between British official Henry McMahon and Sharif Hussein of Mecca about Arab independence. Its disputed scope contributed to conflicting expectations about postwar sovereignty.
Ernest Bevin: British foreign secretary from 1945 to 1951, who opposed unrestricted Jewish immigration to Palestine after World War II. His policies placed the Palestine question before the United Nations.
Israeli Declaration of Independence: The 1948 proclamation establishing the State of Israel as British rule in Palestine ended. The declaration followed the termination of the mandate and transformed the political map.
Palestinian nationalism: A national movement asserting the political identity and self-determination of the Palestinian people. It expressed opposition to dispossession and demands for Arab self-government in Palestine.

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