Genesis of Nationality and Migration in Palestine and Israel 1917-1925

Abstract

This paper addresses the status of the inhabitants of the territory that became known as “Palestine” (which had been part of the Ottoman-Turkish Empire since 1516), from the beginning of the British occupation on 9 December 1917 until the enforcement of the Palestinian Citizenship Order1 on 1 August 1925, from an international law standpoint. Pursuing a historical-legal approach, this study looks at the transitional years which the inhabitants of Palestine underwent after the detachment of their territory from Turkish rule. The study aims to clarify the origins of the nationality of the inhabitants of Palestine and of Israel in an attempt to understand the various statuses that emerged, or were created, in the subsequent periods. A number of these statuses, in law and practice, are yet to be definitively determined, until the present day. I here argue that the present “status” of the “Palestinians”, including the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as Palestinian refugees, cannot be understood without going to the root of that status.