User:John Z/drafts/Definitions of Palestine

[edit]

Is Jordan part of Palestine?

Before the establishment of the British mandate (see below), most of the area that is today Jordan was part of the Ottoman Vilayet of Syria, the southern part of Jordan was part of the Vilayet of Hejaz. Throughout most of history the rift valley comprising Wadi Arabah, the Dead Sea and River Jordan has formed a political and administrative frontier, even within empires which controlled both territories. The exception was during the period of the Caliphate when what is today southern Israel/Palestine and southern Jordan were termed Al Jund al Filasteen and the northern parts of these land as Al Jund al Urdun.

In March 1921, most of modern Jordan was added to /incorporated into the planned League of Nations mandate territory termed "Palestine" or the "British Mandate for Palestine", which had previously contained only the area west of the Jordan - Palestine proper versus "(Trans)Jordan"

XXX In 1920, most of modern Jordan was incorporated into the planned League of Nations mandate territory termed Palestine. XXXXX

Jordan cannot, thus, be considered part of historical Palestine.

[edit]

British Mandate of Palestine

Between March 1921 and 1948, the term Palestine referred ambiguously to the entire British Mandate of Palestine containing TransJordan or more commonly to the western quarter of it, Palestine proper. This referred to all of what is now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and was used by both Arabs and Jews without any ethnic connotations. For example, the Jerusalem Post, a Jewish Israeli newspaper, was known as the Palestine Post from its founding in 1932 until 1950. British Mandate Palestine included modern Jordan as well (apart from the Aqaba and Maan districts) after March 1921; Prior to this - from the beginning of the civil administration of the Mandate in June 1920 under Herbert Samuel the provisional border of the Mandate was the Jordan River. The confusing events of 1921 and 1922 have often been called the division or partition of Palestine. This is incorrect and has no documentary basis because before the Cairo Conference of March 1921, TransJordan was not included in Palestine. which revised the draft of the Palestine Mandate to include provisions allowing