In spite of this action, however, Transjordan remained in every way part of the Palestine Mandate. The Mandate laws remained in effect in Transjordan, and Palestine Mandate currency was the legal tender. Jews in western Palestine as well as Arabs in East and West Palestine carried Palestine Mandate passports (1). It was only 24 years later, in 1946, that Britain unilaterally granted Transjordan its independence. (2) With By granting Transjordan's independence, the British had partitioned Palestine and created an independent Palestine-Arab state east of the Jordan River.

1. Article 7 of the Mandate for Palestine stipulated the "acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine": Hurewitz,op. cit., p. 306. 
2. For the text of Secretary Bevin's speech to the U.N. General Assembly proclaiming Transjordan's independence, see The New York Times, Jan. 18, 1946.

 

 

Share           PRINT   
16 Apr 2015 / 27 Nisan 5775 0