The All-Palestine Protectorate (), also known as All-Palestine, the Gaza Protectorate or the Gaza Strip, was a short-lived client state with limited recognition, corresponding to the area of the modern

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, that was established in the area captured by the Kingdom of Egypt during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and allowed to run as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

under the All-Palestine Government. The Protectorate was declared on 22 September 1948 in

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

, and the All-Palestine Government was formed. The President of the Gaza-seated administration was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the former chairman of the Arab Higher Committee, while the Prime Minister was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha. Spencer C. Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts. ''The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History: A Political, Social, and Military History'
p. 464
/ref> In December 1948, just three months after the declaration, the All-Palestine Government was relocated to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and was never allowed to return to Gaza, making it a government in exile. With a further resolution of the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

to put the Gaza Strip under the official protection of Egypt in 1952, the All-Palestine Government was gradually stripped of its authority. In 1953, the government was nominally dissolved, though the Palestinian Prime Minister, Hilmi Pasha, continued to attend Arab League meetings on its behalf. In 1959, the protectorate was ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' merged into the United Arab Republic, while '' de facto'' turning Gaza into a military occupation area of Egypt. There are differences of opinion as to whether the All-Palestine Protectorate was a puppet or façade of the Egyptian occupation, with negligible independent funding or influence, or whether it was a genuine attempt to establish an independent Palestinian state. Though the All-Palestine Government claimed jurisdiction over the entire territories of the former British

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, at no time did its effective jurisdiction extend beyond the Gaza Strip, with the West Bank annexed by Transjordan and Israel holding the rest. The All-Palestine Protectorate relied entirely on the Egyptian government for funding and on UNRWA to relieve the plight of the Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. During most of its existence, the All-Palestine Protectorate was under ''de facto'' Egyptian administration, though Egypt never made any claim to or annexed any Palestinian territory. Egypt did not offer the Gazan Palestinians citizenship. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and Egypt were issued All-Palestine passports, and those living in the Gaza Strip were not permitted to move freely into Egypt. However, these passports were only recognized by six Arab countries.

Name

According to Israeli academic Zvi Elpeleg, the term ''All-Palestine'' was coined to forestall any possible criticism by King Abdullah I of Jordan that the establishment of a Palestinian government meant acceptance of the partition plan.

History

Prelude

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

supervised the government of Palestine in Gaza as a trustee on behalf of the Arab League. An Egyptian Ministerial order dated 1 June 1948 declared that all laws in force during the Mandate would continue to be in force in the Gaza Strip. Another order issued on 8 August 1948 vested an Egyptian Administrator-General with the powers of the High Commissioner.

Formation

The protectorate was established in the Gaza enclave area captured by the Kingdom of Egypt during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. All-Palestine was declared on 22 September 1948 in

, and the All-Palestine Government was formed. The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha and the President was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of the Arab Higher Committee. In December 1948, just three months after the declaration, the All-Palestine Government was relocated to Cairo and was never allowed to return to Gaza, making it a government in exile. The Arab–Israeli War came to an end with the Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement of 24 February 1949, which fixed the boundaries of the Gaza Strip. The All-Palestine Government was not a party to the Agreement nor involved in its negotiation.

1948–1952

The All-Palestine Government was entirely relocated to Cairo in late October 1948 and became a government-in-exile, gradually losing any importance. Having a part in the All-Palestine Government, President al-Husseini also remained in exile at Heliopolis in Egypt throughout much of the 1950s.

Decline and dissolution

With further resolution of the Arab League to put the Gaza Strip under the official protectorate of Egypt in 1952, the All-Palestine Government was gradually stripped of authority. In 1953, the government was nominally dissolved, though the Palestinian Prime Minister Hilmi continued to attend Arab League meetings on its behalf. In 1959, the protectorate was ''de jure'' merged into the United Arab Republic, while '' de facto'' turning Gaza into military occupation area of Egypt.

Geography

The Gaza Strip was the only area of the former British Mandate territory that was under the nominal control of the All-Palestine Government. The rest of the British Mandate territory became either part of Israel or the West Bank, annexed by Transjordan (a move that was not recognized internationally, except by the United Kingdom).

Government and politics

Government

The All-Palestine Government was established by the

on 22 September 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to govern the All-Palestine protectorate. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan. Though jurisdiction of the Government was declared to cover the whole of the former

, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the All-Palestine Protectorate (Gaza Strip). Gelber, Y. ''Palestine, 1948''. Pp. 177–78 The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, and the President was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of the Arab Higher Committee. The new government had no administration, no civil service, no money, and no real army of its own. It formally adopted the Flag of the Arab Revolt that had been used by Arab nationalists since 1917 and revived the Holy War Army with the declared aim of liberating Palestine. The government was dissolved by Egypt in 1953, retaining only the Prime Minister office.

National Council

The All-Palestine National Council, officially ''Palestinian National Council (PNC)''.Elpeleg, Z. ''Why Was 'Independent Palestine' Never Created in 1948?''. MFA. 01 April 1989. was convened in Gaza on 1 October 1948, under the chairmanship of Amin al-Husayni. The Council passed a series of resolutions culminating on 1 October 1948 with a

Palestinian Declaration of Independence The Palestinian Declaration of Independence formally established the State of Palestine, and was written by Palestinians, Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat on 15 November 1988 (5 Rabi' al-Thani, Rabiʽ al-Thani 1409 ...

over the whole of Palestine, with

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

as its capital.''Palestine Yearbook of International Law 1987-1988'', Vol 4, by Anis F. Kassim, Kluwer Law International (1 June 1988), , p 294 The council served the legislative arm of the All-Palestine Protectorate.

Foreign relations

Recognition

Egypt, which manipulated its formation, recognized All-Palestine on 12 October, followed by Syria and Lebanon on 13 October, Saudi Arabia the 14th and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

on the 16th.

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

's decision to the same was made formally on the 12th, but was not made public. Both Great Britain and the US backed Jordan, the US saying that the mufti's role in World War II could be neither forgotten nor pardoned. Shortly thereafter, the Jericho Conference named King Abdullah I of Transjordan, "King of Arab Palestine". The Congress called for the union of Arab Palestine and Transjordan and Abdullah announced his intention to annex the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. The other Arab League member states opposed Abdullah's plan.

Passports

During most of its existence, the All-Palestine Protectorate was under '' de facto'' Egyptian administration, though Egypt never made any claim to or annexed any Palestinian territory. Egypt did not offer the Gazan Palestinians citizenship. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and Egypt were issued All-Palestine passports, and were not permitted to move freely into Egypt. However, these passports were only recognized by six Arab countries. The passports ceased to be issued when the All-Palestine Government was dissolved, though some countries continued to recognize them for some time.

Military

The All-Palestine Government revived the Holy War Army with the declared aim of "liberating

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

". The Army, however, never actually recovered from the defeat of the 1947–1949 Palestine War and was in fact a collection of Palestinian fedayeen militias. The militias often engaged in armed attacks on Israeli border areas in what became known as the Palestinian Fedayeen insurgency.

Legal status

Ernest A. Gross, a senior U.S. State Department legal adviser, authored a memorandum for the United States government titled ''Recognition of New States and Governments in Palestine'', dated 11 May 1948. He expressed the view that "The Arab and Jewish communities will be legally entitled on May 15, 1948 (the date of expiry of the British Mandate) to proclaim states and organize governments in the areas of Palestine occupied by the respective communities." Gross also said "the law of nations recognizes an inherent right of people lacking the agencies and institutions of social and political control to organize a state and operate a government."The memo is contained in the ''Foreign Relations of the United States 1948'', volume 5, part 2, p 964 and is cited by Stefan Talmon, in ''Recognition of Governments in International Law'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), p 36 Though this is a generally accepted principle of international law, Gross' opinion was only internal US government advice. In any event, the British Mandate did expire on 15 May 1948. Other than the Arab Higher Committee, which was re-established in 1945 by the

, the Palestinian Arab community had no government, and no administrative or unified military structure. It relied on the objective declared by the Arab League on 12 April 1948, and the expectation that the Arab armies would prevail over the Palestinian Jewish community. As the war progressed, however, the ineffectiveness of the Committee became obvious. When it appeared that the Arab forces would not defeat the Israeli forces (and with King Abdullah I of Transjordan taking steps to annex the West Bank), fresh political measures were taken in the form of resurrecting the All-Palestine Government. By the end of the war, however, the Arab Higher Committee had become politically irrelevant. There are differences of opinion as to whether the All-Palestine Protectorate was a mere puppet or façade of the Egyptian occupation, with negligible independent funding or influence, or whether it was a genuine attempt to establish an independent Palestinian state. Though the All-Palestine Government claimed jurisdiction over the whole former British Mandate of Palestine at no time did its effective jurisdiction extend beyond the Gaza Strip, with the West Bank annexed by Jordan and Israel holding the rest. The All-Palestine Protectorate relied entirely on the Egyptian government for funding and on UNRWA to relieve the plight of the Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. The All-Palestine Government relocated to

in late 1948, where it became a government in exile and gradually fell apart because of its impotence, four years later becoming a department of the Arab League. The protectorate finally dissolved in 1959 by decree of Nasser.

Dissolution and aftermath

In 1959, the protectorate was ''de jure'' merged into the United Arab Republic, while '' de facto'' turning Gaza into a military occupation area of Egypt. In 1957, the Basic Law of Gaza established a

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

that could pass laws which were given to the High Administrator-General for approval."From Occupation to Interim Accords", Raja Shehadeh, Kluwer Law International, 1997, pages 77–78; and Historical Overview, A. F. & R. Shehadeh Law Fir

In 1962, elections were held in the Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip, Egyptian-occupied Gaza and 22 Palestinian members were elected into the council.