From the 1880s to the 1930s, most Jewish land purchases were made in the coastal plain, the
Jezreel Valley, the
Jordan Valley and to a lesser extent the Galilee.
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1876
The first Ottoman parliament convenes in Constantinople; first Palestinian deputies from Jerusalem are elected.
1878
Peta Tikva, the first Zionist colony is established in Palestine.
1881-1888
The Ottoman government announces permission for foreign (non-Ottoman) Jews to settle throughout the Ottoman Empire, excluding Palestine. It allows foreign Jewish businessmen and pilgrims to visit Palestine but not to settle. In Paris, Baron Edmund the Rothschild financially backing of Jewish colonization in Palestine. The first wave of Zionist mass immigration to Palestine begins. The Ottoman government views Zionist colonization as in Palestine as a political problem and revokes permission to foreign Jewish businessmen to visit Palestine but not to Jewish pilgrims. European powers pressure the Ottoman government to allow foreign Jews to settle in Palestine, provided they do so singly and not en masse.
1891-1893
The German Jewish Baron Maurice de Hirsch founds the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA). The Ottoman government, concerned with Zionist colonization, forbids the sale of land to foreign Jews in Palestine. European powers pressure the Ottoman government to permit Jews legally resident in Palestine, to buy land provided they establish no colonies on it.
1897
The First Zionist Congress convening in Basel, Switzerland, Issue Basel program on colonization of Palestine and the establishment of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). Shortly after the congress, a Zionist delegation is sent to Palestine to explore the viability of settling Palestine with persecuted European Jews. The delegation reported back with a cable that stated: "The bride is beautiful, but she is married to another man."
1901- 1914
Pressured by European powers, the Ottoman Government allows foreign Jews to purchase land in northern Palestine. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is established as land acquisition organ of the WZO and decides that land acquired by the JNF is inalienable Jewish and exclusively Jewish labor is to be employed on it. This causes great distress among Palestinian administration, parliamentarians and citizens. The Jerusalem administration strongly objects to Zionist land acquisition in Jerusalem district. Various newspapers warn that Zionism seeks national sovereignty in Palestine. JCA representative Antebi states that “ill will of the local population coincides with the creation of Zionism”. Tensions develop between Zionist colonists and Palestinian farmers, occasionally resulting in clashes.
1914-1915
Outbreak of World War I. The Ottoman government sides with the German forces. Correspondence between Sharif Hussein of Mecca and Sir Henry Mc Mahon, British high commissioner in Egypt is understood by Arabs as ensuring post-war independence and unity of Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine.
1916
The signing of the secret Sykes-Picot agreement, which divides the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire between Britain and France. Sharif Hussein proclaims Arab independence from Ottoman rule, based on his correspondence with Mc Mahon. Arab revolt against Constantinople begins. In November Hussein is proclaimed ‘king of the Arabs’.
1917
British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sends a letter to Baron Lionel Walter de Rothschild pledging British support for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine (Balfour Declaration) In December Ottoman forces in Jerusalem surrender to Allied forces under command of General Sir Edmund Allenby.
1918
Whole of Palestine occupied by Allied forces under General Allenby. October 30th: the End of World War I.
1919
Paris Peace Conference decides Palestine will not be restored under Ottoman rule. The first Palestinian national Congress convenes in Jerusalem and rejects the Balfour declaration, demanding independence.
1921
The Haganah, a Zionist paramilitary organization is founded.
1922-1925
The League of Nations approves British mandate of Palestine without consent of the Palestinians. The first British census of Palestine shows population of 757,182, with 78% Muslim, 11% Jewish and 9.6% Christian. The Fifth Palestinian Congress agrees to the economic boycott of Zionists. Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky calls for forcible colonization of Palestine and Transjordan. A Palestinian general strike breaks out in protest of a private visit of James Balfour to Jerusalem.
1929-1930
First attempts are made by some Jewish religious leaders to change the status quo at the Wailing Wall. Zionist militants demonstrate by the Wailing Wall. Riots break out in several towns in reaction. In resulting clashes, 133 Jews are killed and 339 wounded; 116 Palestinians are killed and 232 wounded, mostly at hands of British military. The Islamic Conference demands protection of Muslim property rights at Wailing Wall. The League of Nations Council appoints an international commission to investigate legal status of Palestinians and Jews at Wailing Wall.
1931
The second British census of Palestine shows total population of 1,035,154 with 73.4% Muslim, 16.9% Jewish and 8.6% Christian.
1933-1935
Several Palestinian political parties are founded, such as Istiqlal (Independence), the Palestine Arab Party and the Reform party. The Arab Executive Committee calls for general strike to protest British pro-Zionist policies, especially the sponsorship of Zionist mass immigration. Disturbances break out in the main towns.
1935
Revisionist groups quit the World Zionist Organization and form the New Zionist Organization which aims to forcibly ‘liberate’ Palestine and Transjordan. Revisionists and dissidents from Haganah found the military organization Irgun, with Vladimir Jabotinsky as commander-in-chief. Large quantities of arms smuggled from Belgium by Zionist groups are discovered at Jaffa port.
Leaders of Palestinian political parties submit a joint memorandum to the British High Commissioner requesting cessation of Zionist mass immigration and land acquisition, and to establish a government based on proportional representation.
1936-1937
The High Commissioner proposes the establishment of a 28-member Legislative Council with Palestinians holding only 14 seats; Palestinians accept in principle. Pro-Zionist members of the British House of Commons defeat it. The Conference of Palestinian National Committees calls for no taxation without representation. Great rebellion begins. British military reinforcement is brought to Palestine. Irgun carries out armed attacks on Palestinians, through bomb blasts in busses, markets and cafés. Palestinian militants respond with bombs and mines.
1939
Malcom MacDonald, Colonial Secretary of State, issues the White Paper of 1939 promising: conditional independence for unitary Palestinian state after ten years; admission of 15,000 Jewish immigrants annually into Palestine for five years, with immigration after that subject to ‘Arab acquiescence’. The plan also encompasses protection of Palestinian land rights against Zionist acquisition. The Stern Gang, formed under Avraham Stern by dissident Irgunists, in protest against 1939 White Paper policy, calls for alliance with Axis powers in war against British.
World War II breaks out.