All-Palestine Protectorate | |||||||||
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| 1948–1959 | |||||||||
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 Land controlled by theAll-Palestine Government shown in dark green; land claimed but not controlled shown in light green. | |||||||||
| Status | Partially recognizedprotectorate of theKingdom of Egypt and later theRepublic of Egypt | ||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||
| Administrative center | Gaza City(1948) Cairo(1949–59) | ||||||||
| Official languages | Arabic | ||||||||
| Local vernacular | Palestinian Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion |
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| Demonym | Palestinian Arab[3] | ||||||||
| Government | Semi-presidential republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1948 | Amin al-Husseini | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1948 | Ahmed Hilmi Pasha | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Established | 22 September 1948 | ||||||||
| 1949 | |||||||||
• Arab League places Gaza Strip under official aegis of Egypt[4] | 1952 | ||||||||
• Government dissolved (except Prime Minister's post)[5] | 1953 | ||||||||
| 1956 | |||||||||
• Disestablished | 1959 | ||||||||
• Area ofGaza Strip | 365 km2[6] | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• Estimate | 5,483,450[7] | ||||||||
| Currency | Egyptian pound | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | PS | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Gaza Strip | ||||||||
TheAll-Palestine Protectorate (Arabic:محمية عموم فلسطين; 22 September 1948–1959), also known asAll-Palestine or theGaza Protectorate, was a short-livedclient state with limited recognition, corresponding to the area of the modernGaza Strip, established in the areas of formerMandatory Palestine captured by theKingdom of Egypt during the1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Protectorate was declared on 22 September 1948 inGaza City, and theAll-Palestine Government was formed. The President of the Gaza-seated administration wasHajj Amin al-Husseini, the former chairman of theArab Higher Committee, while the Prime Minister wasAhmed Hilmi Pasha.[2] In December 1948, just three months after the declaration, the All-Palestine Government was relocated toCairo and was never allowed to return to Gaza, making it agovernment in exile. With a further resolution of theArab League 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, HilmiPasha, continued to attend Arab League meetings on its behalf.[5] In 1959, the protectorate wasde jure merged into theUnited Arab Republic, whilede facto turning Gaza into amilitary occupation area of Egypt.
While ade facto Egyptian puppet state since its inception, there are differences of opinion as to whether the All-Palestine Protectorate represented an abortive but genuine attempt at an independent Palestinian Arab state, or if it was simply a façade for an Egyptian occupation of part or all of formerMandatory Palestine right from the get-go. Though the All-Palestine Government claimed jurisdiction over the entire territories of the former BritishMandatory Palestine, at no time did its effective jurisdiction extend beyond the Gaza Strip, with theWest Bank annexed by Transjordan and Israel holding the rest. The All-Palestine Protectorate relied entirely on the Egyptian government for funding and onUNRWA to relieve the plight of thePalestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. During most of its existence, the All-Palestine Protectorate was underde 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.
According to Israeli academicZvi Elpeleg, the termAll-Palestine was coined to forestall any possible criticism byKing Abdullah I of Jordan that the establishment of a Palestinian government meant acceptance of the partition plan.[8]
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Egypt supervised the government of Palestine in Gaza as a trustee on behalf of the Arab League.[9] 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.
The protectorate was established in the Gaza enclave area captured by theKingdom of Egypt during the1948 Arab–Israeli War. All-Palestine was declared on 22 September 1948 inGaza City, and the All-Palestine Government was formed. The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration wasAhmed Hilmi Pasha and the President wasHajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of theArab Higher Committee.[2] 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 agovernment in exile.
The Arab–Israeli War came to an end with theIsrael-Egypt Armistice Agreement of 24 February 1949, which fixed the boundaries of the Gaza Strip.[10] The All-Palestine Government was not a party to the Agreement nor involved in its negotiation.
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.
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.[5] In 1959, the protectorate wasde jure merged into theUnited Arab Republic, whilede facto turning Gaza intomilitary occupation area of Egypt.
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 theWest Bank, annexed by Transjordan (a move that was not recognized internationally, except by the United Kingdom).
TheAll-Palestine Government was established by theArab League on 22 September 1948 during the1948 Arab–Israeli War to govern the All-Palestine protectorate. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members exceptTransjordan. Though jurisdiction of the Government was declared to cover the whole of the formerMandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the All-Palestine Protectorate (Gaza Strip).[12] The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration wasAhmed Hilmi Pasha, and the President wasHajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of theArab Higher Committee.[2]
The new government had no administration, no civil service, no money, and no real army of its own. It formally adopted theFlag of the Arab Revolt that had been used by Arab nationalists since 1917 and revived theHoly War Army with the declared aim of liberating Palestine. The government was dissolved by Egypt in 1953, retaining only the Prime Minister office.[5]
TheAll-Palestine National Council, officiallyPalestinian National Council (PNC).[13] was convened in Gaza on 1 October 1948,[13] under the chairmanship ofAmin al-Husayni. The Council passed a series of resolutions culminating on 1 October 1948 with aPalestinian Declaration of Independence over the whole of Palestine, withJerusalem as its capital.[14] The council served the legislative arm of the All-Palestine Protectorate.
Egypt, which manipulated its formation, recognized All-Palestine on 12 October, followed by Syria and Lebanon on 13 October, Saudi Arabia the 14th andYemen on the 16th.Iraq'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 thatAmin al-Husseini's close ties to theAxis powers in World War II could be neither forgotten nor pardoned.[15]
Shortly thereafter, theJericho Conference namedKing Abdullah I ofTransjordan, "King of Arab Palestine".[16] The Congress called for the union of Arab Palestine and Transjordan and Abdullah announced his intention toannex theWest Bank. The other Arab Leaguemember states opposed Abdullah's plan.
During most of its existence, the All-Palestine Protectorate was underde 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.
The All-Palestine Government revived theHoly War Army with the declared aim of "liberatingPalestine". The Army, however, never actually recovered from the defeat of the1947–1949 Palestine War and was in fact a collection ofPalestinian fedayeen militias. The militias often engaged in armed attacks on Israeli border areas in what became known as thePalestinian Fedayeen insurgency.
Ernest A. Gross, a senior U.S. State Department legal adviser, authored a memorandum for the United States government titledRecognition 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."[17]
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 theArab Higher Committee, which was re-established in 1945 by theArab League, 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 thePalestinian 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 theAll-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 theAll-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 onUNRWA to relieve the plight of thePalestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. The All-Palestine Government relocated toCairo in late 1948, where it became agovernment in exile and gradually fell apart because of its impotence, four years later becoming a department of the Arab League. The protectorate was finally dissolved in 1959 by decree of Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser.
In 1959, the protectorate wasde jure merged into theUnited Arab Republic, whilede facto turning Gaza into amilitary occupation area of Egypt.
In 1957, the Basic Law of Gaza established aLegislative Council that could pass laws which were given to the High Administrator-General for approval.[18] In 1962, elections were held in theEgyptian-occupied Gaza and 22 Palestinian members were elected into the council.
