By David Singer ——Bio and Archives--April 6, 2014
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Transjordan remained subject to the Mandate for Palestine from 1920 until 1946. It was only the provisions of the Mandate relating to the reconstitution of the Jewish National Home in Palestine that were "postponed or withheld" in Transjordan under article 25 of the Mandate--as this Note presented by the Secretary General to the League of Nations clearly stated:"In the application of the Mandate to Transjordan, the action which, in Palestine, is taken by the Administration of the latter country will be taken by the Administration of Transjordan under the general supervision of the Mandatory. His Majesty's Government accept full responsibility as Mandatory for Transjordan, and undertake that such provision as may be made for the administration of that territory in accordance with Article 25 of the Mandate shall be in no way inconsistent with those provisions of the Mandate which are not by this resolution declared inapplicable."The seeds for an independent Jew-free Arab State in 78% of Palestine had thus been planted by Great Britain in 1922. Transjordan achieved its eventual independence on May 25, 1946 - whilst the remaining 22% of Palestine continued to be subject to the Mandate until 1948.
The Arab Legion was formed in Transjordan in 1923 and financed by Britain and commanded by British officers under Captain Frederick Peake. Transjordan was always included in the annual Report for the Mandate for Palestine presented to the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission.
Immigration from Transjordan was not illegal, and was not recorded as immigration at all until 1938.
An early nineteenth-century Egyptian historian, 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Jabarti, referred to the inhabitants of El Arish in the Sinai Peninsula as Syrians. Palestine was called Southern Syria first in French, then in other languages, including Arabic. ... ...Indeed, from the moment Prince Faysal set up a government in Damascus in October 1918, he stressed that Palestine was a part of Syria. At the Paris Peace Conference, where the British, French and Americans sorted out their interests after the war, Faysal called Palestine his "right hand" and promised to work for it as he would for Syria and Iraq. "I assure you, according to the wishes of its people, Palestine will be a part of Syria." Three months later, Faysal wrote General Edmund Allenby that Palestine "is an inseperable [sic] part of Syria."
Kamel's claim is refuted by article 2 of the PLO Charter which states that "Palestine with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate is an indivisible territorial unit."Negotiations between Jordan and Israel have now become the only answer to avoiding renewed conflict and violence between Jews and Arabs. Kerry is kidding himself if he thinks otherwise.
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David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com