Mandatory Palestine passports were

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the be ...

s issued by British authorities in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

to residents between 1925 and 1948. The first brown-covered passport appeared around 1927, following the issue of the

Palestinian Citizenship Order, 1925 The Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925 was a law of Mandatory Palestine that created a Palestinian citizenship for residents of the territory of Palestine Mandate. It was announced on 24 July 1925 and came into force on 1 August 1925.Official Ga ...

. From 1926 to 1935 alone approximately 70,000 of such travel documents were issued.

Before 1925 citizenship law

Before the citizenship law of 1925, the Government of Palestine issued British passports to those with British nationality, and two types of travel document to others: # A Provisional Certificate of Palestinian Nationality was available to persons who had indicated their intention to become Mandatory Palestine's citizens and live in Palestine, provided they were born in Palestine, their father was born in Palestine, or they were an "ex-Russian subject who compulsorily acquired Ottoman nationality in Palestine during the recent war".Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 116, 1 June 1924, pp. 690–692. The wives of such people were also eligible from late 1924.Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 127, 15 November 1924, pp. 908–909. # An emergency Laissez-passer. An ordinance allowing the High Commissioner to issue passports to Mandatory Palestine's citizens was promulgated soon afterwards.

Status of residents: 1925 law

The status of Mandatory Palestine's citizenship was not legally defined until 1925. Mandatory Palestine's citizenship and the various means of obtaining it was defined in an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

of 24 July 1925.Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 147, 16 September 1925, pp. 460–466. Turkish subjects habitually resident in Palestine (excluding Transjordan) on the first day of August 1925 automatically became citizens unless they opted to reject it. Many other classes of people were able to apply for citizenship, which would be granted at the discretion of the High Commissioner. Although the nature of Mandatory Palestine's citizenship had been debated within the British government since 1920, the main reason it was delayed was that Turkish citizens were officially enemy aliens until the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the confl ...

was ratified in 1923.

Rights

Palestinian citizens had the right of abode in Palestine, but were not

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

s, and were instead considered

British protected person A British protected person (BPP) is a member of a class of British nationality associated with former protectorates, protected states, and territorial mandates and trusts under British control. Individuals with this nationality are British n ...

After 1948

Mandatory Palestine passports ceased to be valid on the termination of the Mandate on 15 May 1948. Even so, in the early 1950s,

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

officials described the "worn dog-eared Palestine passport issued in Mandate days by a government that no longer legally exists" as "mementos of identity that were treasured by refugees".

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

All-Palestine Government , image = , caption = Flag of the All-Palestine Government , date = 22 September 1948 , state = All-Palestine Protectorate , address = Gaza City, All-Palestine Protectorate (Sep.–Dec. 1948 ...

passports and Jordanian passports were offered to former British Mandate subjects according to the citizenship they acquired in the aftermath of the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form Britis ...

. A significant number of Arab Palestinians, especially in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and those who found refuge in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, remained stateless.

Sources

''Palestine Nationality and the Mandate''
(1939)

References

Defunct passports

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...