Village Statistics 1945: A Classification of Land and Area Ownership in Palestine (ص 30)
غرض
- عنوان
- Village Statistics 1945: A Classification of Land and Area Ownership in Palestine (ص 30)
- المحتوى
-
30
Village Statistics 1945
in the way intended. At land settlement, rivers, wadis, and drainage
channels have been registered in this category as lands controlled by
Government on behalf of the community.’”
Some explanation is necessary as to why lands falling in the matruka
category were registered at land settlement in the name of the High Com-
missioner and later appeared under the column of ‘Public’ in the ‘Village
Statistics’ :
In 1926, the Palestine Government enacted the Land Settlement Ordi-
nance providing for the settlement of title to land. The procedure then
adopted was that mafruz (individually-owned) and masha’ (owned in part-
nership) land would be registered in the name of the owner in whole or in
shares as the case may be. But in regard to other lands, these were to be
treated as follows:
(a) Government privately-owned property (such as offices, hospitals,
police buildings, post offices, agricultural nurseries, etc.) ; forests and areas
reserved therefor; public highways and railway tracks — Registered in the
name of ‘The High Commissioner for the time being in trust for the Govern-
ment of Palestine.’
(b) The common Jands of the village used for grazing of cattle and
fuel gathering, village roads, schools, public threshing floors, cemeteries,
wadis (water-beds) — Registered in the name of ‘the Mukhtar (headman) for
the time being in trust for the village.’
Following the completion of land settlement operations in the first group
of villages, the Mukhtar of a Jewish settlement exercised control over the stretch
of village road running through his settlement on the grounds that it was
the private property of the Jewish settlement. He prohibited passage of cars
on the Sabbath and charged a fee during weekdays on through-traffic to the
surrounding Arab villages.
A committee (comprising the Commissioner of Lands, the Director of
Land Registries, the Director of Surveys and a representative of the Attorney-
General with this writer acting as Secretary) met to consider the situation
which had arisen. It was finally decided that the way to overcome the prob-
lem was to register all lands of the matruka category in the name of the High
Commissioner, A few exceptions were, however, made in regard to village
schools, threshing floors and cemeteries.
No objection was raised by the Arab villagers at the time because they
were in physical occupation of their ‘common lands’ and were aware that if
any improvement were made by Government in them, that would be for the
general benefit of the village. It was never countenanced that a situation
would ever arise whereby the villagers would be deprived of their lands and
(1) A Survey of Palestine 1945-1946, Vol. I, Chapter VIII, pp. 255-256. - تاريخ
- سبتمبر ١٩٧٠
- المنشئ
- Hadawi, Sami
- هداوي، سامي
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