Nablus Municipality Under The British Mandate (1918 -1948)

Nablus Municipality Under The British Mandate (1918 -1948) PDF

Saadeh Ali Saadeh Ali

Supervisor(s)

Prof. Nezam Izat Abbasi -

Discussion Commity

151 صفحة

Abstract :

Nablus was one of the Palestinian cities that belong to the group of the Kanaa 'neet cities .It took its name from the people and tribes who lived there. It's said that Skeim and Neyablos and Damascus the small. It is judged by many people and countries who influenced in a way or another on its history with out losing its original Kanaa'neet nature. It took its importance from its important geographical site which gave special quality that distinguished it from all other Palestinian cities, mentioned in many of the Arab and Muslim books. They praise it and described its beauty and its good climate, its much wealth and its plentiful water, even some had sung in it. The Utmans entered it in 1516, like all other cities in Syria and they put their famous men and joined them to their states and with the end of the judgment, it became centre for the district and the government. In the middle of the 19th century, the administrative reformity process covered it and it's adopted by the Uthman government, among them, establishing Municipalities in the cities of the Uthman state. In 1868, the first Municipal council was established presided over by Refa't Tufaha ,it comes after Jerusalem and the Uthmans issued many laws and systems in order to organize its council, to become after all an internal system showed the way of choosing the administrative staff and the right for nomination and other works. The Municipal council (presided by 27 persons from 1868-1918) was enabled to carry out several works which have a great influence on the development and prosperity of the city, on top, building schools, cleanness, improving lightning and maintaining the water springs. On the 21st of Sept.,1918, the British occupied the city of Nablus, they changed its administrative condition to fit their colonial plans and to go with the greed of the Zionist movement. To establish a home for the Jews in Palestine, once made it follow the district, another made it a centre for the district and they tried to capture on its Municipal council which they considered it a little and a front for the city, so they appointed a court martial to the city to have the first and the last word considering the public life in the city. Despite the British tries to capture and control the council, but it kept its national belonging and it led the political struggle movement in the city and adopted it, and achieved many achievements in the field of services and they improved lightning, roads, water and schools, besides looking after the matter of cleanness which formed a burden on the council after the Mandate Government left it. After the death of the chief of the council Omar Zu'eter in 1924, the council entered a new phase, which the political divisions and events on the yard of the national work a great influence on it. In 1925, the process of electing the council took place and two blocs were completed on its administrative staff. The bloc of Sulaiman Tuqan won it putting himself the trench of opposition to preside the Palestinian National Movement Haj Amin Hussaini which negatively influenced on the relation of the Municipal Council with the national forces. The council in this period between (1915-1934) could do many achievements and the city was connected by a net Work of electrical lightning and a net work of pipe line was also used. In 1934 the Mandate Government announced making new elections for the council, the only nominative was Sulaiman Tuqan and his bloc who were officially announced as winners in recommendation. His period which continued between 1934- 1948 was distinguished by the decrease in the standard of his achievements, it seemed that the reason for that refers to the events of the second world war and its results, also the growth of the Palestinian Resistant Movement in which the Mandate government used the policy of Iron firt which weakened the council abilities.

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