The Palestinian mountain region and Zionist settlement policy, 1882–1948

Abstract

The Palestinian mountain region, situated lengthwise astride three parts of Palestine-Judea, Samaria and the Galilee, accounts for 34 per cent of the territories in Western Palestine (2,262,075 acres out of 6,752,250 acres). If we exclude the then sparsely populated Negev desert, the mountain region constitutes 60 per cent of the Palestinian territories. Its altitude varies and climbs in certain areas to over 1,000 meters above sea level.' Zionist agricultural settlement, from its inception at the close of nineneeth century until the establishment of the states of Israel in 1948, barely penetrated into this area, which comprised such a large portion of Palestinian territory. The Zionist Movement clearly preferred to settle Palestine's plains and valleys. Zionist settlement policy shifted at the end of the 1930s and attempted to penetrate the mountain region. However, in spite of these efforts, the penetration achieved was quite limited. This was reflected in the 1947 UN map proposing the partition of Palestine as a definitive solution to the Jewish-Arab conflict. This partition was based amongst other things on the paucity of the Jewish settlement in the Palestine mountain region.2 The goal of this article (which is based on rich primary materials) is to analyze and summarize the role which Zionist settlement policy accorded to the mountain region of Palestine during the years 1882-1948. This article will attempt to answer conclusively the following questions: what were the factors which prompted Zionist settlement policy to neglect the mountain region for many years; what were the changed circumstances which induced the Zionist Movement to penetrate the mountain region at the close of the 1930s; and what practical measures were employed by the Zionist Movement to overcome the settlement difficulties which the mountain area posed?