The Role of the External Factors in Constituting the Palestinian Elite in the Late Ottoman Empire (the 19th Century) and During the Mandate

Abstract

This study tackles the issue of the Palestinian leaders and elite over two connected periods: the 19th century (the late Ottoman period), and the British mandate period. The study comes under the historical analytical studies that seeks to analyze and explain the historical events. It seeks to answer the following question: to what extent did the external factors contribute and affect the formation and the emergence of the Palestinian elite in the late ottoman period and during the British mandate period? The study is based on a hypothesis says that the political, social and economical transformations which the Palestinian community exposed to in the turn of the 19th century, came under the impact of the external factors and interventions, which highly affected the formation and the emergence of the Palestinian elite.