British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 243

CHAPTERE VIII.

51. The increase in Land Registry revenue is primarily due to substantial rises in land values as the fees are, in most cases, ad valorem on the market value of the land affected. Interesting incidents of spectacular rises are afforded in the maritime plain where unimproved fertile land capable of irrigation with water obtainable at a reasonable depth, say, fifty metres, has risen from £P.5 to £P.40 per dunum in the last five years. Similar rises have taken place in buildings and building plots in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv where vacant business sites in central positions have changed hands up to £P .100 per square metre. Substantial rises have also occurred in urban land ripe for building development in close vicinity to the larger towns where prices have advanced from £P.400 per dunum to £P.3000 per dunum during the past five years.

52. Between the opening of the Land Registries in October, 1920, and 31st December, 1945, Jews have purchased and registered a net area of 938,365 dunums. The assumption that they owned 650,000 dunurns prior to October, 1920, is generally accepted. The total area now owned by them may, therefore, be put at about 1,588,000 dunums; this figure does not, however, include lands which are occupied by Jews, as legal tenants or otherwise, but of which the ownership is not registered in the Land Registries in the names of Jews. Table 1 at the end of this section shows the areas registered annually under Jewish ownership since October, 1920.

It should be explained that the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayerneth Leisrael Ltd.) is prohibited by its statutes from selling any land, as all property is to be held in trust for the .T ewish people". The Hemnuta, which is a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund, enjoys freedom of disposition and bolds land which is intended for ultimate transfer to principals for whom the Fund is merely an agent or for exchange for consolidation or other purposes.

Table 2 shows the holdings of large Jewish land owners, being those holding 5000 dunurus or more.

The areas owned by• Jews (and shown as such in the Land Registries) in the three zones defined in the Land Transfers Regulations, 1940, are approximately as follows: in zone 'A', 409,000 dunums: in zone 'B', 560,000 dunums; and in the "free" zone, 620,000 dunums.

Areas given above are in respect of land owned by Jews and do not include areas leased by Jews from non-Jews.
_________________________
* Vide Leviticus, XXV, 8, 23, 29•30.

Page 243