British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 723

CHAPTER XVI.

In his interim report for 1920-21 (op. cit.) be bad noted :

“The methods of agriculture are, for the most part, primitive; the area of land now cultivated could yield a far greater production. There are in addition large cultivable areas that are left untilled".

The village lists for 1943 (prepared for fiscal purposes) show the following distribution of land in Arab ownership or occupation :-

Arab area Total area
Dunums Dunums
Citrus 145,572 286,760
Bananas 2,800 8,780
Plantations 1,079,788 1,175,302
Cereals (taxable) 3,911,482 4,658,949
Cereals (untaxable) 900,294 951,848
Total 6,089,486 7,076,084

The Beersheba sub-district, the Huleh concession area, urban and built-up areas and the areas of state domain, 660 sq. kms., and land classified as uncultivable, are not included in the foregoing table. The Beersheba sub-district supports a population estimated at some 80,000 Arabs, and the Huleh concession area Jews only. Thus the Arab rural population of 734,000 (excluding the Beersheba figure) subsists on the 6,039 sq. kms. shown in the above table plus some 5,330 sq. kms. of land classed as uncultivable. It was estimated .in. a congestion survey undertaken in 1928 that 23 per cent of the Arab rural population was living on laud of the latter category and there is no reason to surmise that the proportion has materially altered. The figures in the above table are, however, primarily of interest in relation to Lord Samuel's account of conditions during the early years of the British occupation. The groups into which the land was subsequently divided for fiscal purposes were on a descending scale of economic returns and this categorization indicates that in fact the greater part of land in Arab use is maintained in a reasonable condition of productivity, in contradistinction to the state described by Lord Samuel. It will be noted that approximately one fifth of the Arab area recorded in the table is subject to forms of cultivation more permanent than those required for dry-farming in cereals.

200. The rapid progress made by the Arab population in improvement of the land during the years following Lord Samuel's report may be illustrated with reference to olive and citrus plantations; similar development is to be observed in the case of vines and figs. Between 1925 and 1930, approximately 857 ,000 olive trees were planted,. -The effect-on- production is deferred, as the yield does

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