1966 Sabbagh / PLO Research Center Wall Map of Palestine in 1948

A large wall map of Palestine as it appeared in 1948, in the waning days of the British Mandate, produced by the Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center c. 1966. The map's compilation was overseen by Said Kamel Sabbagh, an accomplished Palestinian-Lebanese geographer, and it became the PLO's approved reference map for the Mandatory period.

A Closer Look

The sheet presents four maps, with the largest at left being a topographical map of Palestine, with elevations documented throughout in Eastern Arabic numerals. The elevations below sea level around the Dead Sea are particularly noteworthy. Aside from elevation, roads (red lines, with single dashed lines for roads under consideration), international boundaries, telegraph lines (parallel solid and dashed lines), railways, cities, villages, waterways, and terrain are indicated.

At right, three additional maps appear. At top is a political map of Palestine in 1948, below that is a map displaying Palestine within the wider Arab World, and at bottom is a continuation of the main map, illustrating the southernmost portion of Palestine (Negev or an-Naqab, known to the Mandate authorities as Beersheba sub-district).

British Mandatory Palestine

Mandatory Palestine was established in 1920, following World War I (1914 - 1918). During the First World War, an Arab uprising against Ottoman rule and the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force drove the Ottoman Turks out of the Levant (the flag of the Arab Revolt, known as the flag of Hejaz, is the basis for the Palestinian flag which appears here). The British initially agreed to honor Palestinian independence, but ultimately took full control of the region. The Mandate had mixed results. It led to American and European academic and religious activity, unchecked Zionist land purchases and immigration, and a rise in Arab nationalism. Three years after the beginning of World War II (1939 - 1945) and the end of the Arab Revolt (1936 - 1939), Mandatory Palestine was in tumult. The Arab Revolt called for the end of British administration and Arab independence in Palestine, as well as a cessation of open-ended Jewish immigration. Although the revolt was suppressed, Arab resentment towards both Western powers and Zionists only increased, contributing to many of the issues that still destabilize the region.

Nakba

In 1948, Palestine became a global focal point marked by the dissolution of the British Mandate and the declaration of the State of Israel. These events spurred the 1948 Palestine War, or as it is known in Israel the War of Independence. For Palestinians it is the opening phase of the Nakba or 'Catastrophe', in which roughly 80% of the Palestinian population was forced into exile. The Palestine War was immediately followed by the Arab-Israeli War (May 15, 1948 – Mar 10, 1949), involving neighboring Arab states opposed to Israel. By the end of the conflict, Israel had expanded its territory beyond the UN's partition, with a significant portion of the Palestinian Arab population made stateless or forced into exile. The events of 1948 laid the foundation for the ongoing ethnic and religious conflict in Israel-Palestine and wider regional destabilization.

Publication History and Census

This map was produced by the Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center - منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية. مركز الابحاث, بيروت - in Beirut and was overseen by Said Kamel Sabbagh - سعيد كامل الصباغ. It is undated and the few catalog listings that exist disagree on the date. As the PLO Research Center was founded in 1966, it can date no earlier, but as Sabbagh died in 1967, it is unlikely to have been published much past that date. The only known institutional holdings of this map are with the American University of Beirut, the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut, and the National Library of Israel.