In the last two centuries, especially towards the end of Ottoman rule, Palestinian territories fell prey to the aspirations of Western powers. This coincided with the emergence of the Zionist movement, whose activists hastened to launch a campaign to purchase land in Palestine for the benefit of Jews coming from Europe.
In 1868, the Ottoman state, under pressure from European countries, the Ottomans issued a law allowing foreigners, whether individuals or institutions or companies, to own land throughout the Ottoman Empire.
The beginnings of Jewish ownership in Ottoman territories date back to 1855 when Moses Montefiore obtained a decree from Sultan Abdul Majid allowing him to own a piece of land in the Moza area near Jerusalem. He established a Jewish neighbourhood known as the Montefiore neighbourhood.
Foreign colonies in Palestine served as the core and “nucleus” for Zionist penetration into the country. By 1914, the number of Jewish colonies in Palestine reached around 47, scattered over an area of 400,000 dunams. By the end of Ottoman rule, the Jewish-owned land in Palestinian territories amounted to 2.5 million dunams. (dunam is a measure of land area used in parts of the former Turkish empire, including Israel (where it is equal to about 900 square meters).
Under British mandate, Jewish ownership of Palestinian land became more facilitated due to laws imposed by the mandate, negatively impacting the land areas that Arab farmers were allowed to own.
At the end of the mandate and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Jewish-owned land in Palestinian territories amounted to 2.075 million dunams. (a measure of land area used in parts of the former Turkish empire, including Israel (where it is equal to about 900 square metres).