Jewish Migration
In 1839, according to the Jewish Montefiore, the number of Jews did not exceed 6,000, approximately 2% of the more than 300,000 Arab Palestinians at that time.
The year 1880 witnessed the arrival of the first wave of Jewish immigrants, numbering around 25,000. In 1914, the Ottoman authorities conducted the first census of Palestine, revealing a total population of about 289,000, including 634,000 Arabs and 55,000 Jews, constituting only 8%.
When the United Nations issued the resolution to partition Palestine in November 1947, the population of Palestine was 1.97 million. Two-thirds of them (1.36 million) were Arabs, and the remaining third (614,000) were Jews. The majority of the Arabs were predominantly Muslim (86,000), with the rest mostly Christians. By the end of the British Mandate in 1948, the Jewish population was estimated at around 650,000, representing 31.5%.
This table illustrates the population dynamics of Palestine from 1914 to 1948.
| Year | Source | Arabic Population | Jewish Population |
| 1914 | Ottoman Government Estimates | 634,633 | 55,142 |
| 1922 | 1922 Census | 668,594 | 83,794 |
| 1931 | 1931 Census | 861,211 | 174,610 |
| 1944 | British Mandate Estimates | 1,210,922 | 528,702 |
| 1947 | Mandate Government Estimates | 1,363,387 | 614,239 |
| 1948 | British Mandate Estimates | 1,415,000 | 650,000 |
The table shows the population of Arabs and Jews in Palestine from 1914 to 1948. The data is from the Ottoman government, the British Mandate government, and censuses.
As you can see, the Arab population grew steadily over the period, while the Jewish population grew more rapidly. In 1914, there were about 634,000 Arabs and 55,000 Jews in Palestine. By 1948, there were about 1.4 million Arabs and 650,000 Jews.
The growth of the Jewish population was due to immigration. In the early 20th century, many Jews immigrated to Palestine from Europe, fleeing persecution and seeking a homeland. The arrival of these immigrants led to conflict between Jews and Arabs, which eventually culminated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
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 meters).