All-Palestine Government

All-Palestine Government
Arabic: حكومة عموم فلسطين
Flag of the All-Palestine Government
Overview
Established	22 September 1948 – June 1959
State	All-Palestine Protectorate
Leader	Prime Minister of All-Palestine
Appointed by	President of All-Palestine
Main organ	Cabinet
Ministries	12
Responsible to	Arab League (1948–52) Republic of Egypt (1952–53)
Headquarters	Gaza City, All-Palestine Protectorate (Sep.–Dec. 1948) Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt (Dec.1948–1952) Cairo, Republic of Egypt (1952–1953)

The All-Palestine Government (Arabic: حكومة عموم فلسطين, Ḥukūmat ‘Umūm Filasṭīn) was established on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, to govern the Egyptian-controlled territory in Gaza, which Egypt had on the same day declared as the All-Palestine Protectorate. It was confirmed by the Arab League and recognised by six of the then seven Arab League members, with Transjordan being the exception. Though it claimed jurisdiction over the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the All-Palestine Protectorate, which came to be called the Gaza Strip.^[1] The President of the protectorate was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of the Arab Higher Committee, and the Prime Minister was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha.^[2] The legislative body was the All-Palestine National Council.

Shortly thereafter, in October, King Abdullah I of Transjordan began to take steps to effect the annexation of those parts of Palestine that his army and other Arab forces had captured and held during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Then, on 1 December 1948, the Jericho Conference named him "King of Arab Palestine".^[3] The Congress called for the union of Arab Palestine and Transjordan and Abdullah announced his intention to annex the West Bank. The other Arab League member states opposed Abdullah's plan.

Initially, the All-Palestine Government was based in Gaza, but was relocated to Cairo following the Israeli invasion in December 1948, and was never permitted to return to Gaza, though the Gaza Strip remained under Egyptian control through the war. The importance of the All-Palestine Government gradually declined, especially after the relocation to Cairo. In parallel to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, the authority of the government further degraded, being put by the Arab League under the official aegis of Egypt. In 1953, the All-Palestine Government was nominally dissolved, except the position of prime minister, with Hilmi attending Arab League meetings on behalf of the All-Palestine Protectorate.^[4] In 1959, the All-Palestine nominal area was de jure merged into the United Arab Republic, coming under formal Egyptian military administration, who appointed Egyptian military administrators in Gaza.

The All-Palestine Government is regarded by some as the first attempt to establish an independent Palestinian state. However, it was under official Egyptian protection,^[1] and had no executive role. The government had mostly political and symbolic significance.^[1] The All-Palestine Government's credentials as a bona fide sovereign rule were questioned by many, mainly due to the government's effective reliance upon not only Egyptian military support but also Egyptian political and economic power. Egypt, however, both formally and informally renounced any and all territorial claims to Palestine territory (in contrast to the government of Transjordan, which declared its annexation of the West Bank).