ABSTRACT
After the British occupation of Jerusalem and establishment of Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (South)—OETA (S), the city became the center of political life and administration for Palestine. Cut off from Constantinople, Jerusalem's central position and concentration of political and administrative activity gave Palestine new meaning and identity. The British conducted the first modern census of Palestine in December 1922. It showed a total population of 757,182; 78 percent Muslim, 9.6 percent Christian, 11 percent Jewish and 1 percent other. Agriculture remained the principal Arab occupation. There was moderate development of industry, mainly handicrafts, but only a few large scale enterprises. A major source of employment was the mandatory government, which by 1939 hired some 15,000 daily workers, not including government clerks. There was limited expansion of the small industrial sector in the Arab economy during the Mandate. Most production was for local use in handicraft shops without power-driven machinery.
