Palestine in 1948 Atlas

£120.00

A monumental work resulting from several years of meticulous research by the Palestinian historian, Salman Abu Sitta. More than just an atlas, it presents a history of this troubled region from the 1917 invasion by British forces and the subsequent setting up of the British Mandate, through the conflicting Palestinian and Zionist political aspirations for the region, to the 1947 Partition Plan, declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, and the consequent hostilities and flight of refuges.

The book is packed with maps, tables and diagrams illustrating many aspects of this history e.g. population changes, land tenure, infrastructure, public amenities and religious sites, war crimes, land conquests and the impact of armistice lines on villages, depopulation as a result of the 1948 hostilities and the patterns of Palestinian dispersal.

The atlas section covers the area of Palestine controlled by Israel in 1948, and extends slightly east beyond the Armistice Line. The maps are derived from the 1948 Survey of Palestine with some extra detail from RAF aerial survey photography of 1945-46. Detail includes international boundaries, 1949 Armistice lines, 1947 Partition Plan lines, sub-district, village and tribal boundaries. Colours distinguish built-up areas, demilitarized zones, mountain regions (>200m ), plain regions (<200m ), dunes & lakes. Communications detail includes railways, aqueducts, major and minor roads, wadis, canals and rivers. A range of symbols show various landmarks e.g. villages, Zionist colonies within Arab villages, police stations, watch-towers, post offices, airports, landing grounds, schools, places of worship, cemeteries, ruins, wells and water tanks.

The coordinate system used throughout is the 1929 Palestine Grid, drawn on the mapping at 1km intervals. The index to navigating around the 270 pages of mapping is provided by a less detailed 17-page guide map. Extensive index for locations includes village names and landmarks. Also included is a bibliography. 450 pages.