The Cost of Public Security in Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 606. Chapter XV: Law and Order : (d)

CHAPTER XV.

be the organ of this youth group of Stern adherents, has appeared from time to time.

57. No assessment of the quantity of arms held by the Group can be given but it is thought that it is not large.

(d) The cost of public security.

58. Since the establishment of the civil administration in 1920, expenditure by the Palestine Government on the maintenance of law and order has been £P.43,352,000. This expenditure, which is further analysed in Tables VIII and IX, includes a contribution of £P.2,975,000 made towards the cost of the British garrison, but otherwise the figure of £P.43,352,000 does not reflect any element of the cost of maintaining Imperial troops in the country or of the military operations carried out in support of the civil power. Such expenditure was met by His Majesty's Government. Neither does the figure include expenditure arising out of the war but not specifically related to internal security; nor any element in respect of protection against external aggression.

59. The total revenue of Palestine over the same period was £P.139,046,000. Of this total, the sum of £P.13,647 ,000 represents grants-in-aid by His Majesty's Government towards the cost of security measures. (Grants amounting to £P.270,000 have also been made for other purposes). The total expenditure of the Palestine Government during the quarter of a century on all services other than the maintenance of law and order was £P.96,268,000 or, excluding expenditure on special measures arising out of the war, £P.74,016,000.

60. It will thus be seen that of the total revenues of Palestine for the period, including security and other grants-in-aid, 31.17% was expended on the maintenance of law and order. Of the total expenditure on law and order, His Majesty's Government contributed almost one third, the remainder being met from local revenue. Examination of tables 8 and 9 will show that, whereas there was a gradual increase in the cost of maintaining law and order between 1920 and 1935, by which time the figure of expenditure had just passed the million mark-this progress being comparatively little affected by the 1929 disturbances security expenditure increased by over 100% with the outbreak of the 1936 disturbances. Thereafter (allowing for the fact that the 1940-42 figures reflect expenditure on the police building programme described in (a) of this chapter) the expenditure on law and order has rapidly and substantially increased.

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