Agreement on the borders of the British Mandate of Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria
Established the modern borders between British and French Mandates, forming the basis for today's Iraq–Syria, Jordan–Syria, and Israel–Lebanon boundaries.
Key Facts
- Agreement date
- 3 July 1923
- Parties
- British and French governments
- Border defined (1923 line)
- Mediterranean to Al-Hamma, Tiberias
- Named after
- Lt. Col. N. Paulet (FR) and Lt. Col. S. F. Newcombe (GB)
- Iraq–Syria border finalised
- 1932, after League of Nations commission review
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following World War I, Britain and France received League of Nations mandates over the Levant and Mesopotamia. The division of former Ottoman territories required precise demarcation of boundaries between the British Mandates of Palestine and Iraq and the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, building on a preliminary 1920 agreement that had outlined borders in less detail.
French Lieutenant Colonel N. Paulet and British Lieutenant Colonel S. F. Newcombe led the surveying and drafting of the 1923 Paulet–Newcombe Agreement, which precisely defined the boundary of Mandatory Palestine from the Mediterranean to Al-Hamma, Tiberias, and formed part of the broader Franco-British Boundary Agreements governing the Mandate frontiers.
The agreement established legally defined borders that persist largely intact today as the Iraq–Syria, Jordan–Syria, and Israel–Lebanon international boundaries. The Iraq–Syria segment was further refined in 1932 following a League of Nations commission review, cementing the post-Ottoman territorial order across the region.
Political Outcome
Borders between British Mandates (Palestine, Iraq) and French Mandate (Syria and Lebanon) were precisely demarcated and formalised.
Imprecisely defined Mandate borders following the 1920 preliminary agreement
Formally surveyed and legally binding boundary lines between British and French Mandates