The administrative, diplomatic and military mandate by Britain over Palestine between 1923 and 1947. Following World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, France and Britain set out to delineate spheres of influence in the Middle East. The mandate for Palestine was one of a number of mandates in the Middle East designed to formalize British and French administration in the newly formed countries of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine. The British mandate over Palestine was approved by the League of Nations Council on July 24, 1922, and declared official as of September 29, 1923. The mandate continued until 1947, when Britain sought the aid of the United Nations in determining the fate of the territory, which at that time was hotly disputed by both Zionist and Palestinian and Arab nationalists, evidenced by protests and rising militancy on both sides. British de facto rule in Palestine lasted from December 1917 to June 1948. See Lesch, Ann M. “Palestine Mandate.” Philip Mattar, ed. Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts on File, 2005;  and A Country Study: Israel. December 1988. Library of Congress. 18 June 2011. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/british-mandate