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The British Mandate
Land ownership under the British Mandate was based on the Ottoman Land Code, with additional legislation adopted during the Mandate. Under the Ottoman Code, land was classified in five categories with provisions for documentation of registration. The two basic types of land were mulk (private lands), and miri (land
leased from the state). While the latter was subject to certain limitations, miri land was inherited, sold, and generally regarded as the land of the user. Under the code, individuals able to prove cultivation of a plot of land for 10 years or more were issued a title of ownership.
As you can see from the above information individual ownership of the land was allowed under the British Mandate. Otherwise how could the Jewish people have purchased land in the Mandate. So you see that your analogy breaks down because in your analogy each of the individuals has certain rights to the same property. That as you can see is not the case Jewish Individuals owned land and Palestinian Individuals owned land and neither of them because of property rights had the legal authority to confiscate or take the others land.
It is interesting however that in your analogy you assign the role of eldest by implication to the Palestinians !
Of course individual ownership was allowed under the British Mandate, two points however ,first , who told you that the Palestinian Arabs where the individual owners of all the lands that was not owned by the Jews ?
Second , what happens to individual owned lands after the mandate leaves ?
You don't seem to differentiate between legal transaction and a war.That as you can see is not the case Jewish Individuals owned land and Palestinian Individuals owned land and neither of them because of property rights had the legal authority to confiscate or take the others land.
Palestinians didn't care much for property rights when they tried to kick the Jews out.
Re-post FYI,
When the Ottoman Empire took over Palestine one of the things they did was to grab all the land from the owners. These former owners then had "land rights." These rights could be bought, sold, or inherited. Of course they had to pay lease to the empire to keep these rights. It was similar to a property tax. Keep paying or lose your land.
At the fall of the empire these lands were ceded to the government of Palestine and ownership was being restored to those who owned the rights.