Who Is a European? The History of Special Treatment in Mandate Palestine’s Prisons

This article explores the history of ‘special treatment’, a regime granting improved carceral conditions, in Mandate Palestine’s prisons. The focus on colonial punishment underscores the unstable, negotiable nature of the European/non-European divide within the colonial order, highlighting tensions inherent in penal reform practices within colonial prisons. Based on archival sources, the article demonstrates how the grounds for deservedness were shaped by evolving colonial policies, ethnonational distinctions and challenges from below. The analysis captures a transitional colonial phase—shifting from an explicit favouring of ‘Europeans’ to subtler forms of maintaining hierarchy. The findings show that Europeanness lingered as an implicit yet effective basis for privilege. Its definition remained fluid and contested, influenced by policy considerations, divide-and-rule strategies and inmate pressures.