End of rule by the English Empire.

The April statute and the 12 May revocations order specified legal changes tied to the appointed day. Neither required every imperial unit to have embarked before the change of authority. The earlier statutory framework and the final order are studied in Royal assent to the Palestine Act. and Legal order titled: The Palestine (Revocations) Order in Council, 1948.¹

Contemporary diplomatic documents and the declaration locate the transfer at the night boundary. The national council had proclaimed statehood before that expiry, while its provisional governing arrangements were to begin when the Mandate ended.²

The government of מדינת ישראל MEDINAT YISRAʾEL could no longer leave defense, immigration and public administration as tasks of institutions operating beneath imperial authority. It had to exercise that authority itself. The invasion enlarged the immediate threat, and the first night brought recognition from the United States alongside preparations for further fighting.

Ending the Mandate did not establish universal peace, completed evacuation of imperial troops or the disappearance of all foreign military influence. Particular arms supplies, alliances and later military decisions require their own evidence. The expiry itself is sufficiently significant without attributing one unsupported motive to every subsequent act by the departing power.

The declaration transmitted in S/747 specifies the night of 14–15 May, and the statutory order identifies 15 May as the appointed day. Midnight occurs after the Hebrew date has already changed at sunset, so the assigned route is ו׳ באייר ה׳תש״ח 6th 𝑜𝑓 Iyar, AM 5708. This dates legal expiry, not the last imperial departure.^{3 4}

• Why is a state’s assumption of authority different from the last departing troop transport?
• Which responsibilities did the national institutions now have to exercise under their own authority?