This paper briefly describes the state health services in general, and eye care in particular for Palestinian Arabs under the British Mandate (1917-1948). The paper will also discuss the environmental and cultural origins of the prevalence of eye diseases among Palestinian Arabs. The second part of the research describes in detail indige- nous practices of traditional medicine for healing trachoma and other eye diseases, inflammations that were prevalent in Mandatory Palestine.Palestine at the junction between Asia, Africa and Europe, served as a cultural, economic, political, medical and military meeting point throughout history. Many factors affected Palestinian health during theOttoman and British Mandate periods. Some of the diseases, mainly eye diseases and inflammations, were contracted due to poor nutrition and hygiene; a combination of unsanitary conditions; lack of bathing water under crowded living conditions; and a hot dry climate that also includes periods of cold, humidity and dust. Such geographic and environmental contributed to poor personal hygiene. They were further exacerbated by socio-economic factors such as substandard and overcrowded housing, and a low level of education.The use of traditional medicine and appeal to traditional healers, over many centuries, established a relationship of psychological-the- rapeutic dependence on the part of Palestinians with regard to the healers. This dependence was deeply rooted in their psyche and reinforced and legitimized by Palestinian culture.