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The Army of Sacred Jihad: An Army or Bands?

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 14; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13537120802127705

1743-9086

Eliezer Tauber,

Middle East Politics and Society

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. See, for example, Subhi Muhammad Yasin, Harb al-Isabat fi Filastin, Cairo, 1967. The term harb isabat can also be translated into guerrilla warfare. 2. Avraham Sela, ‘Sh'elat Erez Yisrael ba-Ma‘arekhet ha-beyn Aravit me-Haqamat ha-Liga ha-Aravit ‘ad Pelishat Ziv'ot ‘Arav le-Erez Yisrael, 1945–1948’, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1986. See also his ‘Ha-Kohot ha-Aravim ha-Bilti Sedirim’, in Amnon Maghen (ed.), Lehimat ha-Aravim be-Milhemet ha-Azmaut 1947–1949, Tel Aviv, 1990, pp. 5–18; and ‘Ha-Aravim ha-Falestinim be-Milhemet 1948’, in Moshe Maoz and B.Z. Kedar (eds.), Ha-Tenua ha-Leumit ha-Falestinit: Me-Imut le-Hashlama?, Tel Aviv, 1996, pp. 115–202. 3. Joseph Nevo, ‘The Arabs of Palestine 1947–48: Military and Political Activity’, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1 (1987), pp. 3–38. 4. Haim Levenberg, Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine 1945–1948, London, 1993. 5. See a book review written by the author of this article on Levenberg's book in Intelligence and National Security, Vol. 9, No. 3 (1994), pp. 585–587. 6. Mordechai Abir, Ha-Gorem ha-Aravi ha-Meqomi be-Milhemet ha-Shihrur (Ezor Yerushalayim), Israel Defence Forces Archives, Tel Hashomer, 185/1046/1970, 1957–1958. Abir's short, preliminary study is based on documents from the Israel Defence Forces Archives. 7. Y. Shen (Ya‘aqov Shim‘oni), ‘Ha-Najjada ve-ha-Futuwwa Mahen?’, Ma‘arakhot, No. 37 (November 1946), p. 58; Hagana Archives, Tel Aviv (hereafter, HA) 105/325: ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 August 1946; Muhammad Nimr al-Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba (Nazareth), 1955, p. 20; Muhammad Izzat Darwaza, Al-Qadiyya al-Filasiniyya fi Mukhtalif Marahiliha, Sidon and Beirut, 1960, Vol. 2, p. 96; Subhi Muhammad Yasin, Tariq al-Awda ila Filastin, Cairo, 1961, pp. 14–15. 8. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, p. 58; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946; Bayan Nuwayhid al-Hut, Al-Qiyadat wal-Muassasat al-Siyasiyya fi Filastin 1917–1948, Beirut, 3rd ed. 1987, pp. 508–509; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 136. 9. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, pp. 58–59; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946. 10. In Jerusalem, the organization encountered difficulties because of the Hussaini opposition to any organization not under their control. See Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 129. 11. Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 508–509—the constitution is available in the PLO Research Centre, file TH/I, document 35: ‘Al-Qanun al-Asasi: Munazzamat al-Najjada—Filastin’; Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, pp. 58–59; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946. 12. Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 509; Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, p. 63, brought somewhat different numbers. 13. Some of the officers were defined as cultural (that is, political) officers. 14. Some of the officers were defined as cultural (that is, political) officers, pp. 62–63. HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946. 15. Arif al-Arif, Nakbat Filastin wal-Firdaws al-Mafqud 1947–1952, Sidon, 1956, p. 101 (on p. 226, though, Arif mocked the organization that it had only consisted of 500 youths lacking any experience or military training); Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, p. 60; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946, citing Hawwari, while the Hagana then believed that it only numbered 1,500–2,000 members; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 144, brings the British estimations; Sela, ‘Kohot’, p. 6 (though in ‘Aravim’, p. 136, he diminishes it to ‘several thousands’); Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 509–510. 16. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, pp. 59–60; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 513; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 96; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 136. 17. Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba, p. 118; Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, p. 60; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946; Yaaqov Shimoni, ‘Mahane ha-Lohamim ha-Aravi: Demuto ve-Irguno’, Be-Mivhan Qeravot, a special issue of Shenaton Davar (1948–1949), p. 167. 18. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, pp. 60–61; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946. 19. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, pp. 61–62; HA 105/325, ‘Seqira al ha-Najjada’, 8 September 1946; Yasin, Tariq al-Awda, pp. 14–15; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 510; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filastiniyya, p. 96; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 101. The official leadership of the organization were the president, the Mufti, vice-president, Jamal al-Hussaini and commander-in-chief, Kamil Arikat. 20. Yasin, Tariq al-Awda, p. 15; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 510; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 133. 21. Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 511. 22. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, pp. 62–63; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 511, 513; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 148. 23. Yasin, Tariq al-Awda, p. 14; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 96; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 511. 24. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, p. 62; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 511; Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 139–140; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137. 25. On 1 January 1947, an 80-article constitution was drawn up for the united organization. The document, ‘Al-Qanun al-Asasi li-Munazzamat al-Shabab al-Arabi’, is cited in full in Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 800–809, and is available in the PLO Research Centre, file TH/I, document 7. 26. Shen, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, p. 62; Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 143–144; HA 105/325, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, 20 May 1947; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 96; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 513. 27. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137; Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 149–150; HA 105/325, ‘Najjada ve-Futuwwa’, 20 May 1947. 28. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137; Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 110, 113. 29. HA 105/325, ‘Kinus ha-Noar ha-Aravi be-Yafo’, 23 July 1947; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 149; Yasin, Tariq al-Awda, p. 16; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 513; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 96; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, pp. 328–329. 30. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137 and ‘Kohot’, p. 7; Yasin, Tariq al-Awda, p. 15; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 144; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 101. 31. Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 150–151; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 96. Labib would return to Palestine in early 1948, to lead Muslim Brethren warriors and planning to attack the Jewish settlements in the Gaza region. 32. Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba, pp. 31–34, 52–54; Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 152–153; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 137. 33. Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 153; Sela, ‘Aravim’, pp. 137, 147; Yasin, Tariq al-Awda, p. 18; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 329. 34. Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 15; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 599; Gershon Gilad, Toldot Zva ha-Hazala, Israel Defence Forces Archives 648/922/1975, p. 6. 35. Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 16; Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 599; Sela, ‘Erez Yisrael’, p. 415; Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba, p. 134; Muhammad Said Ishkantana, Asrar Suqut Yafa: Sijl Ta'rikhi Yafdahu al-Mu'amarat ala Arus Yafa, Jerusalem, 1964, p. 10. IDF Historical Branch, Zva ha-Hazala bi-Tequfat Milhemet ha-Azmaut (1948): Qatalog Teudot, Tel Aviv, 1962, p. iv. 36. Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 599, 833, citing the 14-article constitution, as published in al-Sha‘b, No. 321, 27 November 1947; Fallah Khalid Ali, Al-Harb al-Arabiyya al-Israiliyya 1948–1949 wa-Ta'sis Isra'il, Beirut, 1982, p. 68. 37. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 139; Ishkantana, Suqut Yafa, p. 10; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 181. 38. Arif, Nakbat Filastin, pp. 30, 94. 39. Arif, Nakbat Filastin, pp. 30, 94–95. 40. Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 209. 41. Ishkantana, Suqut Yafa, pp. 10–11; Shimoni, ‘Mahane’, p. 169. 42. Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, pp. 599–600; Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba, p. 134; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 159; Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 16. 43. Gilad, Toldot Zva ha-Hazala, p. 6; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 159. 44. Hut, Qiyadat wa-Muassasat, p. 599; Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, pp. 15–16; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 163; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 181; Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 1, 3; Shimoni, ‘Mahane’, p. 168. 45. Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 18; Levenberg, Military Preparations, p. 181. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 159. 46. Hasan al-Badri, Al-Harb fi Ard al-Salam: Al-Jawla al-Arabiyya al-Israiliyya al-Ula 1947–1949, Cairo, 1976, p. 97; Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 125; Muhammad Faysal Abd al-Mun‘im, Asrar 1948, Cairo, 1968, p. 25, citing the Mufti; Muhammad Tariq al-Ifriqi, Al-Mujahidun fi Ma‘arik Filastin 1367h–1948m, Damascus, 1951, p. 27; Ali, Harb Arabiyya Israiliyya, p. 84; Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 12. 47. Son of Musa Kazim al-Hussaini, former mayor of Jerusalem and chairman of the Arab Executive for many years, a cousin of Jamal al-Hussaini and a relative of the Mufti, Amin al-Hussaini. 48. The relationship between Hasan Salama and Abd al-Qadir al-Hussaini had already begun before the 1936-39 revolt, when Salama took part in Abd al-Qadir's nationalist activity. Later on, during the revolt, Salama became a band leader. 49. Nabil Khalid al-Agha, Qadiyyat Filastin fi Sirat Batal: Al-Shahid al-Hayy Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Acre, 2nd ed. 1982, p. 61; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 73; Muhammad Faiz al-Qusari, Harb Filastin Am 1948, Damascus, 1962, Vol. 2, p. 40; Muhammad Nimr al-Khatib, Ahdath al-Nakba aw Nakbat Filastin, Beirut, 2nd ed. 1967, p. 112; Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 1, 3; Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 12, citing the Mufti; Muhammad al-Sha‘ir, Al-Harb al-Fida'iyya fi Filastin, Beirut, 1967, p. 175. About the 1930s organization, see Yehoshua Porath, The Palestinian Arab National Movement 1929–1936: From Riots to Rebellion, London, 1977, pp. 131–132, 179, 364. 50. Abir, Gorem Aravi, p. 3; Isa Khalil Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm wa-Ibnuha al-Barr Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Amman, 1986, p. 230; Agha, Qadiyyat Filastin, p. 61. 51. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, p. 231; Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 4–5. 52. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, pp. 228, 333. 53. Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 73; Agha, Qadiyyat Filastin, p. 61; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 40; Abir, Gorem Aravi, p. 7. It should be noted that while Abd al-Qadir had much influence in the Mount Hebron region, his position there was not as unchallenged as in the Judean Hills. The main stronghold of the Hussainis there was the village of Surif, the birthplace of Ibrahim Abu Diya. Ibid., p. 5. 54. Agha, Qadiyyat Filastin, p. 62; Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, pp. 227–228; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, pp. 73–74; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 41; Zva ha-Hazala, p. viii; Ali, Harb Arabiyya Israiliyya, p. 84; Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba, p. 139; HA 105/216a, ‘Ha-Zava le-Hazalat Falestina’, 15 March 1948. When Abd al-Qadir al-Hussaini was killed, on 8 April 1948, he was succeeded by his cousin Khalid Sharif al-Hussaini as commander-in-chief, apparently not the right person for the job. Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 73. 55. When Hasan Salama was killed, on 2 June 1948, he was succeeded by Mahmud Abu al-Khayr. Badri, Harb fi Ard al-Salam, p. 101. 56. Hawwari, Sirr al-Nakba, pp. 103, 135–136, 138–139; Zva ha-Hazala, p. viii; Badri, Harb fi Ard al-Salam, p. 101; Ali, Harb Arabiyya Israiliyya, p. 85; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 41. 57. Abir, Gorem Aravi, p. 5; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 49; Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 159; Shimoni, ‘Mahane’, p. 174. 58. Sha‘ir, Harb Fida'iyya, pp. 182–184; Ifriqi, Mujahidun, pp. 31–37; Ali, Harb Arabiyya Israiliyya, pp. 85–87. Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, pp. 46–48, brought a somewhat different deployment for the date 15 April 1948. 59. Each recruit would receive 4 pounds a month and a weapon. Zva ha-Hazala, p. viii. 60. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, p. 303; Badri, Harb fi Ard al-Salam, p. 99; Ifriqi, Mujahidun, pp. 27–28; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, pp. 46–47; Sha‘ir, Harb Fida'iyya, p. 179. 61. This is the opinion of Sela, ‘Aravim’, pp. 155–156. Levenberg, Military Preparations, pp. 134–136, claims that al-Najjada, too, was trying to imitate the structure of the Jewish Hagana. About this, see the author's book review on Levenberg's book, pp. 586–587. 62. This is the opinion of Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 2, 4. 63. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, pp. 303–304. 64. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, p. 304. The reservation at the end of the paragraph is Nevo's, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 13. 65. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, pp. 304, 331; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, pp. 134–136. 66. Badri, Harb fi Ard al-Salam, p. 99; Ifriqi, Mujahidun, p. 28; Sha‘ir, Harb Fida'iyya, p. 179. 67. Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, p. 303. It is interesting to note also that one of the leaders of the Iraqi revolt of 1920 insisted in his memoirs that it was impossible to know how many rebels there were. See Eliezer Tauber, The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq, London, 1995, p. 313. 68. Sela, ‘Erez Yisrael’, p. 491, doubts whether the number of warriors of al-Jihad al-Muqaddas ever passed 2,500. Yet in another publication of his, Sela, ‘Kohot’, p. 16, he asserts that even a liberal counting of the hard core of al-Jihad al-Muqaddas would not yield more than 1,000 men. Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 46 maintained that on average there were 150–250 fighters in each of al-Jihad al-Muqaddas’ regions. Since he counted seven regions (pp. 46–48), then according to him the total number was 1,050–1,750 fighters. Abdallah al-Tall, Karithat Filastin: Mudhakkirat Abdallah al-Tall Qa'id Ma‘rakat al-Quds, Cairo, 1959, 2nd ed. 1990, p. 85, put it at 1,200. 69. Safwat's report, dated 23 March 1948, is cited in Majlis al-Nuwwab (al-Iraqi), Taqrir Lajnat al-Tahqiq al-Niyabiyya fi Qadiyyat Filastin, Baghdad, 1949, pp. 152, 155. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 156, maintains, though, that this number included not only al-Jihad al-Muqaddas’ men, but also the town garrisons and some auxiliary forces subordinate to Jaysh al-Inqadh. 70. HA 105/216a, ‘Ha-Zava le-Hazalat Falestina’, 15 March 1948. 71. It is interesting to note that Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 16, also estimates that until May 1948 the Arab leadership in Palestine managed to recruit about 4,000 combatants operating regularly, assisted by several thousand irregulars. 72. Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 4–6. 73. Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 4–5; HA 105/216a, ‘Ha-Zava le-Hazalat Falestina’, 15 March 1948. 74. Sha‘ir, Harb Fida'iyya, p. 179; Zva ha-Hazala, p. viii; Abir, Gorem Aravi, p. 1; the military committee's report, dated 8 February 1948, cited in Taqrir Lajnat al-Tahqiq, pp. 137–138. While most of the money and means donated by the Arab states was given to the general headquarters formed by the Arab League in Damascus and administered by the military committee, the latter also delivered some of it to al-Jihad al-Muqaddas, since it considered Abd al-Qadir al-Hussaini a regional commander on its behalf. Darwaza, Qadiyya Filasiniyya, Vol. 2, p. 126. See also below. 75. Ifriqi, Mujahidun, p. 26; Sha‘ir, Harb Fida'iyya, pp. 179–180; Badri, Harb fi Ard al-Salam, p. 100. Tall, Karithat Filastin, p. 87, brought a different list, less likely, since it included 35 Hotchkiss guns, not mentioned in any account of al-Jihad al-Muqaddas’ operations. 76. Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 1–2. 77. Safwat's report, dated 11 March 1948, is cited in Taqrir Lajnat al-Tahqiq, p. 149. See also Salih Saib al-Juburi, Mihnat Filastin wa-Asraruha al-Siyasiyya wal-Askariyya, Beirut, 1970, p. 499. 78. Hani al-Hindi, ‘Jaysh al-Inqadh (1947–1949)’, Shu'un Filastiniyya, No. 24 (August 1973), pp. 117–118; Zva ha-Hazala, pp. viii–xi; Sela, ‘Erez Yisrael’, p. 447; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 253. 79. Sela, ‘Erez Yisrael’, pp. 446–447; Abir, Gorem Aravi, p. 6; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 41. 80. Israel State Archives, Jerusalem 130.15/2/119 proclamation No. ayn 2, ‘Ma‘rakat Filastin wa-Ahdafuha’, signed by the general headquarters of al-Jihad al-Muqaddas. 81. For a partial list of events al-Jihad al-Muqaddas was involved in, see Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 74, and Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 41. For an appreciation of the effect the battle over the Qastel had on al-Jihad al-Muqaddas, see Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 7–10. 82. Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, pp. 25–26; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 74. 83. Tall, Karithat Filastin, pp. 359–360, 362–365, 415–416. 84. Tall, Karithat Filastin, pp. 365–366; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 41; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 74. 85. Sela, ‘Aravim’, p. 185; Nevo, ‘Arabs of Palestine’, p. 26; Qusari, Harb Filastin, Vol. 2, p. 41; Arif, Nakbat Filastin, p. 74; Agha, Qadiyyat Filastin, p. 62; Ali, Harb Arabiyya Israiliyya, p. 89. 86. Ahmad Farraj Tayi‘, Safahat Matwiyya an Filastin, Cairo, 1970, p. 75. 87. Safwat's report, dated 23 March 1948, is cited in Taqrir Lajnat al-Tahqiq, pp. 154–155. 88. On this, see Muhsin, Filastin al-Umm, p. 304. 89. Abd al-Qadir al-Hussaini studied in the military academy in Baghdad and was apparently involved in the failed attempt to block the advance of the British army into Iraq in 1941. But rather than that his only battlefield experience was that of a band commander in the 1936-39 revolt. Kamil Arikat and Munir Abu Fadil were former police officers. 90. For an appreciation of Abd al-Qadir al-Hussaini's impact on Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas, see Abir, Gorem Aravi, pp. 1, 3, 7, 9–10. It should be noted that Kamil Arikat and Ibrahim Abu Diya were also wounded in the course of the battle over the Qastel, the latter severely. Hasan Salama was killed on 2 June 1948 in the battle on Ras al-Ayn.