Palestine: A Modern History (ص 86)

غرض

عنوان

Palestine: A Modern History (ص 86)

المحتوى

180 Prelude to Revolution: 1930-1935
Waging Holy War) under the leadership of a young revolutionary,
‘Abdul-Qader Husseini, son of Musi Kazem and an associate of the
Mufti.2> Furthermore, Hajj Amin was in touch with Sheikh ‘Izzeddin
ai-Qassam.
Qassam’s Revolt
The Syrian-born Qassam immigrated to Haifa in 1921, after the failure
of the Syrian revolt against French occupation in which he was a
prominent leader, As a man of immense religious learning and as an
eloquent ordfor, he had no difficulty in joining the staff of the Islamic
School at Haifa. He later joined the Muslim Young Men’s Association®
and became: its President in 1926. As an ardent Muslim and a patriot,
he stood against Zionism and British rule, and in 1929 he started
roaring the villages of the North as an employee of the Shari’a Court
of Haifa. His contacts with the fellahin in the villages and the prayers in
the Istiqlal mosque in Haifa enabled him to recruit some revolutionary
elements which he organised in secret groups not exceeding five
members.” He preached to them the necessity of revolt against
subservience to-the alien infidels — Jews and Britons alike. In 1932, he
joined Haifa’s /stig/al Party branch. After the events of 1933, he started
collecting contributions to buy small quantities of arms in preparation
for a revolt against the Government, the real sponsor of Zionism in
Palestine. His preparations were managed with the utmost degree of
secrecy.
Qassam’s stronghold was the shanty-town of Haifa where: 270 poor
peasants who had moved to the bustling harbour-town were compelled
to live as they were unemployed or poorly paid. He showed genuine
concern for their welfare and started a night school to fight illiteracy
among these worker-peasants. His frequent visits to the villages-ahd his
personal decency endeared him to the peasants of Northern Palestine.
By! 1935, Qassam had organised five committees: propaganda,
military training, supply, intelligence and foreign relations. It was not
unlikely that Qassam was in touch with the Italians, whose interests in
Palestinian affairs was enhanced by their Ethiopian campaign and the
ensuing tension with Britain over the matter.°® This secret contact with
the Italians was solely motivated by a practical need to cooperate with
the enemies of Britain.
Although Qassam had recruited two hundred members and organised
800 sympathisers, he had no real contact with the peasants and workers
— on which he depended’ — in Southern or Central Palestine. According
to Subhi Yasin, a Qassamite, the Sheikh had actually sent one of his
Prelude to Revolution: 1930-1935 181
followers, Mahmud Salem, to the Mufti asking him to declare a revolt in
the South simultan¢gous to Qassam’s declaration.of revolt in the North.
Hajj Amin reportedly answered that he was working for political
solution rather than an armed revolt.”
» Wenumber of events that took place during 1935 forted the hand of
Qassam and his fellow Mujahidin to initiate an armed revolt against the
British and the Zionists in November of that year.
Before the end of 1935 Wauchope reported to the Colonial
Secretary that one-fith of the Arab villagers were already landless, the
number of Arab unemployed workers in the towns was rising, and
resentment against the Government was growing day by day.!°
Furthermore, no hopeful developments were anywhere in sight as
the immigration figure for 1935 approximated a record number of
60,000 and the rise in‘unemployment compelled Wauchope to-conclude
that this figure was ‘beyond the absoiptive capacity of the country’?
Zionist provocations, such as open military drilling and assaults on
Arab villagers by the Revisionists, enraged Arab public opinion. The
discovery of a considerable consignment of arms to the Zionists
confirmed the Palestinians’ worst fears. As there was no hope that the
Government would respond to Arab demands ‘over immigration, land
sales and Parliamentary Government, armed uprising was the only
alternative left.to the Arabs to prevent Zionist hegemony in Palestine.
While the Palestinian politicians Were exposing their compromising
and faint-hearted attitudes towards the Government, Qassam* ‘and
twenty-five of his armed associates left Haifa on the hight ‘of 12
November and headed towards!the vicinity of Jenin to call on the
peasants to take up arms against the British and the Zionists. Before
they could propagate their message and capture Haifa by surprise, an
accidental clash with the Police alerted the Authorities to the presence
of an armed band, and Police and troops were quick to cordon off the
area.
a Inspired by the Islamic duty of Jihad (Holy War), Qassam refused
to‘surrender and urged his followers to fight and die as martyrs for the
sake of God and the Homeland.:On 19 November, Qassam,.and two
of his comrades were killed, five others were captured and the rest
disappeared in the mountains. °
The news of Qassam’s heroic death had a tremendous impact
throughout Palestine. He soon become the symbol of self-sacrifice and
martyrdom, and “his funeral at Haifa was a great national demonstration
against the Government and the JNH during which the Police were
stoned. The political leaders declined to attend his’ funeral and their
‘

هو جزء من

Palestine: A Modern History

تاريخ

1978

المنشئ

Abdul-Wahhab Kayyali

مجموعات العناصر

Generated Pages Set