Palestine: A Modern History (ص 102)

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Palestine: A Modern History (ص 102)

المحتوى

214 The Great Palestine Revolt: 1936-1939
vegetable market in Haifa killing 23 people and wounding 79 most of
whom were Arabs. A general strike was declared in all the major cities
and Atab centres and in Haifa the strike lasted more than one week.’
Other. bomb explosions in Jerusalem and Haifa exacerbated Arab-
Jewish.relations and triggered off a series of attacks on Jewish colonies.
The organisation of. night squads supplemented by Jewish super-
numeraries.under Captain O.C. Wingate to take the offensive against the
rebels by: night and to protect the IPC pipeline’ represented the
highest stage, of British-Zionist convergence in the period under study.
On 7 July, MacMichael reported ‘some.extension and intensification
of gang activities in northern and central areas. Number of rebels
appears to be increasing and their organisation. appears to be
improving’.'°? Haining submitted that his troops were facing a people
in rebellion for even where the bands-were small it was difficult to
control rural areas‘since the villagers took
every opportunity to indulge in sniping, minor sabotage and the
laying of road mines. . .This form of resistance is difficult to deal
with as.it is extremely hard to find a target-to hit. In addition, the
sympathy of the inhabitants are with the gangs and-not with the
British Government.!!°
During the summer of 1938 the rebellion reached its climax. A
Higher Council comprising the major rebel leaders was convened at the
request of the Central Committee for Jihad to strengthen co-operation
and co-ordination between the rebels. The Higher Council resolved‘to
persevere in the struggle until Britain conceded Arab demands. At the
height of their power the rebels constituted the supreme authority in
most parts of rural Palestine with their own legal and administrative
set-ups.!! Reflecting their peasant origin. and sympathies, the rebels
issued a moratorium.on all debts as of 1 September 1938,-and warned
that debt collectors and land-brokets should: desist from~visiting the
villagers. Another warning was issued to contractors engaged in
constructing police posts and roads.
The growing: power of the rebels led to an exodus of thousands of
tich Palestinians, land-brokers and pro-Government notables. During
the summer of 1938 Arab city-dwellers had to adopt the villagers’
héad-dress, the Kuffiyya, in order to protect the infiltrating village
rebels from being detected by the Police and the troops.
The Great Palestine Revolt: 1936-1939
The Rebels Occupy the Cities
By the end of August and despite harsh punitive measures.against those
harbouring the rebels,"!? Civil Government had almost completely
broken down in the major cities and towns owing to systematic attacks
on Government offices by the ‘rebels and to the suspected collusion of
Arab Police. In Haining’s opinion, the increasing number of attacks in
the cities and the damage and dislocation caused to government property
and communications was
symptomatic of what is now a very deep seated rebellious spirit
throughout the whole Arab population, spurred on by the call of a
Holy War. The rebel gangs have now acquired, by terrorist methods,
such a hold over the mass of the population that it is not untrue to
say that every Arab in the country is a potential enemy of the
Government however moderate his own personal feelings may be."
In view of these developments, Haining and MacDonald urged that a
second division be sent out in October in place of the proposed Brigade.
before the arrival of the requested reinforcements ‘Civil administration
and control of the country was, to all practical purposes non-
existent.’!4* Armed rebels took many, cities by storm and in other cases
they infiltrated and took control of major cities with the objective of
wholesale insurrection to effect complete reversal of British policy with
particular reference to Partition and Jewish immigration. The opening
of the citrus season did not divert the attention of the rebels as they
and their leaders had no interest in the citrus trade.
Alarmed by the deteriorating situation in Europe brought about by
German irredentism, the new Colonial Secretary, Malcolm MacDonald,
and the Cabinet resolved-to take measures designed to contain the
rebellion and induce the Arabs to come to terms with Britain. He
proposed to issue a public statement, announcing the increase of
military and police forces in Palestine: and disclosing his intention of
inviting representatives of the Arabs of Palestine and of the Jewish
Agency to discuss with HMG the recommendations of the Palestine
Partition Commission Report in-October,'!® He intended to make it
clear that there, could be no question of the Mufti or any other exiles
from Palestine representing the Palestinian Arabs in the proposed
discussions." MacMichael lost no time in advising the Colonial
Secretary against such terms, for
When one has excepted Mufti and his staff there are no Arab
oe ae en EG
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هو جزء من

Palestine: A Modern History

تاريخ

1978

المنشئ

Abdul-Wahhab Kayyali

مجموعات العناصر

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