National riots and movements on the eve of the occupation of Palestine (1)

the flames of World War were still unabated that the British military with victory over the Ottoman and German, occupied Ottoman territories including Palestine, and while the Ottoman army sit back to Istanbul for the defense of life and the authority of the caliph, the English forces entered Palestine without any resistance in 1917.
Jerusalem’s Muslim who gathered in the great square of the city to hear a speech by General Allenby, friend and ally of the Arabs against the Turks, heard with their ears in disbelief that Allenby said: "Today the Crusades came to an end!"
Although Sheikh Kamel Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem and some of the leaders of the people, in protest to the speech of Allenby immediately left the house, alas that ignorance and neglect destroyed many chances. In late 1918, the British separated all Palestine from Syria and overcame it, and the rest of the Syrian territory was given to the French.
By Sykes- Picot agreement between Britain and France and exposing the Balfour Declaration and the occupation of Palestine by the State of Great Britain and migration of Jews to the land, the Palestinians saw themselves in a great international conspiracy, and they felt terrible and unprecedented and were extremely frightened and worried.
Shortly after the arrival of Allenby in Jerusalem, Colonel Deeds, a member of the Military Commission of England in Egypt, wrote in a report:
News of the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of a new Palestine have created a big fear and horror among the people of Jerusalem…
Since then, some newspapers in Arabic and Turkish, with knowledge of the provisions of the Balfour Declaration and the insertion of news and articles about it, rang the Zionism alarm for the Nation of Islam and especially the Palestinian people, but Rationalistic people’s hatred of the rule of the Ottoman Turks led to this point that the promotion of the rumors were considered as skeptical of the Arabs against the British, on the eve of the arrival of the Allies in Palestine.
Ajaj Novihz, the nationalist leaders of that time says:
Early in this century, due to the political naivety and inexperience of Arabs did not understand the perspective in the ultimate goals of the European colonialists. Perhaps their extreme nationalist beliefs and deliverance from the yoke of the Turks and turanism, prevented them from seeing the truth and understanding it ... people thought that the British people are the same chaste and noble people - as their advertisings tell.
but Palestinian religious leaders, such as Sheikh Kamel Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al Husseini Mufti, and head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Mozafar and some others were warning people by feeling responsible of the Jewish overcome and the ongoing tragedy in Palestine.
At the same time, the government of Great Britain revealed his goals and purposes about transferring this land to the Jews to establish a Jewish state, based on the Balfour promise. The first step in this way was the warm welcome of the English heads from Zionist Committee which was chaired by Haim Weizmann and arrived from Europe to Palestine. The British government supported and comforted the committee with their generous donations to make farms and build a new Jewish settlement for immigrants.
In the year 1918 C. in order to deal with the Zionist political organizations, Muslims and Christians of Jaffa did a coalition together and created Christian and Islamic communities and were given the support and influence of the elite merchants of big cities. The population on the occasion of the first anniversary of the victory over the Turks of Allenby sent an explicit and harsh letter to military ruler, and stated the feelings of the Palestinians about Zionism in it.
it is stated in the letter:
Arabs cannot control the influx of millions of Jews to Palestine; as Jews will gather all products of Palestine for themselves, and the government should not forget that the Jewish only loves Jew and does not help anyone except the Jews.
Certainly things like this cause bloody uprisings and will be repeated, the revolutions that will destroy the country and its people... So, Jews must know that Palestine belongs to the Arabs and they never will give it up. They also need to know that the Arabs were born in Palestine and hope to die in it and be buried in the holy soil.
Palestine was ruled under military domination by the command of Allenby between 1917- 1920 C. since the military occupation of Palestine by General Allenby till the establishment of Herbert Samuel as High Commissioner of the British government.
During this period, Palestinian was witnesses of the tide of events and some disperse political and social movements. But these movements were lack of cohesion and unity and were devoid of any plan, and were usually taken in the form of sporadic and temporary manner.
Conflict between the exited youth and the wary owners of the Congress of Palestine (seventh January to tenth February of 1919 C.) is a symbol of intellectual disunity and discord among Arabs in the adoption of appropriate ways to deal with Jews.
The Congress was formed to analyze the elected representatives of the Palestinian cities and catastrophes and conspiracies against their homeland to seek ways to deal with them. But as usual as the popular congresses, after two weeks of debate it ended by a statement declaration and a copy of the resolution was sent for each of the main causes of the disaster, the British colonial government, the Paris Peace Conference and the winning sides in World War I.
Little by little since 1920 C., the Palestinian people believed that the great powers and even the Arab states, not only do not make any effort to solve their problem, but also have played with them. The determination of global powers on granting Palestine to the Zionist movement and the Jewish economic and political influence in the Western states, and elaborated and hidden programs of Jewish leaders, and their ethnic unity, along with policies of guile and deceit made the events’ side heavier in the region in favor of Zionism every day.
During the Paris Peace Conference that was held in 1919 C., “it was clear from the beginning that the Zionist has a great power in Conference. So that allowed them to achieve their goals. The reason was that the UK was committed to defend the idea of establishing a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. Also (Woodrow Wilson), President of America, had previously presented himself to flinch from the implementation of the principle of self-determination in Palestine. And this was for two reasons: one the effect of (Brandeis), American Zionist leader, on the person of Wilson and the other one the importance of the Jews in America's inner politics. Aside from England and America, France and other major countries of the conference, especially South Africa had also declared their pledged support of Zionism”.
What complicated the situation in Palestine was the negligence and incompetence and betrayal of Arab leaders who naively hoped to provide political independence of Arabic countries which were under Ottoman rule by support of British colonial government. Therefore, in addition to their philistinism and lack of willingness and their commitment to world powers, this issue kept them from the nascent tragedy in Palestinian.
At the Paris Peace Conference, "the representative of the Arabs was Faisal. He had participated in the conference as the representative of the King of Hejaz along with Lawrence, the famous English spy. Faisal faced with pressure from the French from the beginning, because the French were looking for the occupation of Syria. Meanwhile, the British would not let him calm, because every month they helped his government financially. All of these factors came together and forced him to accept the British proposals in the Palestinians”.
As a result, Faisal to comply with Weizmann, the Zionist leader showed a soft stance against Zionism, and even Spoke about the Arabs and Jewish blood relationship in his memorandum to the Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference (!).
But the Zionists whose maps were calculated and had complex operation with prejudice, succeeded their illegitimate goals with mischief and tricks in political circles.
During the First World War, Zionism has had little support among Jews. At Versailles Conference, Wiseman claimed to speak from representatives of 96% of European Jews who live in Eastern Europe. He stated that a million Jews are ready and waiting to move to the Palestinian side; but in 1927 C., Wiseman acknowledged that the foundation of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 C. was not stable… I was afraid that British government would have summoned me and ask to tell them what this Zionism organization is? Where are your Zionists? ... They knew that the Jews were against us, the Zionists, we were isolated Jewish with a bunch of different nationalities”.
However, the Zionist scenario of events went so fast and one-sided that the Palestinian masses saw themselves clearly as the victim arrived at the feet of foreign Jews with anger and hatred.
Spite of this pressure was burst in 1920 C. for the first time in the first Muslim bloody confrontation with the Zionist. But the British government suppressed this movement with all the power and massacred it, and then, Herbert Samuel as a Jewish Zionist was appointed as the governor and the official representative of the Palestinians.
This year the Jewish Passover festival and the day of Prophet Musa (AS) which was held by Muslims happened in the same day. In this event shot of Jabotinsky, a famous Zionist, raised the fire of sedition.
Parties and groups orderly went to the Hebron while police were among them. Many people on both sides of the street were watching.
One of the Jews for humiliation of this ritual said some bad words and it has been said that he even threw his mouth water on one of the religious scholars. However, immediately Arabs seized him and took him. Jewish brothers rushed to him to aid and then, the two sides fought with each other and the event moved into the city from outside the city’s fence which was located in Bab al Kheil site.
To prevent the people of out coming into the city, the gates were closed and guards were assigned to them.
These events continued for three to four days, and according to official figures seven Jews were killed and two hundred others were wounded and five Arabs were also killed and 25 men were wounded.
Since this time a lot of sporadic clashes took place between Muslims and Jews. In these collisions often Arab Muslims and Christians together fought against the Zionists. In many cases, the Jewish guard in English armor fought with the Palestinians. Even Captain Brunton, a member of the British intelligence service in Palestine, wrote in his report: "All people saw and heard that a civil Jewish was ordering English soldiers to shoot civilians." He added: "The Jews audited the Arabs in the eyes of the English soldiers”.
In the first three days of May of 1920 C., some clashes occured in "Jaffa". The incident began with the shooting of Jews toward Arab passersby. Subsequently, Arabs attacked the new inn which was for the reception of Jewish immigrants. These events provoked the emotions of villagers of other Palestinian territories and settlements of "Petah Tikva" gathered together and hundreds of others gathered in the south of the town; but, the English military forces acted in defense of the Jews, and the Arabs were in blood. As a result, sixty people were killed and many were injured as well.
Following these incidents, Herbert Samuel, English governor in Palestine, declared martial law in the region of "Jaffa" and started to make Jewish settlements armed.
On the other hand, competition for the position of AFTA exacerbated differences among prominent Palestinian families, Nashashibi and Husseini, and the Zionists provoked these differences with money and effort and prepared the groundwork for the emergence of an Arabic "Moderate Party". However, this party did not hide his opposition to Israeli policies, but noted mostly on internal reform and in particular the problems of rural areas. Therefore, it could not be considered as representative of unhappy and angry Palestinian people.
Since the same time, the national unity of the Palestinian people in negative combats against the Israeli policy emerged.
Each year, the second of November, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration was known as the mourning period. In this day shops were closed and newspapers were published with a black border and large thick clothes were draped over buildings as a sign of mourning. Since the 1930s, the ninth of December, the anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem (in 1917 C.) was also declared as the day of mourning by Great Britain. In July 1922 C., another one-day strike was held in protest against the support of the League of Nations for Mandate of Great Britain based on the Balfour Declaration.
Obviously such negative and passive reactions could not solely satisfy the feelings of the Palestinian revolutionary youth. They believed that this much of the negative campaigns were nothing in compare of those programs and plans and all the great facilities and rapid and widespread actions of Zionists which were done by full support of colonial British government and Western capitalist Jews’ unsparing financial assistance and are not considered as danger to occupiers. This insights and revolutionary spirit created the theoretical foundations of the Palestinian armed struggles during the next decade.
On the other hand, the British government by using deceptive practices and influence spies, Lawrence the Arab, tried to raise the support of some Arab rulers to national Jewish home establishment. Thus, after they deceived King Amir Abdullah by promises of the Authority of Palestine and East Jordan, they tried to make Sharif Hussein, his father, cooperate with them as well, but his tenacity and declaration of this point that with this work my reputation would be gone with the Wind, led to his ouster from the Hejaz and he was deported to Cyprus.
It is worth mentioning that besides all the events and all the evidence, which suggested the formation of an unprecedented and terrifying conspiracy by big powers against the interests of the Palestinian people ,and the Arab elite and intelligent people had raised the alarm in their articles and speeches and statements and tried to wake people up, but tribal leaders optimistically looked at diplomacy and political negotiations with the Zionist colonial government of Britain, and they suspected that it could capture these governments’ attention. Thus, the Fourth Congress of Palestine in 1921 C. sent a Palestinian delegation headed by Kazim Pasha Hosseini to Europe to mention the demands and massages of the Palestinian people to the British government.
But Winston Churchill, the colonial British secretary, accepted them only as an informal board and said as long as they insist on the abolition of the Balfour Declaration, no negotiation is possible. He stressed that the mentioned Declaration is a certain and inevitable affair, but the Arabs can be assured that they will never have any lose because of it! Then by putting pressure on the board asked them to go to meet Weizmann and other Zionist leaders!
But because of the Palestinian delegation’s refusal, Churchill made a condition for delegation to go on this meeting if they want to meet British Prime Minister, Lloyd George!
However, it was clear that the Palestinian delegation’s written request on the abolition of the Balfour Declaration will not be taken from the government of Great Britain in such an atmosphere.
In August 1922, the Palestinian delegation came back with heavy load of suffering and misery and with empty hands of any result while the Palestinians were waiting to hear the response of their legitimate and legal demands from the British government.
But when they found that Great Britain has rejected all their demands, they said in fifth Palestinian Conference in Nablus that his country will use all necessary means to liberate the lands.
Palestinians saw themselves weaker to officially deal with English forces. So, they organized a series of attacks against Jews make an unsafe atmosphere for them and prevent Jewish immigration to Palestine; but the British military suppressed these movements hardly.
Although Palestinian conference did nothing special during the Seven periods of activity (in the years 1919- 1928 C.), but the masses of the Palestinian people followed campaigns against the Zionist and especially the Arab farmers often during the exclusion of lands which Arab capitalists had sold to the Zionists, fought in armed way with them.
Between 1924- 1928 C. relative recession and calm prevailed on the Palestinian political scene and except small and fragmented movements, there were not much events. Zionism's failure and inability to overcome the problems caused a reversed Jewish immigration to Palestine in the year 1927 C., and in 1928 C., Jewish immigrants moved to Palestine and some moved from Palestine.
On September 24 of 1928 C., coincided with the feast of atonement of Jews, some riots and unrest erupted in Jerusalem. Jews by putting a curtain on the west wall of the Haram al-Sharif, called the Western Wall (or wailing wall, place of the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)), the Arab Muslims ‘ religious feelings turned on and they began widespread riots and protests and This was the beginning of the bloody events that led to the uprising of 1929 C.
Wiseman, who had gone to America in those days to collect donations for the benefit of the Zionist movement, took advantages of these events, as an effective weapon and advertising and pretended them as a sign of innocence of the Jews in Palestine and in this way collected a lot of money by provoking the non- Zionists Jews’ sentiments.
the 1929 C. uprising emerged in the fourteenth August of that year, when Jews held a demonstration in Tel Aviv for the anniversary of the destruction of Solomon's Temple, and the next day a group of young Jews, led by a handful of radical Zionists moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and held unprecedented protests in the streets of the city and after singing the Zionist song "Hatikvah", they insulted Muslims.
The incident that shook the Arab world led thousands of Muslims to hold protests against Jews mutually in the next day, on Friday coincided with the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), after the Friday Prayers. Sheikh Hassan Abu Saad’s epic tirade increased the inflammation and excitement of population and it turned to violence.
On the seventeenth of August the conflict between two young Jew and Arab and the involvement of others caused eleven Jews and Arabs to become wounded. With the death of an injured young Jew, the Jews turned his funeral into a political protests against the Arabs.
Since apparently control of events had become outside the government’s hands, a large number of Muslim villagers by sticks were flooded to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday Prayers on Friday August 23.
By the Arab masses attacking to the Jewish areas, police used guns for them and several aircraft flew over the city and English armor were deployed against the people. People in Hebron and Nablus also held impassioned protests.
On 25 and 26 of August, the Arabs attacked elsewhere Jewish regions. In contrast, in an attack that Jews did in one of neighborhoods of Jaffa, the imam of a mosque and six Arab Muslims were killed. Meanwhile, the number of Jewish dead came to 133 and wounded people were 232.
In these events the largest Muslim clashes were with English police forces and the main obstacle to resolve the Jewish problem in Palestine was Great Britain’s army. In these unrests the British armed forces shoot many unarmed Arabs which were heavy losses for them.
In the wake of the riots, more than a thousand people who 90 percent of them were Arabs were arrested and delivered to the court. Finally, 26 of them were sentenced to death while only one was Jewish and the rest of them were Arabs.
Three of executed Muslims showed courage in the face of death and created epic that Ibrahim Tuqan (1905- 1941 C.), great and celebrated Palestinian poet, released the epic song of "Alslasa Al Hamra" (bloody Tuesday) in memory of them.
Since this period for the first time revolutionary songs became popular among Palestinians and people in the streets recited:
O darkness of prison! Shadow on us! However, we love darkness.
Because after prison, full victory rises and soars…
decisive suppression of the Muslims in 1929 C. uprising and explicit support of the British army for the Jews led Palestinian people to see themselves against forces of the Great Britain's colonial government, and they realized that the Palestinian leaders are not able to do anything and till now by being naïve, they had fallen into the trap of deceit of the British government, and they had lost the best opportunities so far.
For this reason, at a ceremony in 1931 C. which "was held throughout Palestine in the anniversary of the victory of Saladin Aoubbi over the crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, some anti-English and fiery speeches were delivered. Sobhi Khazra Deutsch wrote a fiery article in Aljameat Alarabiat newspaper and attributed all suffering of the Palestinian people and Arabs to the policies of the United Kingdom. In the same newspaper other articles were published by Muhammad Izzat Darwaza. He asked the Palestinians to fight with England's policies in these articles”.
The anti-English position leads to the creation of independent party (August 1932 C.), which in its short life of one year played a key role in guiding the Palestinian people’s public opinion against the Britain with publication of leaflets and articles and formation of communities.
However, in 1930 C. the Great Britain government missioned a committee chaired by Sir Walter Show to investigate on the case of last year's uprising. The committee after three months necessary studies in the Palestinian region said:
1. Palestine cannot tolerate the Zionists immigrants even within the criteria of the government.
2. These immigrants displaced Arabs and were settled in their place. Increase of immigration has resulted high unemployment and economic turmoil in the country.
3. Arab resistance to Jewish immigration is something logical because of extraordinary migration that has been already done in this country. This situation will inevitably lead to a national movement, especially there are other causes for the occurrence of further disturbances.
Following this report, the British government published the White Paper and said that he will monitor the Zionist immigration and buying lands and will stop any extravagance that intensifies economic turmoil.
Chaim Weizmann by using this opportunity declared that the Jewish Agency is ready to transfer Arab farmers to East Jordan and Iraq in order to avoid economic turmoil with the credit equivalent of a million Lira sterling!
On the other hand, in protest against this position of Great Britain, in a dramatic move Wiseman, the President of Zionism and many of the leaders of the organization resigned from their positions.
Finally, the UK government succumbing to the pressures of Zionism, opened the door to talk with a number of Zionist leaders and Weizmann and withdrew his former position and wrote a letter with the signature of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, addressed to Wiseman, in which he apologized and explained excuse and justify about what was done.
This collaboration led to increase of the emigration of Jews to Palestine, in 1932 C. It suggests that Arab’s protests were also ineffective and unproductive.