Palestine: A Modern History (ص 74)

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عنوان

Palestine: A Modern History (ص 74)

المحتوى

156) Prelude to Revolution: 1930-1935
French authorities in the territory mandated to France’.> In fact. this
was not the case.
The ‘Green Hand Gang’
The ‘Green Hand Gang’ was organised in October 1929 under the leader-
ship of Ahmed Tafish and mounted aff operation during the same
month against the Jewish Quarter in cooperation with their supporters
within the town of Safad. During the following ménth the band was
reinforced by a number of seasoned Druze revolutionaries who fought
the French in the famous Druze Rebellion of 1925 and who soon
became the backbone of the enlarged band. A second attack on Safad
in mid-November spurred the Administration to despatch ‘Palestinian
and British Police reinforcements to the area. Shortly‘after the arrival
of the reinforcements in Safad, the guerrillas appéared in the Acre
Sub-District where they started ambushing police pattols. Towards the
end of December the arrival of large troop reinforcements made driving
Operations against the guerrillas possible. The French ‘afforded valuable
assistance by patrolling the Syrian frontier with a large force of French
troops’.
The guerrillas proved to be eltisive as they were ‘working in an area
where many of the villagers were sympathetic to them’.> However, lack
of coordination and cooperation between the band and the Palestinian
political leadership dimmed the prospéct of the spread of armed
resistance to other areas, notably the Nablus District. Combined
military operations conducted against the band in the first two months
of 1930 caused a temporary break-ip of the band and the apprehension
of sixteen of their original number. As late as 22 February Chancellor
reported that ‘the band was reassembling and that further operations ”
were being undertaken against the remaining fighters.
‘The coming of the dry season, the arrest of the band leader in
Trans-Jordan, the combined efforts‘of the Police and the Army. and: the
failure to organise armed bands in‘other parts of the country provide
‘possible clues to the ‘failure of the ‘Green Hand Gang’.
The Foremost, Arabs Grievance
The Shaw Commission were cofvinced that Zionist land acquisition and
Jewish colonisation were the foremost Arab grievance, ‘the fears of the
Arab’ that the success of the Zionist land policy'meant their expropria-
tion ‘from the land were repdatedly emphasised’. When the Jewish
National Fund acquired Wadi Hawarth lands at afi auction ordered by a
court in satisfaction of a debt, Chancellor was certain that trouble was
7 Prelude to Revolution: 1930-1935
inevitable as
further purchases of agricultural land by the Jews can be made only
by dispossessing Arab cultivators of the land they are occupying and
so create a class of landless peasantry.’
The Shaw Commission reiterated the opinion expressed by the Haycraft
Commission that ‘The Arab fellaheen .and villagers are therefore
probably more politically minded than many of the people of Europe’.®
"The villagers, however, were not’the only victims of pressure created
by Zionist immigration. The Arabs, the Shaw Commission reported,
were convinced that Zionist land settlement and immigration schemes
would inevitably result in the complete subordination of the Arabs as a
race, the expropriation of their people from the soil, the unemploy-
ment of a large number and their displacement by Jews.?
Despite the-plight of the fellahin, the threat to urban Arab workers,
and the failure of the Mandate to’ establish self-governing institutions,
the political notables were détermined to stick to their traditional
attitudes towards the British Government. Encouraged by the findings
of the Shaw Commission, the personal disposition of Chancellor and
the‘ emergence of anew Labour Government under Ramsay MacDonald,
A new Arab Delegation elected by the Executive Committee proceeded
to negotiate with HM Governmeht in London a change of policy*that
would prevent disturbances and bloodshed in the future. The
Delegation was headed by Musa Kazem and “included Hajj Amin,
Raghed Nashashibi, ‘Awni ‘Abdul Hadi, Jamal Husseini and Alfred
Rock.
Negotiations in London
The composition of the Delegation represented the desire of the
Palestinian political notability to reach an understanding with the
| Government that would prevent Zionist domiriation in Palestine and
thus render their peaceful disposition towards the Government
a acceptable to the discontented Palestinians.
The Delegations reached London* on:'30 March 1930, and were
3 received the following day by the Prime ‘Minister and Lord Passfield,
the Colonial Secretary. In subsequent discussions the Palestinian leaders
demanded: the prohibition of land sales from Arabs to non-Arabs,
stoppage of Jewish immigration, the re-establishment of the (Ottoman)
Agricultural Bank and the institution of a national parliamentary
government in acdordance with Article 22 of the League’s covenant.’

هو جزء من

Palestine: A Modern History

تاريخ

1978

المنشئ

Abdul-Wahhab Kayyali

مجموعات العناصر

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