The Palestinian "Holy Jihad" army was formed in two phases in 1939 and 1947, with the aim of confronting British-backed Jewish plans, and to resist the intentions of dividing Palestine between Arabs and Jews.

Origin and establishment

The establishment of the Holy Jihad Army is dated December 25, 1947, but the signs of its establishment to resist Britain's intentions and its protection of Jewish gangs began in 1936.

On May 5, 1936, the "Holy Islamic Army Organization" broadcast the first statement declaring "the revolution against the enemies." Indeed, on May 7, its leader, Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini, gave the first signal signaling the start of the revolution, and its fighters attacked a British army barracks in Jerusalem.

Within a few months, the army took control of the Palestinian countryside and a number of cities, including Old Jerusalem.

The Islamic Army carried out dozens of operations against British and Jewish targets, including railways, telephone lines, and bridges, and fought battles, including the Battle of Al-Khader, west of Bethlehem in October 1936, with the participation of dozens of revolutionaries, most of whom managed to withdraw, against hundreds of British soldiers.

The army was led at this stage by Ibn al-Quds (Al-Husseini), but he was wounded in the Battle of Al-Khader and left the country for treatment abroad, and continued in exile for about 10 years, before returning in December 1947 and leading the holy jihad again.

The first phase of this army's work ended with the end of the Palestinian revolution in 1939, due to the outbreak of World War II and some Arab interventions.

And when a UN commission of inquiry (formed on May 15, 1947) issued the decision to partition Palestine, the Islamic Supreme Council issued a statement rejecting the recommendation, and also rejected the partition decision issued on November 29, 1947.

It hastened to convene under the chairmanship of Mufti Amin al-Husseini, and decided to confront colonial plans with armed force and to establish a "Palestine Army" to practice actual jihad, and the Mufti was chosen as supreme commander of this army, and he resupplyed the "Holy Jihad" organization.

The Mufti's leadership of the army did not last long, as it turned into the Palestinian "Holy Jihad" army and its leadership was transferred to Al-Husseini, and its goal was defined as "the liberation of Palestine, the preservation of its territorial integrity, and the preservation of its Arabism."

The new army commander held his first meeting with his command staff in the village of Surif, west of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, on December 25, 1947.

The Arab countries formed the "Higher Arab Committee for Palestine" in 1945, to put an end to the divisions between the Palestinian parties at the time.

This army included fighters from different stripes and ideological and political backgrounds, and from Palestine and abroad.

Operations of the Holy Jihad Army and its formations

The army began its operations and battles from Jerusalem by attacking the army and police barracks and the British colonies, then the scope of operations expanded, and its recruits from neighboring Arab countries increased.

It was distributed into sectors, and it was entrusted with the task of attacking Jewish and British targets on the one hand, and defending Palestinian cities and villages on the other hand, and it fought several battles that ended in victory in most of them.

The operations of the "Holy Army" reached the point of liberating cities from the Jews and the Mandate Authority, and the assassination of senior officials and agents, backed by a dimension and a popular movement on the ground in which the various groups of the Palestinian people participated. Britain responded by declaring a state of emergency using the method of massacres and destruction.

Flags and symbols

It is not possible to separate the "Holy Jihad" army from one of the most prominent flags of Palestine at the time, Al-Husseini, who was the commander of the Al-Quds Brigade until his martyrdom on April 8, 1948. Al-Husseini is also considered the most prominent symbol of the army as its founder and leader in the two stages.

Also among the symbols of this army is his deputy from Jerusalem, Kamel Erekat, who later became Speaker of the Jordanian Parliament, as well as the Secretary of the Army Command, Qassem Al-Rimawi, who later assumed several political positions in Jordan.

They also include the administrative affairs inspector, Dawood al-Husseini, who held several political positions in Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Among the flags and symbols of the "Holy Jihad" army is Ibrahim Abu Diyat al-Ghunaimat, commander of the Military Operations Brigades, who died in Beirut of injuries sustained during the battles.

Holy Army weapons and equipment

The numbers of the Mujahideen or their salaries were not fixed, but rather changed according to circumstances and material conditions.

One of the main problems that the forces were suffering from was the issue of armament.

This army tried to obtain weapons from abroad, and was about to conclude a deal with the Czechs in the name of the Syrian government, including about 8 thousand rifles, 7 million rounds and 200 pistols, but these efforts failed after the intervention of the Jews.

The Holy Jihad Army tried to obtain weapons from Arab and Western countries, and the Higher Arab Authority sent envoys to Lebanon, Syria, Libya, France and Switzerland, without achieving any qualitative change.

This army was forced to import and repair weapons used in World War II, and for this purpose it set up workshops in Egypt and Syria.

Some historical sources indicate that the Arab Higher Committee provided in various ways, including secrecy, to the "Holy Jihad" forces - during the years 1947/1948 - about 5,400 rifles, 500 machine guns, hundreds of pistols and more than 100,000 bombs and mines, in addition to the necessary supplies. Military equipment such as clothes and others.

The Palestinian Encyclopedia quotes Munir Abu Fadil, inspector of military affairs in the "Holy Jihad" forces, as saying, "The Arab countries did not abide by the implementation of the recommendation of the Arab Military Committee in 1947, which recommended providing no less than 10,000 rifles, machine guns, bombs, and explosives."

After the killing of al-Husseini, the commanders of the "Holy Jihad" forces met again in Jerusalem, and the leadership was entrusted to Khaled al-Husseini.

Disbanding the "Holy Jihad" Army

The Holy Jihad Army made achievements on the ground against British forces and Jewish gangs, but many circumstances met and ended with its dissolution prior to the Nakba in 1948.

On December 25, 1948, the Jordanian authorities issued an order to dissolve the "Holy Jihad" forces, but the forces remained in their positions until the Higher Arab Authority issued a decision to dissolve them in 1949.

And when the fighting stopped following the armistice between the Arab countries and Israel, Jordan and the Arab countries worked to absorb the army's fighters, and a number of its leaders assumed special political, administrative and military positions in Jordan.