Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917–1948

5. Unity Ends

C H A P T E R 5 UNITY ENDS 1 2 1 PURGING THE COMPROMISERS The Peel Commission commenced its work in November 1936. Its members traveled through the country, heard testimony from both sides, and could see that the British administration had reasserted control. Yet the most prominent Arab collaborators were still being pursued. A Haifa police officer, Halim Basta, was murdered. He had contacts in the Yishuv and had trailed Sheikh al-Qassam’s followers. Bullets and explosives were aimed—yet again—at Haifa’s pro-Zionist mayor, Hasan Shukri, and at his son-in-law. A bomb was thrown at the house of the longtime informer “Na‘aman” in Battir.1 These were, however, exceptional cases. The hundreds of exiles in Lebanon and other neighboring countries returned to Palestine to rehabilitate their businesses, and it looked as if the public had returned to its normal routine. But unrest continued under the surface, manifesting itself in threatening letters and placards.2 On the eve of George VI’s coronation in 1937, militants ordered Arab public figures to boycott the celebrations in Palestine . They told the members of the Nablus city council that participants would be executed.3 Threatening letters were also received by Arabs who employed Jews. The owner of the Marina Café on Princess Mary Street in Jerusalem faced a dilemma. The members of the band that played music for his clients were Jews. With a heavy heart he dismissed them.4 Tensions rose as the country waited for the commission to issue its rec- ommendations. Here and there underground gangs resumed their operations , and bombs were thrown at merchants who refused to give them money.5 During the month preceding the publication of the Peel Commission report, the threats and attacks focused on opposition figures, as if to warn them how to react to the coming report. In mid-June 1937 a bomb was thrown at Salah ‘Abduh, the Nashashibis’ most prominent field activist in Jerusalem. He was not hurt. Two weeks later, on the last day of June, came the first attempt to kill Fakhri Nashashibi, nephew of Mayor Ragheb Nashashibi and the actual leader of the Defense Party organized around the family. He survived miraculously; he raised his hand to scratch himself and the bullet aimed at his head lodged in his arm.6 At the beginning of July, unknown assailants arrived (for the second time) at the home of Bethlehem’s mayor, ‘Isa Bandak, a member of the Defense Party. They opened fire, wounding Bandak’s wife and daughter and a housemaid .7 The message was clear: anyone who leaned toward compromise or disputed Hajj Amin’s leadership was a traitor whose life was forfeit. It was the end of national unity. The Higher Arab Committee refused to discuss the attacks, and the Defense Party’s representatives resigned.8 The Peel Commission issued its report on July 7, 1937. It recommended partitioning Palestine into three parts. The Jews would receive territory on the coast and in the Galilee (comprising some 15 percent of western Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean). Another area would remain under the British rule (including Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Lydda, and Jaffa port). An Arab area would include the rest of the country, some 80 percent, which would be united with Transjordan and gain independence.9 The Higher Arab Committee, now under exclusive al-Husseini control, rejected the proposal. Apparently the Committee’s rejection did not derive only from national considerations; there was also concern that attaching the Arab region to Transjordan might mean acceptance of Emir ‘Abdallah’s rule. The emir, for his part, declared his support for the plan. The Defense Party was split.10 The propaganda campaign, threats, and murders accelerated. Just two days after the publication of the Peel Commission report, the Husseini newspaper al-Liwaa wrote that “anyone who supports the idea of partition is a traitor.” The newspaper of al-Istiqlal said the same thing. Dozens of religious leaders issued a declaration stating that supporters of the Peel proposal were heretics.11 Assemblies and protest meetings were organized throughout the country and sought to swing public opinion against partition , this in response to the guarded support various people and groups 1 2 2 / R E B E L S A N D T R A I T O R S , 1 9 3 6 – 1 9 3 9 had expressed...