The Grand Mufti by Z Elpeleg Shmuel Himelstein

Author:Z Elpeleg, Shmuel Himelstein [Z Elpeleg, Shmuel Himelstein]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Middle East, General, Social Science, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781136292736
Google: z5wrBgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012-11-12T15:54:18+00:00

4

From the Defeat of 1948 to the Establishment of the PLO

FAILURE OF THE EFFORTS TO PREVENT THE ANNEXATION OF THE WEST BANK TO JORDAN

As mentioned above, Haj Amin did not abolish the Arab Higher Institute or close its offices after the meeting of the Palestine National Council in Gaza and the establishment of the All-Palestine Government. In fact, there was no longer any justification, at least in theory, for the existence of a pre-state body such as the Arab Higher Institute, since institutions of state had now been established: a government, a National Council under Haj Amin’s Presidency, and even a Supreme Council with him at its head. There were two apparent reasons for Haj Amin’s policy. First, his fear that the members of the League would not recognise him as president of the Palestine National Council; and second, his fear that the All-Palestine Government would be abolished or simply decline. These fears were supported by the fact that the members of the League who had decided on the establishment of the government were careful not to place Haj Amin at its head and continued in their refusal to grant him any position, in an attempt to reduce the opposition of the Hashemite regime to a minimum. Haj Amin, refusing to accept such dictates, organised and headed the conference in Gaza. In effect, this move amounted to a challenge not only to Transjordan and Iraq, but also to the block of League members who opposed the Hashemites. Haj Amin was well aware of the fact that the very establishment of the All-Palestine Government was merely part of the ongoing conflict between Abdullah and his rivals, and therefore took into account the possibility that those who had initiated the establishment of the government would give in to Abdullah at a later stage, as they had in the past. Thus he kept the Arab Higher Institute in existence, for this was a body which, over the years, had gained recognition and a reputation within the Arab world. In retrospect, his fears were justified by the events of the following months: the capitulation of the Arab League to Abdullah, and Egypt’s refusal to transfer any governing authority in Gaza to the All-Palestine Government.

Among those Palestinian leaders who had scattered at the end of 1948 and the beginning of 1949 were some of Haj Amin’s personal assistants and members of the Arab Higher Institute. Assisted by the handful of supporters who remained with him, Haj Amin continued his activities from his house in Cairo, warning against the actions of Transjordan, and claiming that the Arab Higher Institute was the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian Arabs. However, the 1920s and 1930s, the years in which Haj Amin had been able to enlist support and funds from the Muslim and Arab world with ease, were past. So too was the period when he had controlled the resources of the waqf himself, by means of the Supreme Muslim Council, without Egypt’s involvement. The Institute now had

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.