|
 |
Image 174 / 319 |
 |
 |
Palestinian resistance fighters against British occupation and Jewish immigration on parade.
Throughout the thirties and until 1948, when the Arab states bordering on Palestine suddenly decided to intervene militarily in the Palestinian conflict, most of the fighters were villagers who were given light weapons, or which they purchased themselves on the black market. These fighters were given some rudimentary light weapons manipulation training by well-intentioned commanders, who had little or no military experience whatsoever, save for very few among them.
They occasionally attacked Jewish colonies (that's how the jewish settlements were referred to then), or concentrated either on defending their own villages, or were called upon in extremis to help defend other neighbouring villages (Fazaa in Arabic). Most of the combatants' activities were clandestine because they were constantly hounded by British authorities in Palestine, by armed Jewish settlers, but also by the neighbouring Arab governments, especially Egypt and Jordan, who arrested them, seized their weapons, emprisoned them, and prohibited Arab volunteers from joining their ranks, as well as the sale or transfer of weapons to the Palestinians. |
|
Image 174 / 319 |
|
|
