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The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; , better translated as Arab Rescue Army (ARA) or Arab Salvation Army (ASA), was an army of volunteers from
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the
1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...
. It was set up by the
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, but in fact, the League and Arab governments prevented thousands from joining either force. At the meeting in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
on 5 February 1948 to organize Palestinian Field Commands, Northern
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
was allocated to Qawuqji's forces although the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
was ''de facto'' already under the control of Transjordan. The target figure for recruitment was 10,000, but by mid-March 1948, the number of volunteers having joined the Army had reached around 6,000 and did not increase much beyond that figure. The actual number deployed might have been as low as 3,500, according to General Safwat. Its ranks included mainly
Syrians Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...
, Lebanese,
Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...
and a few hundreds of
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, Jordanians,
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from
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,
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, and
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. There were also a few
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, Turkish and
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deserters.


Disposition and control of forces

The Arab League Military Committee, with headquarters in Damascus, was responsible for the movements and servicing of the Army. The Committee consisted of General Ismail Safwat (Iraq, Commander-in-Chief), General Taha al-Hashimi (Iraq), Colonel Shuqayri (Lebanon), Colonel Muhammed al-Hindi (Syria) and Colonel Abd al-Qadir al-Jundi (Transjordan). All of the countries represented related to King Abdullah's long-held plans to re-form the region of Syria. This Greater Syria Plan (''Mashru Suriya al-Kubra'') had been supported by the British Empire throughout the thirties and forties.


Syria's reasons for developing the ALA

Syria's reasons for building the Army of Liberation were several. Syria's President
Shukri al-Quwatli Shukri al-Quwatli (; 6 May 189130 June 1967) was a Syrian politician and statesman who was the first president of post-independence Syria, in 1943. He began his career as a dissident working towards the independence and unity of the Ottoman Em ...
knew that the Syrian Army was undependable and useless as an instrument of war; therefore, it was much safer for Syria to influence the situation in Palestine by building up a force that was to be paid for and armed by all the Arab League countries. Egypt was to pay for 42% of the costs, Syria and Lebanon 23%, Saudi Arabia 20%, and Iraq the remaining 15%. Just as important as the financial reasons for building an Arab League force was the need to protect the Syrian army itself. By sending the volunteer army into battle, Quwatli hope to spare Syria from exposing its own troops to defeat, which could leave the country exposed to attack from Abdullah and possibly Jewish forces. If the volunteer army were defeated, the loss and embarrassment would be borne by the Arab League in general and the Palestinians in particular, not by Syria alone. Another advantage to an irregular army was that it could be sent into Palestine well before the British officially withdrew from their mandate on 15 May 1948. None of the Arab states were willing to declare war openly on the British. Thus, Syria would not officially be opening hostilities against the British troops, who still bore responsibility for security in Palestine. Furthermore, if the Arab countries failed to commit their armies to fight in Palestine – a possibility which seemed likely as Egypt agreed to participate only four days before the war began on 15 May 1948 – the Syrian government would still be active. It would retain leverage in Palestine and be able to tell the Syrian public that it had done more than the other Arab countries to help the Palestinians. Most importantly, however, the ALA was to be used as an instrument to nip Abdullah's Greater Syria plan in the bud and to keep him from expanding his state over half of Palestine. The evolution of President Quwatli's military objectives in Palestine is recorded in the diaries of Taha al-Hashimi. Hashimi was an Iraqi pan-Arab nationalist and long-time intimate of Quwatli, whom the Syrian president wanted to head the Liberation Army rather than General Safwat, Egypt's candidate. Hashimi was ultimately appointed Inspector General of the ALA and placed in charge of recruitment and training of the troops at the Qatana headquarters. His office was in the Syrian Ministry of Defense and he met daily with Syria's political and military leaders. After the United Nations General Assembly voted in support of partitioning mandate Palestine between Arab and Jewish populations - UN 181 - Hashimi records that in October 1947, and after Syria had failed to win either Saudi Arabia or Egypt over to the idea of an anti-Hashemite military alliance, Quwatli explained: Quwatli's strategy in Palestine was designed from the outset to prevent Abdullah's possible advance north to Damascus. In the best case, Quwatli hoped to acquire some of northern Palestine for Syria. A second reason for Quwatli's hesitation to commit Syrian military troops was that he had failed in his early efforts to reform the army and questioned the loyalty and effectiveness of its leadership. Although the head of the military, General Abdullah Atfeh, swore to the Minister of Defense in May 1947, that the Syrian army was "the best of all the Arab armies, the best army in the Middle East," the brigade commanders scoffed at this ridiculous assessment and cabled the President to warn, that "the army is not worth a red cent." nQuwatli was fully aware of the problems in his military. "The real problem is to reform the Syrian army and to solve the problem of its leadership," he confided to Taha al-Hashimi in September 1947. n Until the army could be strengthened, he hoped to keep it out of the fighting. In its stead he built the Arab Liberation Army. "It is imperative that we restrict our efforts to the popular movement in Palestine," Quwatli concluded. "We must strengthen it and organize its affairs as quickly as possible." nPrime Minister
Jamil Mardam Bey Jamil Mardam Bey (; ; 1895–1960), was a Syrian politician. He was born in Damascus to a prominent aristocratic family of Turkish origins. He is a descendant of the Ottoman general, statesman and Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pasha and the penulti ...
gave a lengthier explanation for why the Syrian army could not be sent into Palestine in November 1947, and why a volunteer army was needed. As Mardam makes clear, he knew the Syrian army could not withstand an attack by the Haganah; he knew his Arab allies were undependable; and he did not want to risk the "loss of reputation" that would inevitably ensue. That is why he and Quwatli were determined to limit their own involvement in Palestine to the ALA. When Hashimi spoke to the President a few days later about Mardam's plan, President Quwatli reiterated Mardam's concern that the government could not withstand the Syrian army's defeat in Palestine. As he had explained to Hashimi before, "the real problem is with reforming the Syrian army and solving the problem of its leadership." 9Because of these concerns, he said, "it is imperative that we restrict our efforts to the popular movement in Palestine. We must strengthen it and organize its affairs as quickly as possible. The trouble is that the Mufti ajj Amin al-Husayniwill not permit Fawzi al-Qawuqji to take the leadership in Palestine." n The next several weeks of intense negotiations between Quwatli, the Mufti, Qawuqji and other Arab leaders over the question of who would direct the popular resistance in Palestine were a complete failure; agreement was impossible. The Mufti refused to hand control over to Qawuqji. He claimed that Qawuqji would "sell" himself to the English, and added that, "if Qawuqji accepted partition, will kill him with yown hands." nThe Mufti insisted that Palestine did not need the volunteer army and that all money should be given directly to him. nKing Abdullah, in an effort to dismiss the Mufti, claimed he could save Palestine on his own. "Why don't the Arab countries send their armies directly to e" he inquired. Meanwhile, Abdullah was arming his own supporters in Palestine who rejected both the Mufti and Qawuqji. nAs for King Faruq of Egypt, he wanted nothing to do with any of them. He said, "The Arabs ought to get rid of all three of them: the Mufti, Abdullah, and Qawuqji." nThe question of who would take command of the Arab and Palestinian military campaign and what their objectives would be was never resolved.This section is sourced fro
Joshua Landis, "Syria and the 1948 War in Palestine."
/ref>


Entry into Palestine

On January 8, 1948, the borders of British-held Palestine were breached by a battalion of the ALA – "the Second Yarmuk Battalion" which was 330-soldiers strong and was commanded by Adib Shishakli. Entering from
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, the battalion set its headquarters near Tarshiha in the
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
. On January 20, 1948, this battalion attacked Kibbutz Yehiam and failed. The British High Commissioner
Alan Cunningham Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983), was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War II), East African Campaign duri ...
asked his government to pressure Syria to stop the invasion of the mandate territory by the ALA by threatening that the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
would take action. On January 20, 1948, a second ALA Battalion, a 630-soldier-strong First Yarmuk battalion, led by the Syrian officer Mohammed Safa, entered Palestine. It crossed the Damia Bridge over the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...
in a long convoy. An attempt by the British police to prevent their entry failed because of the intervention of the
Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...
, and so the invasion was not stopped by the British in spite of protests from the
Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...
. Fawzi al-Qawuqji joined this regiment, which was parked near Tubas. On February 15, 1948, the battalion attacked Kibbutz Tirat Zvi but failed to overtake it. The Hittin Battalion, led by the Iraqi Madlul Abbas, crossed the Jordan River on the Damia bridge on 29 January 1948 and dispersed in the mountains of
Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
. The two battalions that had come from Transjordan split into smaller units and deployed throughout Samaria. Their task was to maintain order in the area and allow
Abdullah I of Jordan Abdullah I (Abdullah bin Hussein; 2 February 188220 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan and its predecessor state Transjordan from 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir of Transjordan, a British protectorate, until 1946, when h ...
to annex the area to his kingdom. Attempts by the
Arab Higher Committee The Arab Higher Committee () or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Je ...
to sow discord between the units of the ALA were unsuccessful. Paradoxically, Samaria remained one of the quieter areas in Palestine during this period thanks to the ALA. The move was made in coordination with
Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...
who approved of Abdullah's plan to deploy the ALA through Samaria without the knowledge of the High Commissioner, provided it does not provoke intervention by the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
or accrue criticism from other Arab countries against the United Kingdom. According to Levenberg, this disposition of forces, away from the main warfare areas and close to the Syrian border, where it could create a buffer between Syria and Transjordanian forces, indicates their real objectives and missions. Qawuqji returned to Syria to organize further forces and in March 1948 re-entered Palestine from Syria with the "Al Hussein," and "Al Qadsia" battalions, numbering 360 soldiers each. A final " Jabal al-Arab" battalion manned by 500
Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
soldiers and commanded by Shakib Wahab settled in Shfar'am. The Druze forces took part in the battle of Ramat Yohanan. Following the fierce battle that inflicted many casualties on both sides, the battalion commanders reached an agreement with the Haganah to withdraw. Some members of the battalion, led by Ismail Qabalan, later fled from Syria and volunteered to the IDF to form the basis of its Druze forces. On 5 March 1948 Qawuqji returned to Palestine and set his headquarters in the Jaba village between
Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...
and
Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...
. He also set up a radio station broadcasting propaganda in Hebrew, Arabic and English. On April 4, 1948, the ALA forces attacked Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek in order to take it and join forces with the Arabs of
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
. The campaign lasted for ten days and ended in defeat for the ALA. In Parallel, the battalion led be Sishakli was defeated in the battle for
Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
during Operation Yiftach. In addition to these battles, ALA units fought in other areas, such as the
battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem also known as the Fall of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the s ...
and the road leading to it, the
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
, and urban fighting in mixed-population cities such as
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
. In some places these forces showed firm opposition to Jewish militias, such as at the battle of Nabi Samuel and Tel Arish. Regardless, on May 27, 1948, Qawuqji led his northern forces back to Syria to regroup. File:The_army_of_liberation_works_wonders_al_mussawar_19480403.jpg


The last stages of the war

In June 1948 the ALA returned to the Galilee and took part in retaking Malkiya, on June 5. During the "ten days battles" ALA forces based in Tarshiha attacked Jewish forces in Sejera but had to retreat when
Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
was occupied by the IDF. During the second truce the ALA remained active taking, for example, several outposts near Moshav Manof. In October 1948 the ALA succeeded in taking the post of Sheikh Abed near Manara and a counterattack by the Carmeli Brigade failed. In response, the IDF initiated Operation Hiram to rout the ALA from its strongholds in the Galilee. The operation began as the ALA's headquarters at Tarshiha's was attacked and captured by IDF forces, including the newly established
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
. Kaukji, though, managed to escape with most of his army. Although the ALA suffered hundreds of casualties it left Palestine to
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
largely intact. The ALA never returned to Palestine and was dismantled in the following months.


The Unit of the Minorities

In the early summer of 1948 some Druze fighters, mainly from Syria, along with Druze from the villages of Daliyat al-Karmil and
Isfiya Isfiya (, ), also known as Usfiya, is a Druze-majority village in northern Israel, governed by a Local council (Israel), local council. It also includes Christians, Muslims and a few Jews, Jewish households. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of ...
on
Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...
, defected from the Arab Liberation Army to the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
. These formed the core of the IDF's only Arabic-speaking unit, the Unit of the Minorities.


See also

* Palestine Liberation Army


Notes


References


Bibliography

*Aruri, Naseer Hasan (1972). ''Jordan: A Study in Political Development (1923–1965)''. Springer. * Gelber, Yoav (1997). ''Jewish-Transjordanian Relations 1921–48: Alliance of Bars Sinister''. London:
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
. * Gelber, Yoav (2004). ''Israeli-Jordanian Dialogue, 1948–1953: Cooperation, Conspiracy, or Collusion?''. Sussex Academic Press. * Gelber, Yoav (2004) "''Independence Versus Nakba''"; Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir Publishing, * Gelber, Yoav (2006). ''Palestine 1948. War, Escape and the Emergence of the Palestinian Refugee Problem''. Sussex Academic Press. *Landis, Joshua, (2001). "Syria in the 1948 Palestine War: Fighting King Abdullah’s Greater Syria Plan,” in Eugene Rogan and Avi Shlaim, (Eds.), "Rewriting the Palestine War: 1948 and the History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict," pp. 178–205. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Levenberg, Haim (1993). ''Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine: 1945–1948''. London: Routledge. * Morris, Benny (2008)
''1948: The First Arab-Israeli War''
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
, New Haven, * Oren, Michael, ''Six Days of War'', Random House Ballantine Publishing Group, (New York 2003, *Parsons, Laila (2001). The Druze and the birth of Israel. In Eugene L. Rogan and Avi Shalim (Eds.). ''The War for Palestine'' (pp. 60–78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Sayigh, Yezid (2000). ''Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


External links

* {{Arab nationalism 1948 Arab–Israeli War Expatriate military units and formations Arab nationalist militant groups Arab nationalism in Mandatory Palestine Anti-Zionism in Mandatory Palestine Pan-Arabist organizations Organizations based in Mandatory Palestine Military units and formations established in 1947 Military units and formations disestablished in 1948