UNIVERSITY OF LONDON TITLE OF THESIS:- “PALESTINIAN – ARAB RELATIONS: A STUDY OF THE POLITICAL ATTITUDES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE PALESTINIANS IN THE ARAB HOST - STATES: 1949 – 1967”. LABIB WALID KAMHAWY SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF Ph. D. IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON. ABSTRACT This study seeks to establish the general nature of the relations between the Palestinians and their respective Arab Host-States during the period 1949-1967. The political attitudes and activities of the Palestinians constitute our central concern and those of the Arab Host-States are analyzed only in as much as they are related to the Palestinians. The theoretical framework of this study incorporates the hypothesis which, while examining the status of the Palestinians relative to various definitions of minorities, stateless persons and refugees, gives basic importance to Pan-Arabism as a common-bond. It is also of great significance that the dual character of nationalism and Pan-Arabism is shared both by the Palestinians and the Arab states at large. This study is broadly divided into three major eras: the era of formation, the era of transition and the era of revival. In addition, this study undertakes two cases studies of the Palestinians in Jordan and in the Gaza Strip. The era of formation which covers the period 1949-1952 had witnessed the dispersion of the Palestinian Arabs. The roots of the relations between the Palestinians and their respective Host-States were laid down during this era. 2 The era of transition which covers the period 1952-1963 was characterized by a Palestinian drive towards educational and academic attainment. Moreover, this era saw an increase in Palestinian political activism which was mainly manifested through political parties and political literature. The era of revival which covers the period 1963-1967 brought a shift in the political attitude of the majority of the Palestinian Arabs from major stress on Pan-Arabism and Arab unity to one of recognition of a Palestinian identity and the revival of Palestinian entity which culminated in the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the emergence of Al-Fatah: Palestine National Liberation Movement. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement……………………………………………………5 Introduction…………………………………………………………...6 Chapter One: A Conceptual Framework…………………………….14 Chapter Two: The Era of Formation, 1949-1952…………………...40 Chapter Three: The Era of Transition, 1952- 1963………………...102 Chapter Four: The Palestinians in Jordan, a case study……………170 Chapter Five: The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a case study……246 Chapter Six: The Era of Revival, 1963-1967………………………272 Chapter Seven: A General Assessment…………………………….346 Appendix...…………………………………………………………366 Bibliography………………………………………………………..384 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The writer of this study wishes to express his gratitude to all those who helped in making the conduct of this study possible through the courageous and generous help which they extended in spite of their appreciation of the personal hazards they could encounter as a result of this help. 5 INTRODUCTION On July 22, 1968, a Boeing 707 EL AL airplane in flight from Rome to Tel-Aviv was hijacked by Palestinians and forced to land in Algeria. That incident marked the beginning of what has been known since as acts of „international terrorism‟. Many similar incidents followed suit and involved many countries. The effect was stunning. People all over the world started wondering and asking, “why?”, and, “who are those Palestinians?”. One could answer the first question by suggesting that it could be a Palestinian shock treatment to dispel what they considered to be the apathy of the world to their problem and sufferings. The question remains, however, “who are the Palestinians?”. A simple question perhaps, but the answer is far from that. It is customary for any researcher to encounter the initial difficulty of choosing the topic of his or her research, yet, more difficult indeed is the ability to succeed in that undertaking which should combine the originality, the academic criteria, and the stimulation needed to satisfy both the writer and the reader. This research is no exception. The choice of this topic which deals with the relations between the Palestinians and the Arab Host-States during the period 1949-1967 was determined by the following factors. There appears to be no comprehensive study 6 readily available of the relations between the Palestinians and the Arab Host- States which treats this topic as one unit and which deals with the various social, demographic, political, economic, educational and military aspects of this relationship. This research was, therefore, conducted with the aim of shedding some light on the nature of Palestinian-Arab relations during the period of our study. Furthermore, it is contended that the Palestine Problem, and consequently the Palestinians, were at the core of the politics of the Arab Host-States since 1949, and that the understanding of Palestinian-Arab relations constitutes, therefore, an important contribution to the understanding of the politics of the Arab states in general, and the Arab Host-States in particular, during the period of our study. Finally, this study was conceived as being a broad study which cuts across almost all important aspects of Palestinian relations with the Arab Host-States during the period 1949-1967. In this sense, this study neither undertakes an intensive elaborate analysis of specific aspects of Palestinian relations with Arab Host-States during the period 1949-1967, nor does it claim to be a complete study of that relationship. Rather, the intention is to portray more broadly the relations between Palestinians and the Arab Host-States during the period 1949-1967. The choice of the period 1949-1967 was determined by the fact that in 1949, the armistice agreements between Israel, on the one side, and Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan on the other side were 7 signed. This marked the de facto acceptance by these Arab Host-States of the demarcation lines of Israel, thus ending a period of uncertain hope for a quick settlement and the return to the homeland by the dispersed Palestinians. The year 1967, with its June War and its clear-cut results in terms of the undisputed Arab defeat and loss of territory, which included the remaining part of Mandate Palestine under Arab control as well as parts of the territories of Egypt and Syria, had a drastic impact on the Arab political scene, thus marking the end of an area in Arab politics and the beginning of a new one. During the process of preparing for this research, the writer was confronted by a variety of problems which wee mainly related to the last four chapters. Most of these problems emanated from the nature of the topic itself. The topic of this research is largely considered by both the Palestinians and the Arab Host-States as being a sensitive issue which is usually not discussed directly in public. This was clearly reflected in the absence of reliable data, statistics and information on the topic, whether on the official governmental level or on the academic level in the form of research projects or serious books. The reasons behind this sensitivity varied from one Host-State to another. Jordan, for example, which houses the majority of the Palestinian See Chapter Seven, pp. 346-347. 8 people considered the Palestinians in Jordan as Jordanian citizens and did not, therefore, undertake or even permit the publication or otherwise of any data, statistics or information which pertains solely to the Palestinians or which account for the Palestinian origin of its Jordanized Palestinian population. In the case of the Gaza Strip, which comes next to Jordan in the number of its Palestinian population, Egypt, as the administrative power, restricted its published information to official decrees. The same applies to Syria. As for Lebanon, the government published practically nothing. Some United Nation agencies– especially UNRWA and UNESCO, are the main source of statistics on Palestinians in the Arab Host-States. In order to overcome this lack of data, statistics and information, the writer of this research relied, among other things, on interviews with people who participated, either directly or indirectly, in the shaping of Palestinian relations with their respective Host-States during the period of the study. This was not an easy undertaking. Locating these people who were dispersed in various countries was itself a problem. More difficult, however, was the task of convincing them to talk freely about information they have. Some refused, some talked frankly and other reservedly. Most of them, however, insisted that their identity remain anonymous. The gathering of information about the emergence of the Al-Fatah: Palestine National Liberation Movement was most difficult and daunting. 9 Nonetheless, circumstances played a great helping role in giving the writer the chance to interview two of Al-Fatah‟s prominent lenders who revealed some very interesting information. In addition to interviews, the writer of this research relied on some unpublished documents, local newspapers, books written by Palestinian thinkers as well as United Nations documents and publications. This study consists of six chapters in addition to the introduction and the conclusion. Chapter one sets out the conceptual framework. It attempts a theoretical analysis of the concepts of minorities, stateless persons and refugees according to which the analysis of the status of the Palestinians in the Arab Host-States is based. An analysis of the dual-character of nationalism and Pan-Arabism which is enjoyed by the Palestinians and the Arabs at large is then undertaken to point out the common bonds between the Palestinians and their respective Arab Host-States. This is followed by the hypothesis which suggests that the Palestinians in the Arab Host-States constitute the intruding-element and the Host-States the existing-elements.