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Durham E-Theses A study of the ideology of Palestinian Arab nationalism since 1948 Nottingham, Judith How to cite: Nottingham, Judith (1973) A study of the ideology of Palestinian Arab nationalism since 1948, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10102/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk A STUDY OF THE IDEOLOGY OF PALESTINIAN . ' ARAB NATIONALISM SINCE 19^8 . by JUDITH NOTTINGHAM THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF M.A. ,ABSTRACT In the first half of the nineteenth century, the predominant ideas in Palestine, as in the rest of the Arab world, were of freedom from European rule. This was gradually achieved, at least formally,, and new ideas of pan-Arabism and unity became ascendant. The old Palestinian nationalist parties disintegrated in face of the ne^^r ideas and the loss of part of Palestine to the Jews. With the expulsion of many Palestinians to surrounding countries and the establishment of the state of Israel, ideas of Palestinian liberation developed based upon Third World theories of people's war and in some cases upon Marxism. At first the Arab establishment attempted to control the new " Palestinian institutions and in some cases actually set them up. However, they were eventually taken over by al-Fateh, the most powerful and successful of the new guerrilla groups. Al-Fateh's strength was based initially upon its careful assessment of the situation-and its refusal to become the creature of any particular Arab state. However, it refused to commit itself to the formation of any definite form of Palestinian state in the event of libera• tion, and faced growing criticism from more radical groups dedicated to the establishment of a socialist Palestine. Because of its failure to bring about unity between the various groups and also because of its internal differences, al-Fateh missed its chance of seizing power in Jordan in 1969 and was heavily defeated the next year by King Husain's army. It remains to be seen whether the Palestinians will be able to overcome their disunity to form a more viable resistance movement in the future. CONTENTS • Introduction 1 1. Palestine Before 1950 3 Background 3 Arab Political Organisation in Palestine 7 Arab Political Activity in Palestine 10 Palestine After Annexation 21 2. The Loss of the Palestinian Identity 1950-1961 22 The Arab Nationalist Parties 23 1) The Arab Socialist Resurrection Party (Ba'th) 25 '2) The Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM) 28 Palestine and the Arab States 32 1) The Alternative to War with Israel 3^ 2) The Re-emergence of Hajj Amin 36 3) Palestine Between the Arab States 39 3. The Palestinian Entity 1961-196^ h6 . The Decline of Arab Nationalism , k-7 The Beginnings of the Fedayeen ^8 The Arab Attitude to Palestinian Nationalism 52 The First Arab Summit Conference, January 196^ 57 The New Groups and the Palestinian Entity 59 The First Palestinian National Congress 67 ko The Rise of the Fedayeen 196^-1967 72 Reassessment of the Palestinian Entity 7? The Second Palestinian National Congress 81 The Third Arab Summit . 92 The PLO and Jordan 95 The Third Palestinian National Congress 100 Acceptance of the Fedayeen 101 5. Development of the Fedayeen 1967-1970 108 The General Effects of the June War 1967 IO8 The Effects of the June War on the Palestinians 111 Fateh's Unity Congress 113 Continued Tension with Jordan II6 CONTENTS The Battle of Al-Karamah and its Effects on the Palestinians 1l6 The Ba'th-Based Groups 119 . The ANM-Based Groups 121 Towards Palestinian Unity 126 6. Assessment of al-Fateh and the Fronts 1^-9 The Palestinian Revolution and the Arab Regimes 151 The Palestinian Revolution and Arab Society 158 Palestinian Organisation 165 Conclusion 173 Appendix I: The Draft Palestinian National Charter 176 Appendix lis The Draft Constitution of the PLO 196^ 179 Appendix III: UN Security Council Resolution of 22nd November 196? 183 Appendix IV: The Palestinian National Charter I968 I8if Appendix V: The Constitution of the PLO 1968 189 Table I: Refugee Population 1967-1969 193 Table II: Main Palestinian Organisations 19^ Table III: Al-Fateh and PASC Military Operations 196 Table IV: Unity and Splits in the Resistance 197 Table V:: Membership of the Palestinian National Congresses and PLO 198 Table VI: Signatures of Joint Statement February 1970 199 Note on the Sources 200 Bibliography 201 INTRODUCTION "Our Palestinian brothers have lost almost everything, but in the process they have discovered something precious, their semi-obliterated Palestinian personality, which.the Israelis and Imperialists and reactionary Jordanian regime have tried to destroy and which their twenty-year status as displaced persons had threatened." 1 Since the June War of 1967, it has become generally recognised, even by Israel, that the Palestinian resistance movement constitutes an important new element in the Middle East. An Israeli military intelligence expert wrote: " . after the downfall of the Arab armies the fedayeen action gained renown for them in the Arab countries and outside, and the Palestinians were transformed from an inferior factor into the standard-bearer of Arab nationalism and a source of pride." 2 It is the purpose of this thesis to trace the re-emergence.of the Palestinians,,as an organised entity with a specifically Palestinian-oriented ideology, from the fragmentation which resulted from the 19lf8 war. For the purpose of this paper, ideology can be defined as a body of inter-related ideas providing a coherent interpretation of the existing situation within both the historical and . environmental context. Ideologies in this sense are usually formulated with reference to a specific group of individuals with certain characteristics in common, perhaps a class, a religious community or a nation. The Ideology explains the position of the particular group in the order of things and provides them with both long-term and immediate alms. 1o Carlos Belle, Address to the International Union of Students, meeting in Berlin (GDR), March 20th-26th I968. Belle was Angolan delegate. 2. Y, Harkabi, The Position of the Palestinians in the Israeli- Arab Conflict and their National Covenant 1968 (Translated from the Hebrew by J. Kraemer). 0 Nationalism may be defined as an ideology which gives a group an identity as a nation, the members of which have common characteristics and history. Once identified, the nation is provided with certain aims for which all members of the group must strive. The effort to realise their common destiny then further unites the members of the nation into a recognisable •entity. Palestinian nationalism offers the Palestinians an explanation of the situation in which they found themselves after the 19^8 war. It also gives them an end for which they can strive, the liberation of their country, and the means for achieving this, armed struggle. Since no ideology can exist in isolation from the material world which it.seeks to explain, it is necessary to consider in some detail, the context within which Palestinian nationalism arose. Thus a large part of the thesis is devoted to an historical account .of the Palestinians and the forms of organisation they adopted after 19^8. At the same time, no ideology is.totally unaffected by the ideas which preceded it or those which developed concurrently in other.parts of the world, especially since the development of mass communication. It is therefore necessary to understand the ideas predominant in the Arab world before ^^k8 and the circum• stances which produced them. This is the subject of the first chapter. During the 1950s, Palestinian nationalism as such was obscured by the rise of new forms of pan-Arab oriented nationalism and this period is covered in chapter two. Chapters three to five deal with the re-emergence of Palestinian nationalism, the institutions through which it was expressed, and the different trends which developed within it. The sixth chapter is a discussion of the ideological differences between these trends. It attempts to assess and compare the main rival theories, first as coherent and internally consistent bodies of thought and second, with respect to their relevance to the situation they attempt to' explain. The guide to action each provides is judged according to its success in practice, until the crushing of the resistance in September 1970. CHAPTER ONE: PALESTINE' BEFORE 1950 Background Towards the end of the nineteenth century, certain sections of the Arab intelligentsia within the Ottoman empire developed a desire first for Arab autonomy inside the empire and later for complete Arab Independence. Palestine at this time was a recognised geographical area within the province of Syria. Still under nominal Turkish rule, Syria suffered severely from the neglect and corruption which characterised the final stages of Ottoman decline. Before the first World War the boundaries of the area known as Palestine included both present-day Israel and Jordan. The Arabs recognised the existence of different regions within their world but the Ideal for which they strove was an undivided Arab entity.