Proving and Silencing : how Palestinian fighters ended "Annexation" (15 May 1948 January 1949)‎ in the writings of Qasim Al-Rimawi on al-Jihad al-Muqaddas

Abstract EN

This paper studies the position of Holy War Army (HWA) (al-Jihād al-Muqaddas), the most prominent Palestinian force in the 1947-1949 war, on Jordanian attempts to annex the remainder of central Palestine following the 1948 partition plan.

It draws on primary sources written at various points by one of the organisation's most prominent leaders, Qasim Mohammed Al-Rimawi.

It lays out al-Rimawi's account of events in his earlier and later writings, tracing how his narrative develops over time through a selected sample, looking for the "silencing" that al-Rimawi engages in throughout his collective works.

The paper concludes that a key part of the history of 1947-1949 war, and specifically the experience of Palestinian fighters, has been silenced in various historical sources because of later political developments.