How Did Palestine - Divided and Under Occupation - Initiate the End of the War Between Saudi Arabia and Yemen in 1934? And Why Have We Lost This Spirit of Initiative These Days?

Writer: Dr. Rafiq Al-Husseini

In 1933, a fierce war broke out between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, led by Imam Yahya Hamid al-Din al-Alawi al-Zaydi (the ancestor of the Houthis). The war began as a military border dispute over the regions of Asir, Najran, and Jazan, and ended with the signing of the Taif Treaty in mid-1934.

This war came against the backdrop of deep-rooted historical disputes, since the Idrisid Emirate in Jazan turned into Saudi protection and then fully joined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1930. However, between 1932 and 1933, the Idrisids rebelled against King Abdulaziz, and after their rebellion failed, they sought refuge in Yemen under Imam Yahya.

In April 1933, Imam Yahya's forces advanced into Saudi territories in Jazan and Najran, and the Yemeni army occupied them, prompting Saudi Arabia to respond militarily to reclaim those areas. Battles erupted on various fronts, where the Saudi army advanced, regained control of Najran and Jazan, and moved into Yemeni territory, taking control of coastal cities in Tihama such as Hodeidah, Haradh, and Midi.

This war raised concerns among the Arab and Islamic national elites in Egypt and the Levant, considering it a fragmentation of the unity of the Arabian Peninsula and a weakening of the Arab world in the face of colonial powers... At the forefront of those concerned in Palestine was Sheikh Musa Kazem Al-Husseini (who was nearing eighty), the head of the executive committee elected by the Seventh Palestinian Conference since 1928 and the undisputed leader of the national movement in Palestine since he refused (as the mayor of Jerusalem) to recognize the Balfour Declaration or accept the introduction of Hebrew as an official language in the municipality, leading to his dismissal by the British... His people embraced him and appointed him as their leader... Also concerned was Haj Amin Al-Husseini (who had not yet turned 36 at the time), who was the Mufti of Jerusalem since May 1921, the head of the Supreme Islamic Council (January 1922), and the head of the executive committee of the General Islamic Conference held in Jerusalem in December 1931, attended by leaders from 22 Muslim countries (Sunni and Shia) from Asia, Africa, and Europe.

At the time the Yemen-Saudi war broke out, Sheikh Musa Kazem Al-Husseini was busy on one hand trying to unify the conflicting Palestinian political forces between "hardline" nationalists (led by the "Council" faction supportive of Haj Amin) and "moderates" opposing Haj Amin's policy (led by Raghib Al-Nashashibi and a group of appointed mayors). On the other hand, Musa Kazem had to prepare and lead major demonstrations against the increasing Jewish immigration facilitated by Britain, especially after the Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933. On a third front, Musa Kazem was thinking about how to intervene to stop the armed conflict that had begun between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, as Musa Kazem Pasha - during the Ottoman Empire - was a governor (Mutasarrif) of the Asir region of Saudi Arabia, which historically belonged to Yemen, as well as the Najd region where King Abdulaziz was born and raised and built his modern state, and he personally knew the warring leaders. However, in October 1933, during his leadership of a major demonstration in Jaffa, he was struck on the head by British police officers with their batons, causing him a slow brain hemorrhage that led to a gradual decline in his health. In March 1934, Musa Kazem Al-Husseini passed away!

After the death of Musa Kazem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini found himself at the political forefront, and although he had been sidelined from the political scene in previous years, he - between the Nabi Musa riots (in 1920) and the Buraq riots (in 1929) - was prepared to confront the Zionist project that was beginning to take shape on Palestinian soil. Despite not having yet turned thirty-seven, he had become a national, Arab, and Islamic leader pointed to with a finger, and after Musa Kazem's death, he had to combine in his person the national leadership of the Palestinian people alongside his role in leading the national and Islamic action in the Arab East against colonialism and Zionism.

Immediately after the grand funeral of Musa Kazem Al-Husseini in early March 1934 and his burial in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque next to King (Sharif) Hussein bin Ali (and it must be said that King Hussein sacrificed the throne of Hijaz rather than accept the introduction of the Balfour Declaration into the treaty proposed by Britain to the Kingdom of Hijaz), Haj Amin Al-Husseini took the initiative to stop the bloodshed in the Arabian Peninsula, which was intensifying and deepening. Based on his position as president of the General Islamic Conference, he formed a delegation headed by him and included three prominent intellectual and political figures from the Arab world who were.

- Prince Shakib Arslan, the Arab writer and thinker (of Lebanese Druze origin) and one of the prominent advocates of Islamic unity and Arab unity. He is known for his famous books "Why Have Muslims Lagged Behind While Others Have Advanced?" and "The Present of the Islamic World."

- Hashim Bey al-Atassi, who was tasked by King Faisal I to form the government of the Syrian Kingdom, which he established on May 2, 1920, thus becoming the second person to hold the position of Prime Minister in Syria. However, the duration of his government was short due to the French occupation of Damascus in July 1920. He also became the head of the National Bloc in Syria and the President of the Syrian Republic in December 1936 and later in December 1949.

- Muhammad Ali Alouba Pasha, the Egyptian lawyer who was a member of the Egyptian delegation to Britain in 1918, and one of the founders of the Constitutional Liberals Party in 1924. He held the Ministry of Awqaf in 1925, the Ministry of Education in 1926, and the Ministry of Education and Teaching in 1936.

The "Peace" delegation arrived in Jeddah at the beginning of April 1934, moving between the Saudi and Yemeni leaderships to bring their viewpoints closer. Haj Amin al-Husseini and the members of the delegation met with King Abdulaziz Al Saud in his palace in Mecca (the Al-Maabida Palace), and after sensing a desire to stop the bloodshed and achieve a comprehensive peace without the intention of forcibly annexing lands, and the desire to stabilize and secure the borders, the delegation worked to overcome political and diplomatic obstacles and mediate in formulating the basic conditions to end the war between the Mutawakkilite Kingdom in Yemen and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until a formula was reached that both parties accepted.

The mediation efforts led by the General Islamic Conference delegation culminated in the announcement of the Taif Treaty in May 1934, which stipulated the immediate cessation of military operations and the declaration of permanent peace between the two countries, the withdrawal of the Saudi army from the areas it occupied within the Yemeni depth (such as the cities of Hodeidah and Hajjah), and the demarcation of borders so that the regions of Najran, Jazan, and Asir remained under Saudi sovereignty, with the establishment of rules for good neighborliness and the organization of movement, residence, and settlement of the nationals of both countries. The treaty also enshrined Yemen's recognition of Saudi sovereignty over Asir, Jizan, and Najran, as part of an agreement that would be renewed every 20 years. The relationship between the border areas was organized, allowing the residents of both countries to reside and work across the borders.

In the months (and years) leading up to the peace agreement in the Arabian Peninsula, the Palestinian opposition (whose leaders claimed their connection to the interests of the homeland, but whose personal interests were tied to the mandate) launched media attacks against Haj Amin and his "extreme" policy against Britain and the Zionist movement. In a press interview in 1924, one of his rivals, Sheikh As'ad al-Shuqayri (who was 37 years older than him), accused him of "trading in religion... and aimed to collect money from the Islamic world in the name of the construction and decoration of mosques and temples, then spending that on painting and finding resources for those who have no work among the specialists, even though these things are luxuries that can be postponed until after securing the essential needs of the country." As for the leader of the "opposition" and the mayor of Jerusalem, Raghib al-Nashashibi (who was 16 years older than Haj Amin), along with several mayors of major cities and some large landowners and merchants known as the "opposition," he published a statement in December 1931 stating that "Haj Amin and those with him do not represent all Muslims of Palestine" and that based on this, the opposition leaders decided to hold a rival Islamic conference called the "Islamic Nation Conference" (at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem) during the convening of the general Islamic conference, which was attended by 25 delegations representing prominent national Muslim scholars from more than 22 Muslim countries... The main goal of those calling for the "Islamic Nation Conference" was to oppose the "general Islamic conference" and sabotage one of Haj Amin's and the council's most important national initiatives. In February 1932, three leaders of the "Islamic Nation Conference" issued a statement accusing Haj Amin of violating the holy places "by converting mosques into warehouses or residences and altering the features of the graves of martyrs, scholars, and the righteous..."

However, when the peace delegation representing the general Islamic conference returned from Taif to Jerusalem (in July 1934), it seemed that the opposition's position had changed. The Palestine newspaper (which was close to the opposition) wrote that the delegation had "succeeded in its critical mission for peace in the peninsula," and the newspapers praised Haj Amin on their front pages, publishing pictures of the delegation members and describing them as having achieved great success "in stopping the war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Yemen, and at the same time promoting Palestine and its cause in the Arabian Peninsula."

In summary...

Firstly - The reconciliation initiative planned and led by the Palestinian Haj Amin al-Husseini, supported by the Lebanese Sheikh Shakib Arslan, the Syrian Hashim al-Atassi, and the Egyptian Muhammad Aluba Pasha, contributed to stopping a "senseless" war, as well as raising the name of Palestine (which is at risk of being Judaized) high.

Secondly - More importantly, the peace delegation's initiative turned the political equation in Palestine in favor of the national movement, as both enemies and friends agreed on Haj Amin's capabilities as a new leader for Palestine, leading its battle against the Zionist movement on one hand and British occupation on the other.

Thirdly - Despite all the bickering and the Palestinian nationalists claiming to act in the public interest in 1934 and before, Haj Amin's initiative to achieve reconciliation between two Arab states managed to "hit several birds with one stone". It placed Palestine on the Arab and Islamic map, achieved a significant accomplishment for the Arabs, and unified the Palestinian street while directing attention towards the lurking enemy in Palestine. In fact, the "opposition" newspapers, which used to insult Haj Amin and belittle his significance, were forced to acknowledge his important initiative alongside his ability to lead the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist project and British occupation, asserting that he was the only one capable of uniting the people against the Judaization of Palestine after the death of Musa Kazem. The Palestine newspaper, which supported the opposition, even published an editorial titled "The Peace Delegation" on 11/7/1934, written by Youssef Hanna (the editor-in-chief), addressing Haj Amin by saying:

"... Today you return from your journey ... and the country [after the death of Sheikh Musa Kazem] has no recognized leader, and its youth have betrayed it in the worst way, and its cause has become more lost than virtue in the mouths of the foolish, while the nation fights among itself. What can you do for the national cause inside the country, not outside it? We do not flatter you, but we state the truth when we say that you alone can gather the scattered remnants of this complacent nation and lead it to where it can achieve its demands. Can we hope for you to work for Palestine in Palestine and save it from the divisions it is suffering from within?"

Fourth - Certainly, the history of the steadfastness and legendary resistance of the Palestinian people over more than a century and their struggle against the occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, with their immense sacrifices, is filled with great initiatives that have solidified our existence on our land and imposed our right to our historical homeland on the whole world... However, alongside all this exhausting and arduous struggle that our people endure, it seems that our bag of creative initiatives has run dry... Can our leadership in the upcoming phase focus its thinking and political acumen on planning initiatives (or even exploiting occasions and seizing opportunities) through which it can bring the name of Palestine back to the top of the pyramid?

Fifth - Therefore, the Palestinian leadership today must never abandon the spirit of initiative so that it does not appear sick and incapacitated, having no cards of strength other than this legendary steadfastness that our people have maintained since 1918. In this context, initiative does not only mean taking positive action to keep the spotlight on the issue, but it also means taking any initiative - even if it is negative - that would highlight our people and their tragedies, and their rights and future aspirations.

Sixth - Therefore, as we approach elections these days, it is important to nominate/elect seasoned individuals who know (unlike what happened in 2006) how to plan initiatives (positive or negative) that elevate the status of Palestine, and how to exploit occasions and seize opportunities to keep the Palestinian cause alive and active on the Arab, Islamic, and international agendas and in the consciences of people who love justice and peace.

Seventh - Conversely, our people must work to thwart those individuals whose actions are closer to the forces of "opposition" before the Nakba, who tied their personal interests to the British mandate and established peace factions to fight the revolutionaries during the Great Revolt between 1936-1939... These individuals, who are economically tied to the occupation - like most of those from the "opposition" stream before the Nakba - will claim nationalism, realism, and the public interest, but in reality, they will seek their personal interests and will not be able to undertake any initiatives that would harm the interests of the enemies of the homeland.

In conclusion - It would be wonderful if our leadership could undertake an initiative similar to that of 1934 in these days when war is reigniting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen and other wars among many Arab and Islamic countries, while the Palestinian people are divided among themselves... Such initiatives could unite us and lift our status Arabically, Islamically, and globally.