Palestinian freedom fighter takes pride in defending Jerusalem

On his humble home in Sur Baher, a town southeast of Jerusalem, Mohammad Jadallah is proud of his role in defending his hometown against Israeli occupation forces.

Born in 1921 after the start of the British Mandate in Palestine, Jadallah, nicknamed as Abu Nihad, had worked in his twenties as a waiter in some of the most prestigious hotels in Jerusalem.

His life began to change a few years before the creation of Israel in 1948. At the time, he joined resistance fighters to fight against British forces in neighboring Syria.

“One day after I returned home from my work, my father told me that I have to leave my job and travel to Syria to receive military training there,” Abu Nihad told Anadolu Agency.

At the time, the Arab Higher Committee was the central political organ of the Palestinian resistance movement in British-mandated Palestine.

The committee was instrumental in creating the secret resistance group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, led by prominent Palestinian leader Abd al-Qader al-Husseini.

-Resistance

Heeding his father’s order, Abu Nihad left his job and travelled along with a group of his friends to Safad, 213 km north of Jerusalem. From there, they disguised themselves as farmers to cross the border into Syria.

“Syrian officers were waiting for us on the other side of the border and took us to the Qatana military base near Damascus, where we received professional military training,” Abu Nihad said.

He stayed in Syria for three months, before he returned back to his town and started to train the residents of his hometown to be ready for fighting.

Abu Nihad recalls that when the fighting escalated, al-Husseini sought the help of the Cairo-based League of Arab States to support his fighters with weapons, but his call fell on deaf ears.

"He was very angry and disappointed,” Abu Nihad said. “He told the Arab leaders that history will remember that they have lost Palestine.”

Al-Husseini was killed during the battle of Al-Qastal on April 8, 1948.

“He returned to Palestine heartbroken, but he continued his resistance until he breathed his last,” Abu Nihad said of Al-Husseini.

-Disappointment

After the end of the 1948 war, Abu Nihad and his fellow fighters stayed with their weapons until 1952 when two Jordanian officers told them to put their arms down and leave their position near the armistice line.

“It was a disappointment,” Abu Nihad regretfully recalled. “They said we have to sell our weapons because we would not find a penny to buy bread on the next days.”

For a couple of years, Abu Nihad left to Jordan where he worked as a farmer, before he went back to Jerusalem and returned to his original job at hotels until he became the secretary of the Hotel Workers' Union in Jerusalem.

When Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1967, Abu Nihad was approached by Haroun Kohen from the General Organization of Workers in Israel (Histadrut) to join the organization as a representative of the Arab workers.

“But I refused to join the Histadrut,” Abu Nihad said. “A week later, Israeli army forces raided my home and arrested me.”

For 40 days, Abu Nihad, along with other 12 union activists, was subjected to a harsh interrogation at Al-Maskobyai interrogation center. They announced a hunger strike to end their interrogation.

Six months later, Abu Nihad and five other detainees were released to Jerusalem, while the others were exiled.

These days, the freedom fighter as he likes to describe himself is working on a book to document his eventful past.

A corner at his home is emblazoned with photos and documents bearing his life story and the critical events he witnessed.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as capital of a future Palestinian state.