page_title: Abd al-Rahim al-Hajj Muhammad
section_title: Career during British rule
hierarchical_section_title: Abd al-Rahim al-Hajj Muhammad / Career during British rule
caption_attribution_description: English: General Commander of the 1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine, Abd al-Rahim al-Hajj Muhammad with his four sons Kamal, Abd al-Jawad , Abd al-Karim and Jawdat.
context_page_description: Abd al-Rahim al-Hajj Muhammad, also known by his kunya Abu Kamal, was a prominent Palestinian Arab commander of rebel forces during the 1936–39 Arab revolt against British Mandate rule and increased Jewish settlement in Palestine. Most of his activities were based in the areas of Tulkarm, Nablus and Jenin. In September 1938, he became the official General Commander of the Revolt, although he shared the post in rotation with Arif Abd al-Raziq. In February 1939, al-Hajj Muhammad was given sole title to the post by the revolt's political leadership, but was killed the following month in a firefight with British forces.
context_section_description: Upon his return to Palestine in 1918, al-Hajj Muhammad supervised his family's land possessions. He became one of the prominent local grain traders of Palestine during the early years of the Mandate. Coinciding with this period, al-Hajj Muhammad became an ardent opponent of Zionism and British support for the movement. The 1920 Nebi Musa riots, unrest in 1923 and the 1929 Palestine riots all extended into Tulkarm and al-Hajj Muhammad was angered at the coercive manner in which the British authorities quelled the Palestinian Arab participants. His business eventually went bankrupt after the Mandate adopted new economic policies that saw the import of cheaper, foreign wheat at the expense of local produce. His disaffection with British economic policies partly motivated his participation in the Palestinian Arab revolt in 1936.
  The local connections al-Hajj Muhammad established as a grain merchant became beneficial in his later recruitment efforts. The web of the al-Barqawi's tribal loyalties proved resourceful, providing him with fighting men and provisions. During the 1930s, al-Hajj Muhammad set up base in the vicinity of Bal'a, near Tulkarm, and began recruiting and training fighters from the area, including former Ottoman soldiers who brought additional expertise in combat and firearms. Under his command, his men launched minor raids against Jewish settlements and British security personnel. One of the main targets were the orange orchards of newly established Jewish settlements in the Wadi al-Hawarith area west of Tulkarm. These places had mostly been built on the lands of absentee landlords and their peasant tenants had been evicted. Al-Hajj Muhammad had a criminal record with the Mandatory authorities. According to Israeli historian Yehoshua Porath, his alleged crime was committing fraud in a land transaction with a Jewish buyer. However, author and anthropologist Ted Swedenburg wrote Porath's claim was never mentioned by other sources that discussed al-Hajj Muhammad.
  In 1934, his wife Badia'a died and al-Hajj Muhammad was left to care for his four sons. With the killing of Izz al-Din al-Qassam, a Muslim revivalist preacher and anti-colonial militant, by British forces, tensions between the Palestinian Arab population, among whom al-Qassam was popular, and the authorities rose significantly. His sympathizers grew in number and the notion of armed struggle against British rule and British sponsorship of Zionism became increasingly popular as an alternative to the diplomatic negotiations between the Palestinian leadership and the British government. The negotiations were ultimately seen by the local population as a futile effort that bore no tangible results. When al-Hajj Muhammad actively took part in the upcoming revolt, he entrusted his children with his sister Halima, a widow. According to his eldest son Kamal, she too was a grain merchant, who later traded in textiles. She also financially supported the children's education. Al-Hajj Muhammad normally met his sons for one or two days a week in different villages. His children would be escorted to his location by one of al-Hajj Muhammad's soldiers.
caption: Al-Hajj Muhammad and his four sons, Kamal (the eldest), Abd al-Jawad, Abd al-Karim and Jawdat in Damascus, early 1937
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