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 fire-fight with British forces.

[3] He belonged to the landowning clan of Samara,[4] itself a part of the larger tribal confederation of al-Barqawi, which had a long history of activity in the area of Tulkarm.

[3] During the invasion of Syria by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798–99, al-Hajj Muhammad's great-grandfather fought in the Ottoman defense of the country, but was later sentenced to death.

[6] 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.

[4] 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 use of firearms.

One of the main targets were the orange orchards of newly established Jewish settlements in the Wadi al-Hawarith area west of Tulkarm.

[11] In the earliest stage of the revolt, in the early summer, al-Hajj Muhammad's fighters primarily operated in the Wadi al-Sha'ir area between Nablus and the coastal plain.

On 21 June 1936, in the Battle of Anabta, al-Hajj Muhammad and his fasa'il ambushed a British Army force protecting a Jewish convoy passing near the village.

The Jerusalem-area militia of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni was absent from both of these meetings, making it increasingly difficult to form a solid military command among rebels across the country.

[15] Local rebels resented the delegation of command positions to non-Palestinians and al-Qawuqji's references to the area as "Southern Syria" instead of "Palestine.

[15] In October 1936, rebel operations temporarily ceased after the Arab Higher Committee (AHC), the revolt's political leadership, accepted calls by the generally pro-British royals of Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia for a cessation of hostilities.

The AHC under the chairmanship of Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, requested rebel leaders return and resume military activities in Palestine to pressure the authorities.

[16] To that end, al-Hajj Muhammad returned to Palestine in April to command his fasa'il in the Tulkarm-Jenin-Nablus region, which was referred to by the authorities as the "Triangle of Terror" due to the concentration of rebel activity in the area.

[18] The last quarter of the year saw increased attacks against British military targets, buses carrying Jews, the Iraqi Petroleum Company pipeline in Palestine and telecommunication lines.

After the British withdrew from the area, al-Hajj Muhammad was treated by local doctors until January 1938 when he received more advanced care in Damascus.

The Central Committee had been founded in late 1937 by Izzat Darwaza,[20] and officially served as the revolt's political leadership, fund-raising body and arms supplier.

[21] On the ground in Palestine, competition for the role of the rebels' general command became increasingly tense between al-Hajj Muhammad and Abd al-Raziq.

[22] The British Army, backed by bomber planes, assaulted Deir Ghassaneh after gaining knowledge of the meeting, and sought to arrest or kill the commanders.

[23] In late March 1939, on his return to Palestine after being officially confirmed as the rebellion's general commander, al-Hajj Muhammad was killed by the British Army in the village of Sanur, located between Jenin and Nablus.

[25] According to some residents who witnessed the clash, the British officer who headed the operation, Geoffrey Morton, removed his hat and covered al-Hajj Muhammad's face with a handkerchief in a sign of respect.

As news of his death spread, a general strike was held throughout Palestine for a number of days in honor of al-Hajj Muhammad's efforts in the anti-colonial and anti-Zionist struggle.

[27] According to historian Hillel Frisch, al-Hajj Muhammad's death was a "reflection of how much the rebels were then bereft of an area that could serve as a sanctuary or from which they could renew operations.

[23] However, an intelligence document from the British Mandatory authorities revealed that al-Hajj Muhammad left Palestine for Syria in October 1938 after becoming disaffected with the Central Committee's activities.

The report states that he refused to send funds to the Committee, remarking "The shoe of the most insignificant mujahid (fighter) is nobler than all the members of the Society, who have indulged in pleasure, while their brethren suffer in the mountains.

"[2] At one point, tensions emanating from al-Hajj Muhammad's refusal to carry out the killings of several men provided to him in a hit list by Da'ud al-Husayni on behalf of the Committee resulted in the cutting off of financial and material support for a certain period of time in 1938.

[2] He claimed that al-Hajj Muhammad saw Palestinian unity as being all-inclusive and incompatible with political assassinations, particularly killings that would fuel divisions within the ranks of the rebellion's leadership.

[2] A possible exception to his anti-assassination policy was his alleged responsibility for the killings of Ahmad and Muhammad Irsheid, landowners who supported Nashashibi-led opposition to al-Husayni's leadership.

Because of the widely disputed circumstances surrounding the Irsheids' deaths and its general attribution to al-Hajj Muhammad, the killings were rarely mentioned in Palestinian narratives of the revolt.