Arab Higher Committee
On 15 May 1936, the committee endorsed the general strike, calling for an end to Jewish immigration; the prohibition of the transfer of Arab land to Jews; and the establishment of a National Government responsible to a representative council.
In November 1936, and with the prospects of war in Europe increasing, the British government set up the Peel Royal Commission to investigate the causes of the disturbances.
The commission was impressed by the fact that the Arab national movement, sustained by the committee, was a far more efficient and comprehensive political machine than had existed in earlier years.
[14] The committee was banned by the Mandate administration and three members (and two other Palestinian leaders) were deported to the Seychelles and the others moved into voluntary exile in neighbouring countries.
When the committee was outlawed in September 1937, six of its members were deported, its president Amin al-Husayni managed to escape arrest and went into exile in Beirut.
Membership of the outlawed committee had dwindled to Jamal al-Husayni (acting chairperson), Husayn al-Khalidi (secretary), Ahmed Hilmi Pasha and Emil Ghuri.
[6][16] For all practical purposes, the committee ceased to exist, however, this brought little change in the structure of Arab political life[6] and the Palestinian revolt continued.
With the indications of a new European war on the horizon, and in an endeavor to resolve the inter-communal issues in Palestine, the British government proposed in late 1938 a conference in London of the two Palestinian communities.
According to Benny Morris, Amin al-Husayni "astonished" the other members of the Arab Higher Committee by turning down the White Paper.
Amin Al-Husayni spent the war years in occupied Europe, actively collaborating with the Nazi leadership.
Jamal al-Husayni returned to British Palestine in February 1946 as an official of the new Arab Higher Committee, by then recognised by the Mandate administration.
In February 1946, Jamal al-Husayni returned from exile to Palestine and immediately set about reorganising and enlarging the committee, becoming its acting president.
The members of the reconstituted committee as at April 1946 were: The Istiqlal Party and other nationalist groups objected to these moves, and formed a rival Arab Higher Front.
The new AHE consisted of: The United Kingdom government called the 1946–47 London Conference on Palestine in an attempt to bring peace to its Mandate territory, which began on 9 September 1946.
The conference was boycotted by the AHE as well as the Jewish Agency, but was attending by Arab League states, which argued against any partition.
This restructuring of the AHC to include additional supporters of Amin al-Husayni was seen as a bid to increase his political power.
His Majesty (King Farouk, representing the League) would like to make it clearly understood that such measures should be looked upon as temporary and devoid of any character of the occupation or partition of Palestine, and that after completion of its liberation, that country would be handed over to its owners to rule in the way they like.
In a personal note, Nusseibeh wrote, "Obviously they thought of the Palestine adventure in terms of an easy walkover for the Arabs, and the only point that seemed to worry them was credit for the expected victory.
In the absence of an elective body to represent divergences of interest, it therefore shows a high degree of centralization in its political life.
King Abdullah of Transjordan regarded the attempt to revive al-Husayni's Holy War Army as a challenge to his authority and all armed bodies operating in the areas controlled by the Arab Legion were ordered to disband.
[34][35] After the war, the Arab Higher Committee was politically irrelevant, and banned from the Jordanian West Bank, as was the All-Palestine Government.
