Al-Khaldi

The tribe has historically been powerful in the Arabian Peninsula, having ruled Southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Eastern Arabia after expelling Ottoman and Portuguese forces in 1670.

Today the overwhelming majority of the descendants of the tribe live in Saudi Arabia as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine and UAE also.

The chieftainship of the Bani Khalid has traditionally been held by the clan of Al Humaid from the Banu Jabr section of the Khalidis.

[1] Under Barrak ibn Ghurayr of the Al Humaid, the Bani Khalid were able to expel Ottoman garrisons from the cities and towns of Eastern Arabia as well as the encroaching Portuguese who had built many fortified trade posts.

[3] According to Arabian folklore, one chief of the Bani Khalid attempted to protect the prized desert bustard (Habari) from extinction by prohibiting the bedouin in his realm from poaching the bird's eggs, earning the tribe the appellation of "protectors of the eggs of the Habari", an allusion to the chief's absolute supremacy over his realm.

[4] The Bani Khalid of eastern Arabia maintained ties with members of their tribe who had settled in Nejd during their earlier migration eastwards, and also cultivated clients among the rulers of the Najdi towns, such as Al Mu'ammar of al-Uyayna.

Their efforts failed, however, and after conquering Nejd, the Saudis invaded the Bani Khalid's domain in al-Hasa and deposed Al 'Ura'yir in 1793.

Both Yusuf and Ruhi were part of the Ittihad ve Terraki, a right wing party believing in Ottoman Islamist Nationalism, as opposed to their Husseini rivals who were Arab Nationalists.

When Mustafa was accused of Zionism, like his relatives, he replied by saying,"We must recognise the facts; the Zionists have migrated to this country, become citizens, have become Palestinians, and they cannot be thrown into the sea.

After the creation of the State of Israel, most Arab countries had turned into monarchies, meaning ascension into the political system was no easy task.

The nephew of Hussein al-Khalidi, Rashid Khalidi, is a professor at Columbia University and has written extensively on the Palestinian Exodus.