Abdallah Al-Asbah
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Abdallah al-Asbah ( ar, عبد الله الأصبح, also known as Abu al-Abed) (1910–March/April 1938) was a Palestinian rebel commander who participated in the
1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, later known as The Great Revolt (''al-Thawra al- Kubra'') or The Great Palestinian Revolt (''Thawrat Filastin al-Kubra''), was a popular nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine a ...
. He was killed by British forces near the border with Lebanon. He was born in the village of
al-Ja'una Al-Ja'una or Ja'ouna (Arabic: الجاعونة), was a Palestinian village situated in Galilee near al-Houleh Plateau, overlooking the Jordan Valley. The village lay on a hillside 450–500 meters above sea level, 5 kilometers east of Safad near ...
near Safad.


Commander in 1936-39 revolt

Al-Asbah was a disciple of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, a Muslim reformist preacher and anti-colonialist activist. During the 1936-39 revolt in Palestine, al-Asbah led a rebel band of about 15 men who often set up night time checkpoints to ambush British military and Jewish targets before withdrawing to nearby villages and
grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
es before the night's end. His rebel band was largely destroyed in a British ambush near the
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
village of Arraba in mid-1937. Al-Asbah played a key role in reigniting the revolt in late 1937. At that time, he rallied the '' fellahin'' (peasants) of the Safad region to fight against the British. Al-Asbah is also known for fighting several battles alongside the Syrian commander
Said al-As Sa'id al-'As ( ar, سعيد العاص; 1889 – 6 October 1936) was a Syrian nationalist, a former officer in the Ottoman army and a high-ranking commander of rebel forces during the Great Syrian Revolt against French Mandate of Syria, French r ...
. Following a battle in
Nabi Yusha Al-Nabi Yusha' ( ar, النبي يوشع was a small Palestinian village in the Galilee situated 17 kilometers to the northeast of Safad, with an elevation of 375 meters above sea level. It became part of the Palestine Mandate under British co ...
', the British Army offered a reward of 1,000 Palestine pounds for Al-Asbah, dead or alive. Around March 1938, the British authorities received information on the location of al-Asbah's hideout and besieged al-Asbah and some of his men at a grotto near the border with Lebanon. After they used up their supplies, the rebels began emerging from the grotto opening fire one by one, all being gunned down by British forces. According to local accounts, al-Asbah was the last rebel killed in this confrontation. He was killed by a shrapnel wound to the head and his body left was on the battlefield for 40 days, with the residents of nearby villages wary of retrieving it and being consequently punished by the authorities. Ultimately, residents from the village of Sa'sa' buried the body in their village and informed his family of his death.


Commemoration

Al-Asbah became a popular figure among the Palestinians of the Galilee following his death for his reputed incorruptibility unlike many other rebel commanders and his refusal to surrender to the British authorities. Local songs were penned for him and were sung at weddings and '' dabke'' dances. Al-Asbah did not have any children. His widow lived in al-Ja'una until the 1948 exodus, when she moved to Yarmouk Camp for
Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war ( 1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War ( 1967 Palestinian exo ...
s near
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
in Syria.


List of Battles

*Wadi Laymoon Battle (Arabic:معركة وادي اللیمون) *Safyieh Battle (Arabic:معركة الصفیة) *Jarn Halaweh Battle (Arabic: معركة جرن حلاوة) *Wadi Tawahim Battle (Arabic: معركة وادي الطواحین) * Al-Nabi Yusha' Battle (Arabic: معركة النبي یوشع) *Nweiriyeh Battle (Arabic: معركة النویریة ) *Jabal Jarmaq Battle (Arabic: معركة جبل الجرمق)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asbah, Abdallah 1910 births 1938 deaths Guerrillas killed in action People from Safed Rebel commanders of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Palestinian nationalists