Army of the Holy War

{{Short description|Palestinian Arab irregular force active during the 1947–1949 Palestine war}}

{{pp-extended|small=yes}}

{{Infobox War Faction

| name = Army of the Holy War

| native_name = {{lang|ar|جيش الجهاد المقدس}}
Jaysh al-Jihād al-Muqaddas

| war =

| image = Palestinian flag 1938.svg

| logo =

| image_size =

| caption = Palestinian flag of 1938

| foundation = December 1947

| active = 1947–1948

| dissolution = May 1949

| leaders = Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
Hasan Salama

| country = {{flagicon|All-Palestine}} Palestinian Arabs
{{flagicon|All-Palestine}} All-Palestine

| clans =

| ideology = Palestinian nationalism{{Cite book |last=Rosen |first=David M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQYQ0tho6mAC&dq=Army+of+the+holy+war+Palestinian+nationalism&pg=PA104 |title=Armies of the Young: Child Soldiers in War and Terrorism |date=2005 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-3568-5 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Cummins |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5LYi-dxfUEcC&dq=Army+of+the+holy+war+Palestinian+nationalism&pg=PA355 |title=The War Chronicles: From Flintlocks to Machine Guns |date=2009 |publisher=Fair Winds Press |isbn=978-1-61673-404-6 |language=en}}
Arab nationalism
Pan-Arabism
Anti-Zionism
Islamism{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43922000 | jstor=43922000 | title=Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Nazis and the Holocaust: The Origins, Nature and Aftereffects of Collaboration | last1=Herf | first1=Jeffrey | journal=Jewish Political Studies Review | date=2014 | volume=26 | issue=3/4 | pages=13–37 }}{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4283922 | jstor=4283922 | title=The Islamization of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: The Case of Hamas | last1=Litvak | first1=Meir | journal=Middle Eastern Studies | date=1998 | volume=34 | issue=1 | pages=148–163 | doi=10.1080/00263209808701214 | url-access=subscription }}

| headquarters = Bir Zeit, Palestine

| area = Mandatory Palestine

| size = At least 1,306

| predecessor =

| successor =

| allies = {{tree list}}

• {{flagcountry|Arab League}}
• {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Egypt|size=23px}}Oren 2003, p. 5.
• {{flag|Transjordan|size=23px}}
• {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Iraq|size=23px}}
• {{flagcountry|Syrian Republic|size=23px}}
• {{flag|Lebanon|size=23px}}{{Efn|Lebanon had decided to not participate in the war and only took part in the battle of al-Malikiya on 5–6 June 1948.Morris (2008), p. 260.}}
• {{flag|Saudi Arabia|1938|size=23px}}Gelber, pp. 55, 200, 239
• {{flagcountry|Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen|name=Yemen|size=23px}}Morris, Benny (2008), [https://archive.org/details/1948historyoffir00morr/page/332 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War], Yale University Press, p.205, New Haven, {{ISBN|978-0-300-12696-9}}.

23px Arab Liberation Army

{{tree list/end}}

| opponents = {{tree list}}

• Yishuv
• Haganah
• Palmach
• Irgun
• Lehi
• {{Flag|Israel}}
• {{flagicon|Israel|tsahal}} Israeli Defense Forces

{{tree list/end}}

| battles = {{tree list}}

• Arab–Israeli conflict
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
• 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine
• Battle of al-Qastal
• Battle of Jerusalem
• 1948 Arab-Israeli War

{{tree list/end}}

}}

{{Palestinian leaders}}

The Army of the Holy War or Holy War Army ({{langx|ar|جيش الجهاد المقدس}}; Jaysh al-Jihād al-Muqaddas) was a Palestinian Arab irregular force in the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine led by Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni and Hasan Salama.Hourani, 2004, p. 537. The force has been described as Husayni's "personal" army.Pappé, 1994, p. 65. The Arab League set up the Arab Salvation Army (Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi) as a counter to the Army of the Holy War while, in practice, the Arab governments prevented thousands of volunteers from joining either force.Sayigh, 1999, p. 14.

Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni arrived in the Jerusalem sector in December 1947 and by March 1948 had about 128 men. He established his headquarters at Bir Zeit and started to conduct a blockade of Jerusalem by attacking the Jewish convoys to the city. Hasan Salama, with 950 men of the Jihad and 228 irregulars, took responsibility for the operations in the Lydda and Ramle sectors, at the entry of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road.Khalaf, 1991, p. 207.Morris, 2008, p. 107.

The Army of the Holy War had over 50,000 Palestinian Arabs available for local defense but a force of only 5,000 to 10,000, both foreign fighters from Arab states and Palestinian Arab militiamen, available to be sent where needed during the 1947–1949 Palestine war.Dupuy (1978) p. 41.

Husayni was killed during the battle for control of Qastal Hill on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, on 8 April 1948. His forces captured Qastal from the Haganah, which had occupied the village at the start of Operation Nachshon six days earlier with a force of about 100 men.Morris, 2003, p. 234. They retreated to the Jewish settlement of Motza.Dana Adams Schmidt, "Arabs Win Kastel But Chief is Slain", The New York Times, 9 April 1948, p. 8 (A brief biography and account of the battle). Palmach troops recaptured the village on the night of 8–9 April; most of the houses were blown up and the hill became a command post.Benveniśtî, 2002, p.111.Morris, 2003, p. 235. Husayni's death was a factor in the loss of morale among his forces.Time, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930122418/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,798381,00.html "War for Jerusalem Road"], April 19, 1948

When the All-Palestine Protectorate was formed on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it revived the Holy War Army, with the declared aim of "liberating Palestine". However, the government had no money of its own, and operated only under the supervision of Egypt, and was generally ineffective.{{Citation needed| date=September 2013}}

In October 1948, Jordan gave an order to its forces, the Arab Legion, to surround and forcibly disarm various units of the Holy War Army.Simon, Mattar and Bulliet, 1996, p. 114.

class="toccolours" style="font-size:88%" | Arabic-The Mufti High Command call the Arabs to attack and conquer all of Palestine, as a response to the U.N partition resolution.png|A leaflet, distributed after the U.N. partition resolution, by the Mufti High Command, which calls the Arabs to attack and conquer all of Palestine, to ignite all of the middle east and to curtail the U.N. partition resolution Husseini 1948.jpg|Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni returned to Palestine after an exile of ten years, and began organizing Arab resistance to forcible partition of the country. He is seen here (standing center) with aides and Palestinian irregulars, Jerusalem district, February 1948 Husseini Funeral B.jpg|Husayni's funeral at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.