Emergency Telephone: The June 1967 War and Its Impact on Nablus in the Correspondence Between Hamdi Kanaan and Akram Zuaytir

Authors

  • Author

  • Bilal Mohammed Shalash

Keywords:

Hamdi Kanaan, Akram Zuaytir, June 1967 War, Correspondence, Nablus, Israeli Occupation

Abstract

This study examines the correspondence between Hamdi Kanaan and Akram Zuaytir in the immediate aftermath of the June 1967 War. Their exchange highlights how the war disrupted traditional means of communication such as visits and telephone calls but provided the occasion for an alternative form of communication based on personal relationships that helped solve newly arising issues facing the city of Nablus. Often functioning as a kind of diary, this correspondence sheds light on unknown events and documents the formation of political positions and ideas, as well as socioeconomic conditions and shifts under the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The correspondence reveals activities and events that Kanaan concealed in his memoir, such as his covert strategies to bolster the resilience of the inhabitants of Nablus and the surrounding region. The language of the letters conveys the psychological states of both men, the compound factors that shaped their opinions over time, and the impact such supportive personal bonds can have on the ability to persevere and survive.

References

  1. Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Yahya al-Suli, Qism Ashʿār Awlād al-Khulafāʾ min Kitāb al-Awrāq , J. Heworth Dunn (ed.) (Cairo: al-Sawi Printing, 1936), p. 37.
  2. Martha Hanna, “War Letters: Communication between Front and Home Front,” in: Ute Daniel et al. (eds.), 1914-1918-Online: International Encyclopedia of the First World War (Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin, 2014), p. 3.
  3. Born in Nablus, Hamdi Taher Kanaan (1910-1981) graduated from An-Najah National School before taking up work in commerce. He was appointed to the Nablus Municipal Council on 20 November 1950, with his membership later renewed by election. He was elected Mayor of Nablus in October 1963, and during the occupation of Nablus, he headed the city’s municipal council. In this capacity, he became one of the most prominent Palestinian figures in the occupied territories, maintaining his mayoral seat until his resignation in March 1969. He wrote his memoirs about the occupation of Nablus and its aftermath in June 1969. The author published a book on this topic: Bilal Mohammed Shalash (Study and Verification), Shayʾun ʿĀbir: Nāblis Taḥt al-Iḥtilāl (Ḥuzayrān/ Yūniū 1967 – Ādhār/ Māris 1969), Mudhakkirāt wa-Wathāʾiq Ḥamdī Ṭāhir Kanʿān , Taher Hamdi Kanaan (intro.) (Beirut/Doha: ACRPS, 2023).
  4. Born in Nablus, Akram Umar Zuaytir (1909-1996) graduated from An-Najah National School before briefly attending the American University of Beirut. He then worked in education until resigning in December 1929 to devote himself to journalism. He became Editor-in-Chief of Mirʾāt al-Sharq newspaper in 1930, then al-Ḥayāt in 1931. He was one of the most prominent writers to incite armed revolt between 1929 and 1936, and a founding member of the Arab Independence Party. Zuaytir played a central role in the early days of the 1936-1939 revolution in Nablus and was arrested by the British colonial authorities on multiple occasions. He left Palestine to support the revolution from abroad, heading the Arab delegation to Latin America to support the Palestinian cause in 1947. After returning to Nablus that year, he worked for the General Islamic Conference in Jerusalem, then for the Jordanian government as ambassador to Syria (June 1962-August 1963), to Iran and Afghanistan (August 1963-1964), then as Minister of Foreign Affairs (February-December 1966). He was appointed Minister of the Hashemite Royal Court from 15 June 1967-25 April 1968.
  5. Zuaytir’s diaries attest to the depth and closeness of this relationship. For example, Zuaytir appointed Kanaan as a member of a five-member committee to advise the guardian of his brother Adel Zuaytir’s children in his will, which he wrote before undergoing surgery at the American University Hospital in Beirut in 1957. See: Akram Zuaytir, “Waṣiyyatī,” 17 November 1957, a handwritten document preserved in the ACRPS Palestine Memory Archive (PMA), referred to hereinafter as PMA. Hamdi Kanaan in his office at the Nablus Municipality. Photo by Marc Riboud, 2 June 1969. PMA.
  6. Hanna, p. 2; Martha Hanna, “A Republic of Letters: The Epistolary Tradition in France during World War I,” The American Historical Review , vol. 108, no. 5 (2003), pp. 1338-1361; Shay Hazkani, Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War (California: Stanford University Press, 2021). Hazkani examines letters from soldiers during the 1947-1949 war sourced from official archives. Such archives have preserved letters that were looted from war fronts or captured by surveillance. Hazkani notes that war correspondence did not begin during this period, but due to the development of postal services, it became a comprehensive public service, as reflected in the volume and content of correspondence. For earlier examples of correspondence from the world wars and the Arab-Islamic tradition of war correspondence, see: Umar Ahmad al-Rubayhat, “Rasāʾil al-Ḥarb fī Kitāb Ṣubḥ al-Aʿshā fī Ṣināʿat al-Inshāʾ li-Abī al-ʿAbbās bin ʿAlī al-Qalqashandī: Dirāsa Taḥlīliyya Fanniyya,” Majallat al-Zarqāʾ li-l-Buḥūth wa-l-Dirāsāt al-Insāniyya , vol. 15, no. 1 (2015), pp. 150-161.
  7. Agnès Graceffa, “Academic solidarity under Occupation: The letters of Marc Bloch to André Mazon (December 1940-July 1941),” Revue historique , vol. 674, no. 2 (2015), pp. 383-412.
  8. Dominic J. Capeci Jr. (ed.), Detroit and the ‘Good War’: The World War II Letters of Mayor Edward Jeffries and Friends (Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1996).
  9. This collection was a rich source for: Bayan Nuwayhid al-Hout (ed.), Wathāʾiq al-Ḥaraka al-Waṭaniyya al-Filasṭīniyya 1918-1939: Min Awrāq Akram Zuʿaytir (Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1979). Some of Zuaytir’s correspondence has been published previously elsewhere, including: Saoud El Mawla (intro.), “Risālat Shakīb Arsalān ilā Akram Zuʿaytir,” al-Fikr al-Arabi , vol. 3, no. 23 (November 1981), pp. 240-248.
  10. See Shlomo Gazit, Military Zones—Five Years (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Education and Culture, 1972) [Hebrew]; Shlomo Gazit, The Carrot and the Stick: Israeli Rule in Judea and Samaria (Tel Aviv: Zamurah-Bitan, 1985) [Hebrew]; Shlomo Gazit, The Bait in the Trap: Thirty Years of Israeli Policy in the Territories (Tel Aviv: Zamurah-Bitan, 1999) [Hebrew]; Shabtai Teveth, The Cursed Blessing: The Story of Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank (New York: Random House, 1971).
  11. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 18/12/1962, PMA.
  12. Zuaytir, Yawmiyāt , 5/6/1967, PMA. For an image of the handwritten document and details of the occupation of Nablus from the occupying power’s perspective, see: Meir Haruvini et al. (ed.), Our Brigade in the Six-Day War (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defence Publishing House, 1969), pp. 34-47 [Hebrew]
  13. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 22/6/1967, PMA.
  14. The Minister of Defence for the occupation at that time, Moshe Dayan, spoke of this policy at a meeting of senior military figures responsible for the military government after their first battle with Nablus on 10 November 1967, saying, “On the one hand, we are interested in encouraging [Palestinians to] emigrate and leave the territories, and on the other hand we must continue to maintain a reasonable minimum standard of living”. Dayan stressed the need for a selective economic policy, implying that unemployment would not necessarily encourage emigration, but, rather, become an explosive factor. See: “Determining the Guidelines for General Policy in the Territories,” minutes prepared by Shlomo Gazit dated 12 November 1967, IDF Archive, File No. 1970/117/71. In a subsequent letter to Zuaytir, Kanaan wrote: “I made tremendous efforts to prevent people from leaving, and I told the authorities they could not leave without my permission. I personally checked the identities of those who wanted to leave... Finally, things spun out of control in keeping with their [the Israelis’] policy of wanting people to leave, and [we resorted] to threatening drivers and using force [to prevent them from leaving], but people got away by paying the drivers exorbitant fares”. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 3/7/1964, PMA.
  15. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 22/6/1967, PMA.
  16. “Zuaytir to Kanaan,” 28/6/1967, PMA.
  17. Kanaan’s harsh words followed statements made by Muhammad Ali Jaʿbari (1901-1980), the Jordan-appointed mayor of Hebron, at a press conference held on 16 June 1967, to the effect that the settlement of the Palestine question would preferably take place at a conference for representatives of Arab refugees from the west and east banks, with the participation of representatives of Arabs in Israel, to discuss their fate and future, and that he was prepared to take the initiative to hold such a conference. Among the statements attributed to Jaʿbari was his assertion that the residents of Hebron hoped to become citizens of the State of Israel in one way or another.
  18. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 3/7/1967, PMA.
  19. “Zuaytir to Kanaan,” 5/7/1967, PMA.
  20. There is documented evidence of various projects prepared by the occupation to displace the residents of the occupied territories, most notably refugees from the Gaza Strip. See: Yoav Gelber, “The Program That Missed the Train: Exit from Gaza after the Six-Day [War],” HaOme , no. 201 (Spring 2016), pp. 44-57. [Hebrew]
  21. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 22/7/1967, PMA.
  22. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 3/7/1967, PMA.
  23. Zuaytir, Yawmiyāt , 6/7/1967, PMA; Zuaytir, Sanawāt , pp. 85-86.
  24. “Zuaytir to Kanaan,” 28/6/1967, PMA.
  25. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 8/7/1967, PMA.
  26. Dayan expressed this desire at a government meeting, saying: “It is a good idea to lead using local bodies, such as mayors, whose responsibilities can be expanded to neighbouring villages. In the area of administrative oversight, mayors who have expressed their desire to cooperate provide us with someone we can talk to. There’s no need to pursue any other leadership style, since things can go on this way for a long time”. Minutes of the Occupation Government Meeting of 18/6/1967, ISA, p. 16.
  27. Kanaan wrote in his memoirs about the Amman meetings: “My meeting with the brothers in Amman was full of generous sentiments, as if I had descended upon them from heaven; they were anxious to hear what was really happening with us. I met with His Majesty the King [Hussein bin Talal], the Prime Minister [Saad Jumaa], and some ministers, and I explained our situation to them. They responded to my request by handing me 40,000 dinars, half of which was for the Nablus Municipality, with the rest to be distributed among the municipalities of Tulkarm, Jenin, Qalqilya, and the Nablus Governorate. The Prime Minister gave me a cheque for five thousand dinars in aid for the needy, which I paid into the municipality’s account. In like spirit, the officials in the Ministry of Education sent me back with the salaries of the employees in the Nablus and Jenin Governorates”.
  28. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 16/7/1967, PMA.
  29. In addition to “Khader”, who was mentioned in more than one letter, and Fathi Kamal mentioned by Kanaan, Mohammed Sherbini reported that his father, Mahmoud Mohammed Sherbini, then-secretary of the labour unions in Nablus and a prominent member of the printing workers’ union before the war, succeeded in smuggling an estimated seventy thousand dinars to the municipality, which he handed over to Kanaan personally. When Kanaan offered to pay al-Sharbini for smuggling the funds across the river, he refused. Mohammed Sherbini, personal interview, Nablus, 28/9/2021. Mahmoud Sherbini was later arrested on 25 March 1969 for smuggling Rashida Abd al-Hamid Ubaido (Salwa), a fighter with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was accused of participating in the operation to put explosives in the “Supersol” store on 21 February 1969, and was sentenced to three years in prison. Lamerhav , 6/10/1969, p. 2 [Hebrew]; Al HaMishmar , 6/10/1969, p. 8. [Hebrew]
  30. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 22/7/1967, PMA.
  31. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 3/8/1967, PMA.
  32. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” August 1968, PMA. In this letter, and within the context of leveraging Zuaytir’s network to reach the media, Kanaan wrote: “A memorandum signed by the villages, Nablus, Hebron, and all other cities must be broadcast on the radio with the signatures, because it has been signed by a number of prominent Christians who took offense when they were not invited to sign Sheikh Abdul al-Hamid’s memorandum. They thought your neglect was intentional, and they were criticized by the people of Lebanon. Hence, the memorandum needs to be broadcast along with the names [of its signatories]. A letter is attached with the signatures, and although this version doesn’t contain all of them, we have another copy that was sent to the people of Jerusalem to be delivered to other official bodies”.
  33. “Bayān Wazīr al-Tarbiyya ilā Usrat al-Taʿlīm fī al-Ḍaffa al-Gharbiyya,” Ad-Dustour , 8/6/1967, pp. 1, 2; in: Munthir Faiq Anabtawi (ed.), al-Wathāʾiq al-Filasṭīniyya al-ʿArabiyya li-ʿĀm 1967 (Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1969), pp. 546-547.
  34. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 3/8/1967, PMA.
  35. Kamal Nasser, “ʿAlā Ṣudūrikom Bāqūn,” Filasṭīn al-Thawra , no. 11, 6/9/1972.
  36. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 3/8/1967, PMA. Kanaan also affirmed this position of his to the envoy sent by the occupation’s Prime Minister. In a subsequent letter to Zuaytir, Kanaan wrote, “I received a visit from the Prime Minister’s delegate, whose purpose was to explain the statement he had made to the effect that he hoped the residents of the West Bank would not force the army to intervene again. This was following news of the strike and the memoranda that had been submitted by [figures in] Jerusalem, lawyers, and others. He said, ‘We are still a long way from a political solution. Such a solution lies first with Israel, secondly with Jordan, thirdly with the Arab states, and lastly with the major powers. Therefore, engaging in ‘passive’ actions at this time would not be in the citizens’ interests.’ I replied that no decision had been taken to engage in ‘passive’ actions against the occupation authorities, and that when we did decide to take this path, it would be done collectively, and under my leadership. To this he replied that he was pleased with my candor, and I asked him to convey what I had said to the Prime Minister”.
  37. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 1/9/1967, PMA.
  38. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 5/9/1967, PMA. Military Order no. 107 issued on 29 August 1967 prohibited the teaching of 55 textbooks. For a list of the prohibited books, see Manāshīr: Awāmir wa Taʿyīnāt Ṣādira ʿan Qiyādat Quwwāt Jaysh al-Difāʿ al-Isrāʾīlī fī Manṭiqat al-Ḍaffa al-Gharbiyya , no. 6 (November 1967), pp. 235-238.
  39. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 5/9/1967, PMA.
  40. “Zuaytir to Kanaan,” 12/9/1967, PMA. Supporting his point, Zuaytir adds, “Abd al-Majid Shuman and Wasif Kamal also urge you to give up thinking about stepping down”.
  41. “Kanaan to Zuaytir,” 14/9/1967, PMA.
  42. “Kanaan to Zuaytir, Appendix” 14/9/1967, PMA.
  43. “Zuaytir to Kanaan,” 7/10/1967, PMA.
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