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al-Sagh camp. Kamal al-Din Husayn possessed the faith, sincerity, and competence of his commander, the heroic martyred Ahmad Abd al-Aziz. We had assigned some Palestinian experts to cooperate with them in that campaign, including the late fighters Subhi al-Shihabi and Dr. Tahir al-Khatib, who were among the people most familiar with the Gaza area and among the most sincere and courageous fighters.

When the 23 July 1952 revolution took place in Egypt and Kamal al-Din Husayn assumed his role in leading the revolution, I visited him at his home in Manşiyyat al-Bakri. He received me most warmly. I gave him the memorandum mentioned above and discussed with him enabling the Palestinians in the Gaza area to train and prepare to undertake the jihad and sacrifice required of them. I explained its necessity and benefit to their cause and themselves. He replied that he had received reports from the area saying that destructive principles had spread among the Palestinians and that he feared the consequences. He then said: “Do you not think that strengthening Egypt would be more useful and effective than these efforts?” I affirmed to him that what was being said about the Palestinians was untrue, that the enemies were spreading these reports about them, and that they were trying to tarnish their reputation with various accusations to remove them from the battle over their cause because they knew how dangerous they were to Zionism. They were its strongest element and greatest obstacle because of their courage and self-sacrifice in liberating their homeland.

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Later we submitted a special memorandum to Kamal al-Din Husayn in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the fedayeen battalions, requesting that Palestinians be admitted into those battalions. It was dated 1 Safar 1373 (10 October 1953). Its text follows:

Arab Higher Committee for Palestine S/132/3/702

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

To Staff Major Kamal al-Din Husayn, member of the Revolutionary Command Council and commander-in-chief of the fedayeen battalions, may God preserve him.

Peace, God’s mercy, and His blessings be upon you. The Arab Higher Committee for Palestine follows with interest and admiration the news of the valuable results achieved by your commendable efforts in preparing the fedayeen battalions.