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Safed on 10 May 1948 for Damascus, where he joined the Syrian army and took part in the Samakh battle, in which he was killed, may God have mercy on him (1).

(1) It is useful to record here the information about the late Ihsan Kam al-Maz reported by the retired Colonel Muhammad Hisham al-Azm in a valuable article about the fall of Safed, published in issue 33 (May 1974) of the journal Palestinian Affairs. Colonel al-Azm had taken part in the battle of Safed when he was a lieutenant in the Salvation Army in 1948.

“He was First Lieutenant Ihsan Kam al-Maz, from the Syrian army, in Safed. He left the army out of enthusiasm and chivalry, taking with him several army noncommissioned officers and some of his students. He entered the city of Safed, where the residents loved him and placed themselves under his command. He led all the ongoing skirmishes and clashes in the city, on one side against the Jews and on the other sometimes against the English. These skirmishes, however, served only to affirm the Arab presence in the city. They had no decisive effect and achieved no military purpose except the occupation of the police station.

“Suddenly, the English announced their evacuation of Safed and began encouraging the two Arab and Jewish sides to race to occupy the station and snatch it from the other. The English covering elements, according to the commonly transmitted Arab account, struck both sides at the same time to protect their withdrawal. The Arab account adds that the English army concentrated its fire on the Arabs more than on the Jews so that the Jews would have the advantage in the occupation. But First Lieutenant Ihsan Kam al-Maz, through his vitality and courage and the mujahideen from Safed whom he gathered around him, managed to reach the station first, take up positions there, and defend it against both sides at first and against the Jews in the end. The station remained in Arab hands, giving them a good defensive advantage and greatly improving their defensive strength, because the police station overlooked the Arab quarter more than the Jewish quarter, although Mount Canaan overlooked it. Through this occupation, the Jews lost a very valuable opportunity to win the battle, or at least to delay that victory for a longer period.” Colonel Hisham al-Azm spoke elsewhere in his article about Captain Sari al-Funayish as garrison commander and said:

“Among the consequences of his appointment as garrison commander was the garrison’s loss of First Lieutenant Ihsan Kam al-Maz. At that time, First Lieutenant Kam al-Maz was not subordinate to al-Shishakli’s command. He was free to conduct the fighting in the city as he wished. When it became necessary to bring reinforcements from the Galilee regional command after the English evacuated the city, the first lieutenant was pleased by these reinforcements, especially because their first elements were Syrian and their officers were his students. But as soon as the Jordanian elements arrived, headed by someone of higher rank than he, his attitude changed somewhat. He thought that he should be the garrison commander, and he had a right to think so because he knew the city better militarily and socially. The residents loved him and had seen his courage and energy, which increased their love and admiration for him. He crowned his military actions in Safed by occupying the police station and taking it by force from the hands of the Jews. But he was sharp-tempered and nervous. He did not like remaining in Safed under someone else’s command, so he left it angrily. His departure affected Safed’s morale. We saw this clearly in the people of Safed, and their morale fell further when they noticed that treatment had changed from equality and brotherhood to ruler and ruled. This had the worst effect on the motives for fighting and morale. It would have been possible, and indeed preferable, to keep First Lieutenant Kam al-Maz in Safed and benefit from the several advantages he possessed, as urgent need and military necessity required.”