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On April 25, 1834 Ibrhaim Pasha, upon instructions from his Father
Mohammad Ali, ordered the populations of Jerusalem to have one out
of five Palestinian youths be enlisted in his army. Furthermore, he
ordered the Jerusalemites to be disarmed, depriving the notables,
shaikhs and fief-holders from their privileges. Accordingly, the
families of Abu Ghush of Jerusalem Mountain, al-Mawadi of Ijzim,
Qasim and Al Jarrar of Nablus, Al Amr of Hebron and others were
affected. For example, Al Abu Ghush lost the proceedings they used
to collect from tourists traveling along Jerusalem road, the
proceedings which Sultan Suleiman al-Qanouni the Lawgiver had
enunciated. As a result, brothers Jaber and Ibrahim Abu Ghush
dissented, but were exiled to Acre and A’Sham alongside many others.
The new measures by Ibrahim Pasha were proved to be unpopular among
Muslims, while non-Muslims were pleased with it.
But it seems that such development has widened the gap between
Muslims and non-Muslims, driving the latter to complain against
Muslims’ maltreatment.
Consequently, the Pasha sent to the Muslims a strongly worded
ultimatum to quit mistreating the followers of the other two faiths,
and to refrain from imposing dues on the visitors. Moreover, the
situation was aggravated by the Turkish instigation and the sudden
emergence of British hostility toward Egypt’s military activities in
the region.
All these factors of compulsory conscript, imposition of heavy
taxes, disarming the people, notables’ downgrading and the Turkish
instigation were to contribute to aggravated the situation.
Understandably enough, a widespread discontent of the people
prevailed in Palestine from one end to the other. Therefore, the
people took to arms, readying themselves for looming revolt, which
broke out overnight at Al Salt, Jafa, Nablus and everywhere. Bloody
battles erupted between the soldiers and the rebels at Sa’eer, of
Hebron district, Serees and Bab El Wad, Lifta Beit Jala, Bethlehem,
and Marj Ben Amer.
But in Jerusalem itself, the security was lost, and chaos became
rampant for six days; Christians took refuge in their monasteries,
and Jews at their synagogues; many of them were killed.
In addition, Safad, to the extreme north, and Gaza, in the deep
south, rebelled too; the Bedouins seized power in the area of Gaza;
the population of Safad, headed by the Qadi, Mufti, and
naqib-al-ahraf issued a statement of support to the revolt.
The Jerusalemites decided on April 28, 1834 declared the revolution
following Ibrahim Pasha’s trip to Jafa. On March 8, 1834 they
besieged Jerusalem, including 1,000 soldiers guarding the Citadel.
The following day, March 9, reinforcements of about 10,000 rebels
arrived in Jerusalem from Nablus and Hebron. The rebels gave notice
to the besieged soldiers to leave the city, but the ultimatum was
turned down.
Ibrahim Pasha returned to Jerusalem on April 13, and went to al-Aqsa
Mosque for Friday’s prayer. From al-Aqsa, he issued a general
amnesty, but the rebels did not acquiesce to the Pasha who clashed
and defeated them on March 31. Sporadic clashes and confrontations
between the two sides continued for six years.
On December 31, 1840 Ibrahim Pasha returned to Egypt leaving behind
him many Egyptians who settled down in Palestine and became
Palestinians. Accordingly, many Palestinian families are of Egyptian
origin. |
