The Transformation of the Palestinian Cause to a National Cause (qa¿¿ya wa¿an¿ya) in 1921

This micro study explores the transformation of the Palestinian question to a “national cause” (qaḍīya waṭanīya) in 1921 while it was advocated for the first time before the League of Nations. Based on Arab periodicals, such the Jaffan Filasṭīn, the Haifa-based Al-Karmil, the Damascene Alif-Bāʾ, as well as correspondence of the Arab Executive and the Muslim-Christian Association as the leading local national agents of at the time, it follows the construction of the Palestinian cause in the post-war context between imperialist aspirations and liberalization ideologies, and competing national narratives regarding the political future of the region. The study recalls the establishment of the Arab Executive and the Palestinian Wafd as “representative” (mumaṯṯila) of the Palestinians, analyses the key arguments and terminology applied by them as to legitimate their cause before the world, and finally, it also reveals dissent in the young Palestinian national movement about its set-up, leading positions and practical political strategies. Doing so, it illustrates an early turning point in the history of Palestinian nationalism before it adopted a boycott strategy towards the British Mandate.