Abd Al-Qadir Al-Husayni - Battle of Qastal

Battle of Qastal

In 1938, Husayni was exiled and in 1939 fled to Iraq where he took part in the Rashid Ali al-Gaylani coup. He moved to Egypt in 1946, but secretly returned to Palestine to lead the Army of the Holy War in January 1948. Husayni was killed while personally reconnoitering an area of Qastal Hill shrouded by fog, in the early hours of 8 April 1948. His forces later captured Qastal from the Haganah, which had occupied the village at the start of Operation Nachshon six days earlier with a force of about 100 men. They retreated to the Jewish settlement of Motza. Palmach troops recaptured the village on the night of 8–9 April, losing eighteen men in the attack; most of the houses were blown up and the hill became a command post. Huseyni's death was a factor in the loss of morale among his forces.