Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; Arabic: جيش الإنقاذ العربي Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi), also translated as Arab Salvation Army or Arab Rescue Army (ARA), was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, but in fact, the League and Arab governments prevented thousands from joining either force.
| Arab Liberation Army جيش الإنقاذ العربي Jayš al-ʾInqāḏ al-ʿArabiyy | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the Arab Liberation Army | |
| Leaders | Fawzi al-Qawuqji |
| Dates of operation | 1947–1949 |
| Headquarters | Damascus, Syria |
| Active regions | Mandatory Palestine |
| Ideology | Arab nationalism Pan-Arabism Anti-Zionism |
| Size | 6,000 |
| Allies | Arab League
|
| Opponents | Before 26 May 1948:
After 26 May 1948 : |
| Battles and wars | 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine
|
At the meeting in Damascus on 5 February 1948 to organize Palestinian Field Commands, Northern Palestine was allocated to Qawuqji's forces although the West Bank was de facto already under the control of Transjordan.
The target figure for recruitment was 10,000, but by mid-March 1948, the number of volunteers having joined the Army had reached around 6,000 and did not increase much beyond that figure. The actual number deployed might have been as low as 3,500, according to General Safwat. Its ranks included mainly Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians and a few hundreds of Iraqis, Jordanians, Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt, Circassians, and Bosniaks. There were also a few German, Turkish and British deserters.