ABSTRACT
In Palestine itself, opposition to the semilegalized Jewish immigration and settlement took the form of protests by some Arab notables to the Ottoman authorities, who at times acceded to Arab requests to impose various restrictions on Jews. The military governor of Jerusalem dismissed the Arab mayor of the city, Mussa Kazim Al-Husseini, for inciting the anti-Jewish rioters. The Jewish immigration in the country almost doubled, and, when an economic crisis developed in Palestine in 1926-1927, Arab nationalists expected that the Zionist effort to establish a Jewish entity would collapse from within. The mandatory government, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency, formed an auxiliary police known as Ghafirs, or Notrim, often serving as a cover for the Haganah underground in communications, arms procurement, equipment transportation, and training. The Jewish leadership also attempted to persuade moderate Arabs from the neighboring countries to begin a dialogue among them regarding the possibility of a peaceful resolution of the opposing nationalistic aims.
