Great Falls Tribune · Great Falls, Montana · 11 March 1948
CP-1948-006
Martial Law Ordered by Arab Leader
Associated Press, Northern Palestine
Transcribed from the clipping
“NORTHERN PALESTINE, March 10 (AP)—Fawzi Bey Al Kaukji tonight ordered martial law in all northern Palestine, effective at dawn tomorrow. Fawzi Bey is commander of Arab forces gathered here to fight the partition of Palestine voted last year by the United Nations.
His headquarters said military courts, conducted by Arab lawyers attached to his army, would begin sitting in all major towns and cities. Prisons are being established in a mountain top village where Fawzi Bey’s headquarters are located. Several persons already have been arrested and awaiting trial before military courts.
The Arab commander said ‘every order from his headquarters will become the law of the land (northern Palestine) for civil and military alike.’ Punishment ordered by the courts will be ‘strict and severe,’ he added. Fawzi Bey and his general staff aides are studying maps and intelligence reports in preparation for the offensive against the Jews.”
Context added by this archive
The one clipping here from the period the leaders-told-them-to-leave claim is usually made about. It reports a commander declaring martial law and setting up courts and prisons. It does not report anyone being told to leave.
Cite this clipping
"Martial Law Ordered by Arab Leader," Great Falls Tribune, 11 March 1948, p. 1. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1948-006. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1948-006
This clipping is read closely in the section below
More from Great Falls Tribune
- 70 Arabs Slain in PalestineGreat Falls Tribune · 10 December 1947
- Palestinian killed by IsraelisGreat Falls Tribune · 3 July 1972
- Israeli politician says soldiers were told to kill PalestiniansGreat Falls Tribune · 5 July 1979
- Breakout from GazaGreat Falls Tribune · 24 January 2008
- Yes: Palestinian state would benefit Israel, advance peaceGreat Falls Tribune · 4 March 2008
- No: End-of-term effort undermines U.S. anti-terror messageGreat Falls Tribune · 4 March 2008
- 1 more from this paper in the full text →
More from the 1940s
- Jewish Reprisal Raids On Two Arab Villages Take Toll of 8 LivesThe News Journal · 1 January 1948
- Palestine Blasts Rip Arab OfficesThe New York Times · 5 January 1948
- Jews Blow Up Military Post Of Jaffa ArabsMorning Advocate · 5 January 1948
- Ninety Wounded In Truck Blast At HeadquartersThe Beaumont Enterprise · 5 January 1948
- Jews Dynamite HQ of Arabs’ High CommandDaily News · 5 January 1948
- 15 Arabs Die In Jaffa BlastTerre Haute Tribune · 5 January 1948
- All 334 clippings from the 1940s →
In these collections
Last updated 2 November 2026
This record is part of Covering Palestine, an archive of American newspaper clippings about Palestinians, 1724 to 2023. Researched and assembled by Maria Robles.
The clipping belongs to the newspaper that printed it, or to the news agency that supplied the copy. It is reproduced here for research, criticism and commentary. A city here is where the newspaper was published, not where the story came from, and on most records it was taken from the masthead.
Something wrong here, or something you know about this clipping? The archive is still being built and corrections are wanted: maria@rozumstudio.com, quoting CP-1948-006.
Read in: The argument that Palestinians’ own leaders caused their expulsion
Everything printed in 1948 · Printed on this day · See it in the archive reel · Full text of every clipping · Dataset