The general strike lasted from April to October 1936 , initiating the violent revolt . The revolt consisted of two distinct phases . The first phase was directed primarily by the urban and elitist Higher Arab Committee ( HAC ) and was focused mainly on strikes and other forms of political protest . By October 1936 , this phase had been defeated by the British civil administration using a combination of political concessions , international diplomacy ( involving the rulers of Iraq , Saudi Arabia , Transjordan and Yemen ) and the threat of martial law . The second phase , which began late in 1937 , was a violent and peasant-led resistance movement provoked by British repression in 1936 that increasingly targeted British forces . During this phase , the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the British Army and the Palestine Police Force using repressive measures that were intended to intimidate the Arab population and undermine popular support for the revolt . During this phase , a more dominant role on the Arab side was taken by the Nashashibi clan , whose NDP party quickly withdrew from the rebel Arab Higher Committee , led by the radical faction of Amin al-Husseini , and instead sided with the British – dispatching " Fasail al-Salam " ( the " Peace Bands " ) in coordination with the British Army against nationalist and Jihadist Arab " Fasail " units ( literally " bands " )
general strike
Arab general strike (Mandatory Palestine)
1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine