Who was the former leader of Palestine?

Answer 1

In early 1948, Mandatory Palestine was under British authority. Sir Alan Cunningham was the last British High Commissioner of Palestine and Transjordan until May of 1948 when that position was abolished. Throughout the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9, the territory of the former Mandate of Palestine was either under Israeli control or under the control of armies from other Arab nations.

If the question is asking if the Palestinian Arabs had a leader, the issue is more complicated. Unlike the Zionists, the Palestinian Arabs were much less unified and organized. There were three main leaders that held sway: Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Haj Amin al-Husseini, and Fawzi al-Qawuqji. Of them, al-Hussayni probably had the most legitimacy, but he died in late 1948 and had limited political connections. Qawuqji was the least legitimate, being ethnically Syrian, and because of how soundly he was defeated in 1948, he had no traction. Al-Husseini came the closest to creating a Palestinian state, but he also had no mind for creating a political establishment. There was also very little Palestinian civil society for him to reach out to in order to create a state.

Answer 2

Yasser Arafat