Mashour Haditha Al-Jazy

Mashour Haditha Al-Jazy
Native name
مشهور حديثة الجازي
Birth nameMashour Haditha Al-Jazy
Born(1928-01-01)1 January 1928
Ma'an, Transjordan
Died6 November 2001(2001-11-06) (aged 73)
Amman, Jordan
Buried
Jordan
Allegiance Jordan
Service / branch Royal Jordanian Army
Years of service1943–1970
RankLieutenant General
Unit40th Armored Battalion
Battles / warsFirst Arab-Israeli War
Six-Day War
Battle of Karameh
Mashour Haditha Al-Jazy (right) and King Hussein atop an abandoned Israeli Centurion tank, that crossed the bridge from the Jordan River's West Bank to the East Bank, in the aftermath of the Battle of Karameh.

Mashour Haditha al-Jazy, or Mashhoor Hadeetha el-Jazi, (1928 in Ma'an–2001 in Amman) was a Lieutenant General and Chief of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces who is mostly known for his participation in the Six-Day War and the Battle of Karameh.[1][2]

Jazy was from Bedouin ancestry, born to the Howeitat, a large Judhami tribe, in Ma'an, Emirate of Transjordan. He and joined the Badia forces on 28 June 1943, 1946 he joined the cultural wing at Abdali Center. After his graduation he was stationed with the Second Infantry Battalion. In 1958 he received a bachelor's degree in military science from the Pakistani Military Staff College. He took part in several courses in armored brigade training in the United States. He was commander of the 40th Armored Brigade and later commander of the First Brigade.

When in March 1968 Jordanian intelligence received word that Israeli forces were preparing to carry out an incursion into the village of Karameh, in the Jordan Valley, Colonel al-Jazy relayed the information to the leaders of Palestinian organizations in the country, including Yasser Arafat. Israel wanted to punish Jordan for hosting Palestinian fedayeen by occupying the Jordanian Salt Heights and rendering them into a "security buffer zone" for Israel.[3] On 21 March 1968 Israeli troops advanced into Jordan and tanks crossed the King's bridge. General al-Jazy, with combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), defeated the Israel army at the Al Karamah Battle and forced the enemy out. During Karameh he commanded the 1st Infantry Division.

In 1970 he was chief of staff of the Jordan Armed Forces and appointed as the private advisor for King Hussein.[4] On 28 November 1971 officials in Jordan moved Al-Jazy to Al Husseinieh town located between Amman and Aqaba. This decision was taken to protect the influential Huwaitat tribe to which he belonged. Al-Jazy was requested to stay with his tribe, considered one of the largest in Jordan.[5] After his military retirement Al-Jazy established in 1975 Al Jazy Shipping And Forwarding, becoming agent of the German Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.[6] Al-Jazy died of pneumonia in at the age of 73 in Amman on the 6th November 2001.[7]

  1. ^ "Obituaries - Deaths Elsewhere - Mashour Haditha al-Jazy". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  2. ^ El-Tahri, Jihan (5 March 1998). The Fifty Years War. Penguin UK. ISBN 9780141937151. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  3. ^ "The legacy of Mashhoor Hadeetha el-Jazi, hero of Karamah". The New Arab. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  4. ^ "Mashhoor Haditheh AlJazy - About Mashhoor Haditheh - Military Life". Mashhoorhaditheh.com. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  5. ^ "Mashhoor Haditheh AlJazy - Exiling". Mashhoorhaditheh.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  6. ^ Al Jazy Shipping And Forwarding, aljazy.com, retrieved 2024-09-11.
  7. ^ Mashour Haditha al-Jazy–Jordanian General, The Washington Post, 18 November 2001