From there, he traveled to Cuba to fight alongside Che Guevara and Fidel Castro at the dawn of the Cuban revolution. Antoun followed Che to Bolivia, where the revolution continued, and Che fell as a martyr of the revolution. In his revolutionary life, Antoun met with Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh before his burial in Kuwait on this day in 1969, draped in a Palestinian flag. He was martyred as he was born: planning for the revolution.
Antoun’s riveting story is one that competes with even the most astounding movie plots, but his life of revolution is as real as the struggles for which he fought.
Antoun was a pilot and a solider. In Mexico, he earned the rank of Captain due to his courage in the battle of the Las Segovia mountains, where he led machine gun squads. In Honduras two years later, he had founded a commercial airline.
Upon his return to his homeland, he first worked as a spy, since he told the immigration officer he was Jewish as soon as he got off the boat. He infiltrated the Palestine Mandate Police, where he worked as an agent for the revolutionaries. He would cover for them, help prisoners, and inform fighters of British plans. Despite hesitation due to his poor Arabic, Antoun joined the 1936 Revolution as it erupted, working as a spy within the comprador Palestine Police Force.
“Liberators of peoples must struggle within the lands they intend to liberate. Wars are not won from behind desks.”
Antoun learned the ins and outs of the American consulate, discovering through Haganah members that zionist political and military forces were under the command of the Jewish Agency. His plan was meticulous, crafted with precision to ensure he knew who would be present. Antoun slept in the consulate that night, keeping a close eye on American zionist soldiers. After secretly listening to meetings, he contacted Abdulqader Al-Husseini—he knew what had to be done.
Antoun passed through four Zionist checkpoints and two British ones. He planted barrel after barrel, tricking guards into thinking he was transporting American officers. They saw no one in the car. “Arab! Arab! Arab!” It was too late.
Antoun threw two bombs. Neither exploded. Undeterred, he drew two pistols and fired two shots, leaving an officer dead on the spot. He continued to hit soldiers, knowing time was running out and the explosives hadn’t yet detonated. In a quick dash, Antoun rolled under a zionist armored vehicle and found himself on the main street, quickly moving to safety.
Boom. The Jewish Agency was turned to rubble under the force of Antoun’s explosives. He had succeeded in destroying a booby-trapped fortress of zionist documents guarded by Haganah death squads. 250 tons of explosives had been detonated in front of the American consul, for whom he worked as a driver. 40 zionists were killed and 40 more were injured, with damage extending as far as the Jerusalem Post.
Antoun left safely, pistols loaded. He slyly told some zionist guards it was the British who had blown up the building.
He was not done yet. His fight was not over.
From Yaffa to Al-Quds then onto Bethlehem. Back to Al-Quds. Antoun was home. He was in Palestine, fighting for her liberation. He accomplished what he set out to do. After the operation, he went to Areeha, then Nablus, where he ate some knafeh. His journey led him to Birzeit to meet commander Abdulqader.
Antoun was forced to leave home yet again because of risks to his life. However, he carried the sprit of struggle with him until his end. After the Nakba, he traveled to Cuba in 1950, becoming part of the first cell of the incipient and victorious Cuba revolution with Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. A specialist in guerilla warfare, Antoun accompanied Guevara to Bolivia in the 1960s.
He made several visits to Vietnam and China, conducting interviews with revolutionary leaders in Asia, particularly Mao Zedong. After a long journey in struggle, he returned once again to his homeland. There, he chose to join the PFLP under Dr. George Habash’s leadership, because he believed in the value of its scientific socialist approach.
After the 1967 Naksa, Antoun planned a major operation with the PFLP to deal a severe blow to the zionist entity. Fate had other plans, and his time ended before his wish could be realized.
While visiting family in Kuwait, Antoun completed his tour of revolution and passed away, but his story lives. And the revolution lives, fueled by stories of courage like Antoun’s. From Colombia to Cuba, from Bethlehem to Yaffa, from homeland to global struggle, Antoun’s story is unbounded by borders and indelibly etched in the history of revolution.