a number of al-birwa's inhabitants participated in the 1936–1939 arab revolt against british rule and mass jewish immigration in palestine. a commander of the revolt for the nazareth-tiberias region, sheikh yihya hawash, was from al-birwa. he was arrested by the british and sentenced to life imprisonment. the british also executed eight residents of al-birwa who had participated in the revolt. other rebel commanders and participants in the revolt from al-birwa included asad atallah, mahmoud al-joudi, saleh mahmoud me'ari-abu sa'ud, abd al-hamid daher me'ari, muhammad al-hajj ali, yusef taha, fadil eid, yousif mai and abbas al-shattawi. a number of women from al-birwa participated in the revolt by transporting arms, water and food to rebels positioned among the hills in the vicinity. elderly refugees from al-birwa interviewed in 2003–2004 recalled that during the revolt, local rebels set off a mine that hit a british military jeep on a road adjacent to al-birwa in august 1937, prompting the british to launch punitive measures against the village. in particular, the british authorities gathered men from al-birwa and forced them to cut cactus plants near acre and then placed the men on top of the cactuses.