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ABSTRACT Policing Palestine: British Security Strategy in Palestine, 1917-1947 Robert B. DeBoard, M.A. Mentor: George W. Gawrych, Ph.D. Throughout the British Mandate for Palestine, the British Government attempted to establish a policy that reconciled the dueling aspirations of Palestine’s Arab and Jewish communities. This thesis examines British security operations to suppress the Arab Revolt of 1936, Jewish terrorism during World War II, and the post-war United Resistance Movement. This study contends that the British adopted a colonial policing model that stressed the security forces’ reliance on native support in order to suppress active threats to peace. Second, it demonstrates that shifting British policy led to the alienation of the Jewish community, which had provided important support in suppressing the Arab Revolt. As Jewish intelligence sources dried up, the British were increasingly unable to counter violence coming from the Jewish Underground. This thesis adds to the historiography of the Mandate by demonstrating the complex relationship between British colonial policy, security strategy, and Arab and Jewish national interests. Copyright © 2013 by Robert B. DeBoard All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv Introductory Chapter ....................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Background ........................................................................................................ 2 Historiography .................................................................................................................... 3 Early Developments in British Security Doctrine .............................................................. 7 Thesis ................................................................................................................................ 13 Chapter One: Learning to Police (1917-1939) .............................................................................. 16 The Balfour Declaration ................................................................................................... 17 Dual Mandate .................................................................................................................... 20 Early Police Organization ................................................................................................. 21 The Tranquility of the 1920s ............................................................................................. 27 The Threat of Bolshevism ................................................................................................. 31 Criminal Investigations Department ................................................................................. 32 Security on the Cheap ....................................................................................................... 35 The Calm is Shattered ....................................................................................................... 37 Recovery from 1929 ......................................................................................................... 39 Acceleration to Violence ................................................................................................... 44 The Beginning of the Arab Revolt .................................................................................... 45 The Peel Commission ....................................................................................................... 51 Charles Tegart and the Restructuring of the Police Force ................................................ 52 Counterinsurgency Operations .......................................................................................... 56 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 60 Chapter Two: Chasing Stern (1939-1942) .................................................................................... 63 The 1939 White Paper ...................................................................................................... 64 Security Posture in 1939 ................................................................................................... 66 The Shifting Tide .............................................................................................................. 68 Meeting a New Challenge ................................................................................................. 70 A Wartime Truce .............................................................................................................. 76 The New Sicarii ................................................................................................................ 78 CID’s First Break .............................................................................................................. 81 Finding Stern ..................................................................................................................... 85 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 90 i Chapter Three: Cracks in the Foundation (1942-1945) ................................................................ 92 Calm Before the Storm ..................................................................................................... 93 The Return of the Irgun Zvai Leumi ................................................................................. 96 Irgun’s Revolt and the Reemergence of the Stern Gang ................................................... 99 Fighting Terrorism .......................................................................................................... 101 The Turning Point ........................................................................................................... 107 The “Saison” ................................................................................................................... 110 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 116 Chapter Four: Losing Their Grip (1945-1947) ........................................................................... 119 Aftermath of War ............................................................................................................ 120 Security Forces ................................................................................................................ 123 The Haganah Joins the Fray ............................................................................................ 126 The United Underground ................................................................................................ 129 1946 ................................................................................................................................. 135 The King David Hotel ..................................................................................................... 140 The End of the Resistance Movement ............................................................................ 143 End Game ........................................................................................................................ 148 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 152 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 155 Britain’s Security Strategy in Palestine .......................................................................... 156 Implications for Counterinsurgency ............................................................................... 160 Final Thoughts ................................................................................................................ 162 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 164 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No project of this scale could be complete without the love and support of a number of people. Firstly, I must say how extremely grateful I am to Dr. George Gawrych for all of his support and encouragement throughout this process. It was only with his guidance, and his abundant patience, that I was able to complete this work. I am also extremely grateful to Dr. Sergiy Kudelia and Dr. Joseph Stubenrauch for giving of their time generously in order to serve on my defense committee. I would also like to thank Dr. Eldad Harouvi of the Palmach Archives in Tel Aviv. Without Dr. Harouvi’s guidance and generosity, this thesis would not have been possible. I must also express gratitude to Tom Segev, without whose input I would never have conceived of this project. To Dr. Benny Morris and Dr. Uri Milstain I would like to express my sincere gratitude for their willingness to go out of their way to meet with me. To the staff of the Haganah Archives, the Jabotinksy Institute, and