Palestine in the Second World War Strategic Plans and Political Dilemmas
The Emergence of a New Middle East
Daphna Sharfman
Dr. Daphna Sharfman is a lecturer in the Political Science Department, Western Galilee College, Israel. She is the author of books and articles in the fields of human rights, Israeli government, human rights and foreign policy, and the British mandate in Palestine history. Her publications in include: Living Without a Constitution, Civil Rights in Israel (M.E. Sharpe, 1993); Government and Human Rights in Israel (Etica,1997 [Hebrew]); A Light unto the Nations: Israel’s Foreign Policy and Human Rights (Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1999 [Editor, Hebrew]); and Tea on the Casino Balcony: Coexistence in Haifa during the British Mandate, 1920–1948 (Mishpaton, 2006 [Editor, Hebrew]).
While the conflicts and
national aspirations in British mandatory Palestine in particular
and the Middle East in general were evident before the outbreak
of the Second World War, the war itself accelerated and enhanced
national expectations and presented continuing tactical and strategic
dilemmas to British, Arab and Jewish leaders. British strategic
policy during the war failed to provide answers to the political
issues of the growing national demands in Palestine, and led to
severe distrust of British policy among Arabs and Jews, as the two
communities were framing mostly opposing reactions to wartime developments,
and to conflicting expectations and policies towards post-war solutions
for Palestine.
… The aim of this work is to analyse the continual development
of strategic plans and political dilemmas that arose during the
war period, which led to the subsequent post-war circumstance where
American and Soviet involvement impacted on the strategic thinking
of all involved parties, notwithstanding the British military victory.
Analysis includes: the pre-war British strategic situation in Palestine,
and the war events in Palestine and its Middle East neighbour countries
(at the military–strategic level and the repercussions of
the outcome of the war for the local Palestinian population). At
the heart of the discussion lies British interests and policies
framed towards Jews and Arabs; analysis of the two communities’
conflicting interests and policies; and the resultant sea-change
in the establishment of the Jewish state which brought in its wake
the emergence of a New Middle East.
