Policing Palestine : British security strategy in Palestine, 1917-1947.

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.