1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War (90 page)

33• Tzuri, Leshem, to HIS-AD, 26 June 1948, IDFA 7249/49//138. The HIS was dismantled during June-July, and its component parts became the core of the "IDF Intelligence Service" (sheruthamodi`in steel tzahal) (IDF-IS), the "General Security Service" (sheruthabitahon haklali, or shin bet) (GSS), and the "Political Department" of the Foreign Ministry, the forerunner of Israel's foreign intelligence service, later renamed the Institute for Intelligence and Special Duties (hamossad lemodi'in vetafkidim vneyuhadivn) or, simply, the "Mossad."

34. Tzuri, Leshem, to HIS-AD, z6 June, 7, 11 July 1948, IDFA 7249/49//138.

35• Tzuri, Sha`anan, to HIS-AD, ii July 1948, IDFA 7149/49//138.

36. Elisha Sultz, "Report on the Activities of the Military Governor in Nazareth ... for 17.7-17.10.48," undated, IDFA 121/50//223.

37. Unsigned, "Copy," undated, memorandum, IDFA 5205/49//I; Nahum Golan, OC Golani Brigade, to OC Northern Front, "Probe of Facts Relating to Nazareth and Surrounding Villages," 4 September 1948, IDFA 260/5, //54.

38. Untitled report, Golani/Intelligence, 15 July 1948, IDFA 7249/49//138.

39• `Etzioni, ed., Tree and Sword, 23.

4o. Ben-Gurion to Yigael Yadin, 15 July 1948, IDFA 922/75//1o25.

41. Carmel, "Order of the Day for 16.7.48," IDFA 2384/50//1.

42. Tzuri, Leshem, to HIS-AD, "The Conquest of Nazareth," 19 July 1948, HA 105/92 bet.

43• Hiram to IDF-IS, 25 July 1948, IDFA 7249/49//138.

44. Twelfth Battalion to Golani HQ, 16 July 1948, 19:oo hrs., IDFA 128/51//5o.

4$. Hiram to IDF-IS, "The Investigation by ... from Tulkarm," 3 August 1948, IDFA 7249/49//138 (the name of the Arab author of the report was deleted by IDFA censors).

46. Eshel, Carvneli Brigade, 218 -221.

47. Tzuri, Leshem, to HIS-AD, "The Conquest of Nazareth," 19 July 1948.

48. Seventh Brigade HQ/Intelligence, to General Staff/Operations, "Report on the Conquest of Nazareth," 17 July 1948, IDFA 82/54//26o.

49. "The Conditions of Surrender," unsigned, Nazareth, 16 July 1948, IDFA 2315/ 50//15.

50. Tzuri, Leshem, to HIS-AD, "The Conquest of Nazareth," 19 July 1948.

Si. Tzuri, Yosef, to IDF-IS, 31 August 1948, IDFA 7349/49//138.

52. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 18 July 1948, 599.

53• Peretz Kidron, "Truth Whereby Nations Live," 86-87.

54. Seventh Brigade Combat HQ to General Staff, 17 July 1948, 14:30 hrs., IDFA 922/75//1025-

55. Yirmiyahu to Golani, 17 July 1948, 18:3o hrs., IDFA 1281/51//5o.

56. Northern Front HQ to Golani HQ, 22 July 1948, IDFA 5205/49//1.

57. Tzuri, Leshem, to HIS-AD, 21 July 1948, and Tzuri, Shaltiel, to IDF-IS, 29 July 1948, both in IDFA 7249/49//138.

58. IDF General Staff, logbook of incoming cables, entry for 18 July 1948, IDFA 922/75//1176; Northern Front HQ to General Staff/Operations/Intelligence, etc., "Report for 18/7/48 o8:oo hrs.," IDFA 7249/49//17o.

59• Sela, "ALA in Galilee," 1:234.

6o. Israeli intelligence subsequently reported that 12 ALA officers had died at Sejera (see Tzuri, Shaltiel, to IDF-IS, 29 July 1948, IDFA 7249/49 //138); Sela, "ALA in Galilee," 1:235.

61. `Etzioni, ed., Tree and Sword, 254--277-

62. Combat HQ Seventh Brigade, Intelligence, to General Staff/Operations, "Report on Activities in Western Galilee," 19 July 1948, IDFA 1o94/49//77•

63. Tzuri, Paltiel, to IDF-IS, "Doings in the North of the Country," 29 July 1948, HA 105/92 bet.

64. Abd al-Qadir al-Dib, Nimr Qassam, etc., "Surrender Instrument of the Village of'Ein Mahal," 18 July 1948, IDFA 2315/5o//15.

65. Ben-Zion Ken and Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, "Testimony Taken from Reuven Ron, a Company OC in Golani [Brigade's] 12th Battalion in the War of Independence. His Activities in the Battalion during the War Up until [the Brigade's] `Descent to the Negev,"' 23 March 1957, IDFA 922/75//943.

66. See, e.g., Golani Intelligence Officer, "Summary from Noon 17.7.48 until 24:oo hours," undated, IDFA 128/51 //84.

67. Intelligence Officer Tzidoni Battalion, "Report on the Operations of the Tzidoni Battalion from 10.7.48 until 27.7.48," undated, IDFA 5492/49//3.

68. Northern Front HQ to Oded, Golani, etc., "Operation[s] Brosh' and `Dekel,"' 6 July 1948, IDFA 4858/49//495.

69. The exact size of the Syrian force in the bridgehead and immediately to its rear, on the east bank of the Jordan, is unclear. AI-Nafuri, "Syrian Army," 32, speaks of "three battalions ofinfantry, one of armor, altogether 1,5oo troops," whereas Tal, War in Palestine, 340, writes of "two brigades," consisting of "seven or eight battalions."

70. Northern Front HQ to General Staff/Operations/Intelligence, etc., "Report for 18/7/48 o8:oo hrs.," IDFA 7249/49//17o.

71. Eshel, Carmeli Brigade, 227-248.

72. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 14 June 1948, ISA: "The Arab Legion is an army that inspires respect among all our boys. It knows the craft of war."

73. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 30 May 1948, 468.

74. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 16 June 1948, ISA.

75. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entries for 11, 24 May, 4 June 1948, 410, 453, 485.

76. Alexandroni, "Bulletin No. 55," 7 July 1948, IDFA 2323/49//6; Orren, Operation "Danni,"41-42.

77. IDF GS/Operations, Southern Front, to Kiryati, etc., z6 June 1948, IDFA 922/ 75//1237-

78. Glubb, Soldier, 142-143; Pirie-Gordon to B. A. B. Burrows, 25 July 1948, PRO FO 371-68822.

79. Kadish, Sela, and Golan, Occupation ofLydda, 24, write of "i,ooo" armed locals in Lydda alone, surely an exaggeration.

8o. Glubb, Soldier, 157-159; Orren, Operation "Danni,"42.

81. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 6 October 1948, ISA (an interjection in the middle of a statement by Yitzhak Gruenbaum). Gruenbaum interpreted the ease with which the towns were captured as proof that "Abdullah refused to fight."

8z. Alec Kirkbride to secretary of state (no. 548), 10 July 1948, PRO FO 816/125.

83. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 14 July 1948, ISA.

84. Dayan, Story, 71-

85. Kadish, Sela, and Golan, Occupation of Lydda, 143-144. The raid was honestly described by Natan Alterman, Israel's leading poet, in the poem "Al zot" (On this), published in the socialist daily Davarin November 1948.

86. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 14 July 1948, said Dayan's "chutzpah" raid "astounded" the town.

87. Third Battalion Intelligence Officer, "Report on the 11th of July-Operation in Lydda" and "Report on the izth of the Month," 14 July 1948, IDFA 922/ 75//1237•

88. Arshid Marshud, OC First Regiment, "The Recollections ofAr skid Marshud, of the 1st Regiment, on the 1st Regiment's Battles in Palestine," 9 December 1948, IDFA 922/75//693.

89. Third Battalion Intelligence, "Comprehensive Report on the Activities of the 3rd Battalion from Friday 9.7 until Sunday 18.7," 18 July 1948, IDFA 922/ 75//1237; and "Mild" Operation HQ/Intelligence, "Operation `Dani' (Concluding Report)," 15 August 1948, IDFA 922/75//1237.

9o. See Morris, Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 429; and BenGurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 16 June 1948, in which a relevant paragraph has been blanked out by government censors.

91. "Yitzhak R," Dani HQ, to Yiftah HQ, To July 1948, 16:oo hrs., and Operation Dani HQ to IDF GS, 10 July 1948, both in IDFA 922/75//1234.

92. "Yitzhak R" to Yiftah and Eighth Brigade, 12 July 1948, 13:3o hrs., IDFA 922/ 75 //1234.The order exists in a number of variants, including one in which Yiftah is instructed "to differentiate between [persons of different] ages" (IDFA 922/75 //1237)-

93• See Kiryati HQ to Zvi Aurbach, 13 July 1948,14:50 hrs., HA 80/774/12.

94-. Alexander Tzur, "The Conditions of Surrender of the Town of Ramla," 12 July 1948, IDFA 2315/50//60.

95• Kiryati HQ to OC Ramla Garrison, 13 July 1948, 19:15 hrs., HA 80/774/12.

96. Morris, Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 432.

97. Intelligence officer to OC Forty-third Battalion, 13 July 1948, IDFA 922/ 75//1237.

98. Gilead, ed., Book of the Palmah, 2:718.

99 • Morris, Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 433

loo. Glubb, Soldier, 162.

rot. Untitled, undated, printed report, signed "Yigal," KMA-PA 142-51.

io2. Meir Ya ari, 12 December 1948, protocol of meeting of I ibbutz Artzi Council, 1o-1z December 1948, HHA 5.20.5 (4).

103. Page from untitled intelligence logbook (possibly Giv`ati Brigade HQ), entry for 15 July 1948, IDFA 922/75//1226; (sigint intercept) "SVC" to "Damascus," possibly iS July 1948, HA 105/92 bet.

104. Steiger, "Arab Legion," 206.

105. Abu Nowar, Jordanian-Israeli War, 2o6-207-

106. IDF Intelligence Service/Arab Department, "From Listening to the Legion Wavelength," 21 July 1948, ISA FM 2569/13; Consul general, Jerusalem, to FO, 25 July 1948, PRO FO 816/139.

107 - Morris, Road to Jerusalem, 176.

108. Pirie-Gordon to Burrows, 25 July 1948; Hiram to IDF Intelligence Service/ Arab Department, "A Visit to Amman, Irbid, Nablus," 17 July 1948, ISA FM 2569/13. Tall, Memoirs, 194-196, says simply that Glubb "handed over" the two towns to the IDF on British instructions.

109. "Report by Informers Who Have Returned from a Journey through Nazareth Irbid- Zarqa -Amman -Jericho-Nablus-Nazareth," 15 September 1948, ISA FM 2569/13.

no. Kirkbride, From the Wings, 48.

iii. Glubb, Soldier, 163-164.

112. Pirie-Gordon to Ernest Bevin (no. 570), 14 July 1948, PRO FO 816/1z6; Campbell, Cairo, to Kirkbride, 16 July 1948, PRO FO 816/iz6; Shlaim, Collusion across the Jordan, 269.

113. Krkbride to Bevin, 6 August 1948, PRO FO 816/127.

114. Kirkbride to Bevin, 29 July 1948, PRO FO 816/127.

115. Kirkbride to Bevin, 6 August 1948, PRO FO 816/127-

116. Glubb, Soldier, 179-

117. Pirie-Gordon to Burrows, 25 July 1948; Glubb, Soldier, 165 -166.

118. Pirie-Gordon to Bevin (no. 570), 14 July 1948; Pirie-Gordon, "Major General Glubb's Relations with the Trans-Jordan Government," 15 July 1948, quoted in Norton, "Last Pasha," 358.

119. Kirkbride to Bevin, 6 August 1948, PRO FO 816/127-

120. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting of 14 July 1948. For a filler treatment of the events of Lydda-Ramla on 11-13 July, see Morris, Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 424-435; and Morris, "Operation Dani and Palestinian Exodus."

121. See, e.g., Y. Gvirtz to Minorities Minister, 21 July 1948, Minority Affairs Ministry, 297/5 gimel, and Military Governor of Ramla-Lydda, "Monthly Report on the Activities of the Military Governor of Ramla-Lydda and on the General Situation in the Area," [?] October 1948, IDFA 186o/50//30.

122. Rivlin and Sinai, eds., Alexandroni Brigade, 290-299; unsigned, "Investigation of the Disaster at Qula," undated, and Shaul Rosenberg, OC A Company, Thirty-second Battalion, to OC Thirty-second Battalion 15 August 1948, both in IDFA 922/75//949.

123. Battalion 32, Alexandroni Brigade, to brigade intelligence officer, 19 July 1948, IDFA 922/75//949.

124-. Ben-Gurion, WarDiary, entry for 11 July 1948, 582.

125. Tal, War in Palestine, 324.

126. Orren, Operation "Danni,"207.

127. Amit Goodes, "The Battle of Khirbet Kureikur," in Shiran, ed., Jews and Arabs, 319-341; Orren, Operation "Danni,"196-203; "Recollections of Arshid Marshud," IDFA 922/75//693 (who speaks of"3oo" Israeli dead).

128. Levy, Jerusalem in the War of Independence, 313-319; Lapidot, Flames of Revolt, 414-425. Lapidot, an IZL veteran, (mistakenly) argues that the operation was deliberately torpedoed by Ben-Gurion because he did not want to conquer the Old City.

129. Dani HQ to Harel, Yiftah, Eighth and Kiryati brigades, 19 July 1948, IDFA 922/75//1235.

130. See, e.g., Kiryati /Operations to Dani HQ, 21 July 1948, IDFA 922/75//1235. 131. Pixie-Gordon to secretary of state, 18 July 1948 (no. 585), PRO FO 816/126; Pixie-Gordon to Burrows, 25 July 1948, PRO FO 816/127.

132. Haaretz, 16 July 1948; Cohen, History oflsraeliAirForce, 1:644-649.

133. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 16 July 1948, ISA.

134. Cohen, History of Israeli Air Force, 1:64-7-

135. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 12 August 1948, 646.

136. Lachish, "Bombing," 44-57-

137. Cohen, History of Israeli Air Force, x:649 - 652.

138. Cohen, History of Israeli Air Force, 1:665.

139. P. M. Broadmead to Burrows, 19 July 1948, PRO FO 371-68813; Cohen, Air Force, 1:667-

140. Cohen, History of lsraeli Air Force, 1:667-668.

141. The Beirut daily Al-Hayat, quoted in Houstoun Boswall to FO, 21 July 1948, PRO FO 371-68494.

142. Stabler to SecState, 25 July 1948, FRUS, 5:1237-1238; Pirie-Gordon to Burrows, 25 July 1948, PRO FO 816/127, citing the Iraqis' recognition of their weakness.

143. Houstoun Boswall to charge, Amman, 26 July 1948 (reproducing Boswall to FO, 24 July 1948), PRO FO 816/127. Boswall wrote: "It is difficult to assess the Prime Minister's real attitude. He has twice given us the impression that he would urge moderation at the Arab League meetings, and has twice acted in the opposite sense." The duplicity of the Arab leaders never ceased to surprise their British interlocutors.

144. Boswall to FO, 21 July 1948, PRO FO 371-68494; Ilan, Bernadotte in Palestine, 149.

14$. Kirkbride to Bevin, 6 August 1948, PRO FO 816/127-

146. Pixie-Gordon to FO, 27 July 1948, PRO FO 816/127-

147. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 12 August 1948, 646.

14-8. Gerges, "Egypt and the 1948 War," War, 163.

149. FO to British Embassy, Washington, DC, 8 August 1948, PRO FO 371-68379-

15o. Tal, War in Palestine, 34$.

151. Ben-Gurion, protocol of Cabinet meeting, 14 July 1948, ISA.