Plan Dalet, or
Plan D, was a plan worked out by the
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, a Jewish paramilitary group and the forerunner of the
Israel Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, in
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
in autumn 1947 to spring 1948. Its purpose is much debated. According to
Yoav GelberYoav Gelber is a professor of history at the University of Haifa, and a visiting professor at the University of Texas.Gelber was born in Mandatory Palestine in 1943 and studied world and Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Gelber is an expert on the history of the Israel Defense...
and
Benny MorrisBenny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel. He is a key member of a group of Israeli historians known as the 'New Historians', because they are rewriting the history of Israel since its...
, it was a contingency plan for defending a nascent Jewish state from invasion. According to other historians such as
Walid KhalidiWalid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus...
and
Ilan PappeIlan Pappé is professor of history at the University of Exeter in the UK, and co-director of the Exeter Center for Ethno-Political Studies. He was formerly a senior lecturer in political science at Haifa University , and chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian and Israeli Studies in Haifa...
, its purpose was to conquer as much of
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
, and to expel as many Palestinians, as possible.
Background
On November 29 1947 the UN voted to approve the Partition Plan for Palestine for ending the British Mandate and creating an Arab state and a Jewish state. In the immediate aftermath of the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
' approval of the Partition plan, the explosions of joy amongst the Jewish community were counterbalanced by the expression of discontent amongst the Arab community. On the day after the vote, a spate of Arab attacks left seven Jews dead and scores more wounded. Shooting, stoning, and rioting continued apace in the following days. Fighting began almost as soon as the plan was approved, beginning with the Arab Jerusalem Riots of 1947. Soon after, violence broke out and became more and more prevalent.
Murders, reprisals, and counter-reprisals came fast on each other's heels, resulting in dozens of victims killed on both sides in the process. The sanguinary impasse persisted as no force intervened to put a stop to the escalating cycles of violence.
From January onwards, operations became increasingly militarized, with the intervention of a number of regiments of the
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
(consisting of volunteers from Arab countries) inside Palestine, each active in a variety of distinct sectors around the different coastal towns. They consolidated their presence in
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
and
SamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
.
Abd al-Qadir al-HusayniAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War in the 1948 Palestine War...
came from Egypt with several hundred men of the
Army of the Holy WarThe Army of the Holy War or Holy War Army was a force of Palestinian irregulars in the 1947-48 Palestinian civil war. Historians described this as the "personal" army of the Husayni family....
. Having recruited a few thousands of volunteers, al-Husayni organised the blockade of the 100,000 Jewish residents of Jerusalem. To counter this, the Yishuv authorities tried to supply the city with convoys of up to 100 armoured vehicles, but the operation became more and more impractical as the number of casualties in the relief convoys surged. By March, Al-Hussayni's tactic had paid off. Almost all of Haganah's armoured vehicles had been destroyed, the blockade was in full operation, and hundreds of Haganah members who had tried to bring supplies into the city were killed. The situation for those who dwelt in the Jewish settlements in the highly-isolated
NegevThe Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The indigenous Bedouin inhabitants of the region refer to the desert as al-Naqab . The origin of the word Negev is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
and North of Galilee was even more critical.
This situation caused the USA to withdraw their support for the Partition plan, thus encouraging the
Arab LeagueThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria...
to believe that the Palestinians, reinforced by the
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
, could put an end to partition. The British, on the other hand, decided on the 7 February 1948, to support the annexation of the Arab part of Palestine by
TransjordanThe Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921 as an autonomous political division under as-Sayyid Abdullah bin al-Husayn. This move was formalized by the addition of an August 1922 clause to the charter governing the Mandate...
.
The Plan
Ben-Gurion reorganised
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
and made conscription obligatory. Every Jewish man and woman in the country had to receive military training. Military equipment was procured from stockpiles from the Second World War and from
CzechoslovakiaBetween June 1947 and October 31, 1949 the Jewish agency seeking weapons for Operation Balak, made several purchases of weapons in Czechoslovakia, some of them of former German army weapons, captured by the Czechoslovak army on its national territory, or newly produced German weapons from...
and was brought in
Operation BalakDuring the chaotic period of the founding of Israel in 1948, Operation Balak was the smuggling of arms purchased in Europe, avoiding various embargoes and boycotts, to the Zionists...
. Ben-Gurion invested Yigal Yadin with the responsibility to come up with a plan in preparation for the announced intervention of the Arab states. The result of his analysis was Plan Dalet, which was put in place from the start of April onwards. The adoption of Plan Dalet marked the second stage of the war, in which Haganah passed from the defensive to the offensive.
In this plan the Haganah also started the transformation from an underground organization into a regular army. The reorganization included the formation of brigades and front commands. The stated goals included in addition to the reorganization, gaining control of the areas of the planned Jewish state as well as areas of Jewish settlements outside its borders. The control would be attained by fortifying strongholds in the surrounding areas and roads, conquering Arab villages which are close to Jewish settlements and occupying British bases and police stations (from which the British were withdrawing).
The introduction of the plan states:
- a) The objective of this plan is to gain control of the areas of the Hebrew state and defend its borders. It also aims at gaining control of the areas of Jewish settlements and concentrations which are located outside the borders (of the Hebrew state) against regular, semi-regular, and small forces operating from bases outside or inside the state.
Later on the plan states : f) Generally, the aim of this plan is not an operation of occupation outside the borders of the Hebrew state. However, concerning enemy bases lying directly close to the borders which may be used as springboards for infiltration into the territory of the state, these must be temporarily occupied and searched for hostiles according to the above guidelines, and they must then be incorporated into our defensive system until operations cease.
In Section 3b4 the plan proscribes offensive operations to be carried out to consolidate the defensive system:
- Mounting operations against enemy population centers located inside or near our defensive system in order to prevent them from being used as bases by an active armed force. These operations can be divided into the following categories:
- Destruction of villages (setting fire to, blowing up, and planting mines in the debris), especially those population centers which are difficult to control continuously.
- Mounting search and control operations according to the following guidelines: encirclement of the village and conducting a search inside it. In the event of resistance, the armed force must be destroyed and the population must be expelled outside the borders of the state.
- The villages which are emptied in the manner described above must be included in the fixed defensive system and must be fortified as necessary.
- In the absence of resistance, garrison troops will enter the village and take up positions in it or in locations which enable complete tactical control. The officer in command of the unit will confiscate all weapons, wireless devices, and motor vehicles in the village. In addition, he will detain all politically suspect individuals.
Execution of the plan
The first operation, named
NachshonOperation Nachshon was an Israeli military operation during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Lasting from 5-20 April 1948, its objective was to open up the Jerusalem road that was blockaded by Palestinian Arabs and to supply food and water to the Jewish community of Jerusalem...
, consisted of lifting the blockade on
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
. 1500 men from Haganah's Givati brigade and
PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
's Harel brigade conducted sorties to free up the route to the city between 5 April and 20 April.
The operation was successful, and enough foodstuffs to last 2 months were trucked into to Jerusalem for distribution to the Jewish population. The success of the operation was assisted by the death of Al-Hassayni in combat. During this time, and independently of Haganah or the framework of Plan Dalet, irregular troops from
IrgunIrgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
and
LehiLehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
formations massacred a large number of Arabs at
Deir YassinThe Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
, an event which, though publicly deplored and criticized by the principal Jewish authorities, had a deep impact on the morale of the Palestinian population.
At the same time, April 4-14, the first large-scale operation of the
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
ended in a "débâcle", having been roundly defeated at
Mishmar HaEmekMishmar HaEmek is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 964....
, coinciding with the loss of their
DruzeThe Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a...
allies through defection.
Within the framework of the establishment of Jewish territorial continuity foreseen by Plan Dalet, the forces of
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
,
PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
and
IrgunIrgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
intended to conquer mixed zones. Palestinian society was shaken.
TiberiasTiberias is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. Established in 20 CE, it was named in honour of the emperor Tiberius. Since the sixteenth century, Tiberias has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed...
,
HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
,
SafedSafed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. At an elevation of 800 meters above sea level, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee. Since the sixteenth century, Safad has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias...
, Beisan,
JaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea...
and
AcreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre....
fell, resulting in the flight of more than 250,000 Palestinians.
The British had, at that time, essentially withdrawn their troops. The situation pushed the leaders of the neighboring Arab states to intervene, but their preparation was not finalised, and they could not assemble sufficient forces to turn the tide of the war. The majority of Palestinian hopes lay with the
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century.-Creation:...
of Transjordan's monarch, King Abdullah I, but he had no intention of creating a Palestinian-run state, since he hoped to annex as much of the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine as he could.
In preparation for the offensive,
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
successfully launched Operations Yiftah and Ben-'Ami to secure the Jewish settlements of
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
, and
Operation KilshonFrom May 13 1948 until May 18 1948 Jewish forces from the Haganah and Irgun executed Operation Kilshon . Its aim was to capture the Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem particularly Talbiya in central Jerusalem....
, which created a united front around Jerusalem.
Outcome of the plan
The Plan's execution lasted about six weeks, until the Declaration of Independence of Israel and the invasion of Palestine by the Arab neighboring countries, which marks the beginning of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In these six weeks the Yishuv's position has changes dramatically. About 100 Arab villages were conquered and almost all Jewish settlements enjoyed territorial continuity, with the notable exception of Jerusalem. Many Arab leaders left the country and local leadership has collapsed. On the Jewish side, the number of those killed during the execution of the plan was 1,253, where 500 of them were civilians.
Palestinian narrative
Walid Khalidi (General Secretary of the
Institute for Palestine StudiesThe Institute for Palestine Studies is a non-profit Arab research organization. According to the Institute, it was established to promote a better understanding of the question of Palestine, and claims to be the only institute in the world exclusively devoted to documentation, research, analysis,...
) offered this interpretation in an
address to the American Committee on Jerusalem:
- As is witnessed by the Haganah's Plan Dalet, the Jewish leadership was determined to link the envisaged Jewish state with the Jerusalem corpus separatum. But the corpus separatum lay deep in Arab territory, in the middle of the envisaged Palestinian state, so this linking up could only be done militarily.
A group of Israeli historians commonly known as "
New HistoriansThe New Historians are a loosely-defined group of Israeli historians who have challenged traditional Israeli assumptions about Israeli history, including Israel's role in the Palestinian Exodus in 1948 and Arab willingness to discuss peace with Israel...
" have subscribed to the Palestinian interpretation of Plan Dalet.
Benny MorrisBenny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel. He is a key member of a group of Israeli historians known as the 'New Historians', because they are rewriting the history of Israel since its...
asserts that:
- The essence of the plan was the clearing of hostile and potentially hostile forces out of the interior of the territory of the prospective Jewish State, establishing territorial continuity between the major concentrations of Jewish population and securing the future State's borders before, and in anticipation of, the invasion [by Arab states]. The Haganah regarded almost all the villages as actively or potentially hostile
- [Plan Dalet] constituted a strategic-doctrinal and carte blanche for expulsions [from villages that resisted or might threaten the Yishuv] by front, brigade, district and battalion commanders (who in each case argued military necessity) and it gave commanders, post facto, formal, persuasive cover for their actions.
Another "New Historian"
Ilan PappéIlan Pappé is professor of history at the University of Exeter in the UK, and co-director of the Exeter Center for Ethno-Political Studies. He was formerly a senior lecturer in political science at Haifa University , and chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian and Israeli Studies in Haifa...
goes even further:
- ...this fourth and last blueprint spelled it out clearly and unambiguously: the Palestinians had to go....The aim of the plan was in fact the destruction of both rural and urban areas of Palestine.
According to the French historian Henry Laurens, the importance of the military dimension of plan Dalet becomes clear by comparing the operations of the Jordanian and the Egyptian armies. The ethnical homogeneity of the coastal area, obtained by the expulsions of the Palestinians eased the halt of the Egyptian advance, while Jewish Jerusalem, located in an Arab population area, was encircled by Jordanian forces.
Operations of Plan Dalet
| Operation |
Start date |
Objective |
Result |
| Operation Nachshon Operation Nachshon was an Israeli military operation during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Lasting from 5-20 April 1948, its objective was to open up the Jerusalem road that was blockaded by Palestinian Arabs and to supply food and water to the Jewish community of Jerusalem...
|
1 April |
Carve out a corridor connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem |
Successful |
| Operation Harel |
15 April |
A continuation of Nachshon but centered specifically on Arab villages near Latrun Latrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
|
Failed |
| Operation Bi'ur Hametz |
21 April |
Capture Haifa |
Successful |
| Operation Yevusi |
27 April |
Break the siege on Jerusalem |
Failed |
| Operation Hametz Operation Hametz was a Jewish operation towards the end of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was launched at the end of April 1948 with the objective of capturing villages inland from Jaffa and establishing a blockade around the town....
|
27 April |
Capture Jaffa |
Successful |
| Operation Yiftach Operation Yiftach was a Haganah offensive between 28 April and 29 May 1948 aimed at capturing the eastern Galilee. The central objectives were the capture of Safed, securing the Lebanese and Syrian borders, and that the operation should be completed before the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948...
|
28 April |
Consolidate control of all the eastern GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
|
Successful |
| Operation Matateh Operation Matateh was a Haganah offensive launched ten day before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. It was a sub-section of Operation Yiftach, with the objectivies of capturing the flatlands between Lake Tiberias and Lake Hula and clear the area of Bedouin encampments...
|
3 May |
Clear out Arab forces between Tiberias and eastern Galilee |
Successful |
| Operation Maccabi |
7 May |
Clear out Arab forces near Latrun and penetrate into Ramallah district |
Failed |
| Operation Gideon Operation Gideon was a Haganah offensive launched in the closing days of the British Mandate in Palestine. Its objectives were to capture Beisan, clear the surrounding villages and bedouin camps and block one of the possible entry routes for Transjordanian forces. It was part of Plan Dalet. The...
|
11 May |
Clear out Arab forces in the Beit She'an valley area |
Successful |
| Operation Barak Operation Barak was a Haganah offensive launched just before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. It was part of Plan Dalet. Its objective was to capture villages North of Gaza in anticipation of the arrival of the Egyptian army...
|
12 May |
Clear out Arab forces in the northern Negev |
Stopped because of Egypt invasion |
| Operation Ben'Ami Operation Ben Ami was one of the last operation launched by the Haganah before the end of the British Mandate . The first phase of this operation was the capture of Acre...
|
14 May |
Clear out Arab forces in Acre |
Successful |
| Operation Kilshon From May 13 1948 until May 18 1948 Jewish forces from the Haganah and Irgun executed Operation Kilshon . Its aim was to capture the Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem particularly Talbiya in central Jerusalem....
|
14 May |
Clear out Arab forces in the New City of Jerusalem |
Successful |
| Operation Schfifon On May 13, 1948, a day before the state of Israel was proclaimed, the Haganah launched Operation Shfifon with the aim of capturing the British outposts in the Old City of Jerusalem and preventing the Arab forces from taking control of them first.-See also:* List of Israeli military operations in...
|
14 May |
Break the siege on the Jewish Quarter in the old city of Jerusalem |
Failed |
See also
- 1948 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war refers to the events that happened in Palestine between the vote on the partition plan of Palestine on November 30, 1947, to the end of the first Arab-Israeli war on July 20, 1949.Historians divide this into two phases :...
- Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
- The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is a book about the 1948 Palestinian exodus authored by Ilan Pappé and published in 2006 by One World Oxford....
External links