British policies to "keep Palestinians (and Zionists) in line" clearly failed as the defeat and the subsequent shambolic British withdrawal in 1948 proved. Israel, like Jordan,Syria, Iraq and Egypt was and is brutal post-war state but probably had little to learn from the fading colonial power that it defeated, and which Egypt under Nasser went on to defeat again less than a decade later.
The British Army in Palestine | National Army Museum.
The problem post war was not the Palestinians. Zionists had an effective terrorist campaign against the British post war.
What I was talking about was the 1930s when Zionists and British worked together to put down the Arab revolt. Not the post war period.
Zionists learnt from British army/ policing its well practiced methods for putting down colonial revolts. All Im saying is that the Zionists gained useful experience.
Later of course they fell out with the British. With WW2 the British had to back pedal on its support of the Zionists and placate the Arab peoples. Did not go down to well with the Zionists.
The long term consequences to this defeat for Palestinians in Arab revolt was that when the UN partition plan came into being the Palestinians were unable to defend themselves. Their best fighters had been killed in the Arab revolt/ sent into exile. Not only their best fighters but best political leaders.
The British army stood by whilst Zionist paramilitary groups ethnically cleansed Palestinian villages. Zionist groups were well armed. Unlike Palestinians. Even then when they cleansed a village they had lists of names of men suspected of being active in the Arab revolt. These were killed on the spot.
The agreement with the Jordanians and Zionists was that the Jordanians would get the West Bank in exchange for not interfering with Zionist paramilitaries elsewhere. Even then the success of the ethnic cleansing led the Zionist para militaries to take on the Jordanian army. As you say British trained. Jordanian army fought hard and pushed them back.
Unlike the Army Museum website the British did not just leave the two sides to fight it out. As though both were equally matched. Even before Mandate ended Zionist paramilitary groups started the ethnic cleansing. British were still responsible but sat there and did nothing to stop the Zionists.
The Zionists got supplied weapons through efforts of USSR from Czechoslovakia.
Yes the Zionist terrorist campaign worked. Example of a successful terrorist campaign. Leaders of whom later become leaders of the new country.
All in all the Mandate was a shameful period in British history.
Just to add from reading things like Tom Segev One Complete Palestine British at times come across as having contradictory reasons for being their and being at times incompetent. Some who ran British Empire never thought it was a good idea for British to support Zionists. Or that Palestine had much to justify the outlay and expense of managing it. So it was a cock up all round. Did not stop them putting down the Arab revolt. When pushed the Empire got the hard men in.
en.wikipedia.org
