Between the battles of Tel Hai and Samakh: Britain’s security policy in north-east Palestine in the Spring of 1920

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article considers the British response to the Tel Hai affair, within the wider setting of British security policy in north-east Palestine. It sheds light on lesser-known aspects of British policy in the period such as the extensive use of Indian forces, the development of the region’s transport infrastructure, and the British military administration’s general concern about the threat of an Arab invasion across the Jordan river basin. Turning attention to the largely forgotten battle between British and Arab forces at Samakh in late April 1920, the article argues that this was the decisive military engagement of the period in Palestine.