Operation Gideon

This article is about the 1948 operation. For other uses, see Operation Gideon (disambiguation).

Operation Gideon[1] was a Haganah offensive launched in the closing days of the British Mandate in Palestine, as part of the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Its objectives were to capture Beisan (Beit She'an), 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 operation was carried out by the Golani brigade between 10–15 May 1948. Avraham Yoffe commanded the battalion that captured Beisan.[2] The 1947 UN Partition Plan allocated Beisan and most of its district to the proposed Jewish state.[3][4] It is possible that Irgun units were involved in parts of the operation.[5] Following the operation, the town formally surrendered with most of its residents fleeing. [6] Most Arab Christians relocated to Nazareth. A ma'abarah (refugee camp) inhabited mainly by North African immigrants was also erected in Beit She'an, and it later became a development town.

  1. ^ 'Gideon' is the name used for this operation by 'All that remains'. Morris does not name the operation but describes it in detail. pages 106-107.
  2. ^ Morris page 334.
  3. ^ prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry. (1991). A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December, 1945 and January, 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry. Vol. 1. Institute for Palestine Studies. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-88728-211-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Land Ownership of Palestine—Map prepared by the government of the British Mandate of Palestine on the instructions of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestine Question (Map). United Nations. Archived from the original on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  5. ^ 'All that remains', page 44. From a 14 May Irgun announcement that they had taken five villages in the North.
  6. ^ Morris, page 106/107.