Palmach

The Palmach (an acronym for “Plugot Mahatz” or “Strike Companies”) was founded in May 1941 by the Haganah High Command as an elite Zionist paramilitary unit in Mandatory Palestine. Its creation had two strategic goals:

1. The threat of a potential Axis occupation of Palestine if Nazi forces triumphed over the British in North Africa.

2. The possibility of a British withdrawal, leaving Zionist colonies vulnerable to Arab attacks.

Commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh, the Palmach initially numbered around 100 fighters. In the summer of 1941, the British military collaborated with the Palmach in joint operations against Vichy French forces in Lebanon and Syria. Their first mission, Operation Boatswain, aimed to sabotage oil facilities in Tripoli, but all 23 Palmach fighters and their British officer vanished without a trace.

Following successful joint raids with Australian troops in Lebanon and Syria beginning June 8, 1941, the British General Headquarters (GHQ) agreed to fund a sabotage training camp at Mishmar HaEmek for 300 men. As the Palmach was comprised of unpaid volunteers, the support was used to sustain double that number.

However, after the Allied victory at El Alamein in 1942, the British authorities ordered the disbandment of the Palmach. In response, the unit went underground, continuing to operate covertly as a key force in the Jewish military underground.