Palestine, 1917–48: Assassination and Information Operations

Abstract

This chapter examines covert action in Palestine during 1917-48, focusing on assassination and influence operations. It shows that Britain tended to work through partners in covert action rather than doing it alone. When it did act covertly on its own, it failed. Britain did not need to resort to covert assassination. On the sole occasion when policymakers faced the opportunity, they opted for caution. Britain’s “way” of covert action was improvisational; an act of strategic paralysis more than planning. However, Britain’s suppression of the Palestinian revolt from 1936, produced a more deliberate approach to these tactics. The country became a training ground for British officers who championed covert action during the Second World War. Their triumphs perhaps fostered the delusion that covert action could be a silver bullet.