Night of the Bridges

Preparations

The Haganah started the preparations in January–February 1946. First, the SHAI (Haganah Intelligence Service), Palmach patrols and forces scheduled to carry out the operation began spotting, photographing and measuring the targets but also exploring possible access and escape paths. They were disguised as lovers enjoying nature or as people on geography excursions.

Originally, the operation should have taken place in May, but due to political reasons it was postponed.

The political leadership forbade an attack on four targets: the railway bridge between the Ras an-Nakura tunnels, and the three bridges over the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers leading to the Naharayim power plant.

Spared bridges

Objectives

The planners knew that the operation could not cause heavy damage, and that it would only take some weeks for the connections to be restored. The real targets were:

• demonstration of the ability of the Haganah to operate throughout the country, even in deserted areas or at the center of the Arab population
• demonstration of the ability to sabotage the British Army's operations
• demonstration of the ability of the Haganah to discourage neighboring armies from future involvement
• harming the British Army's prestige as the most powerful force in the Middle East and damaging the legitimacy of the British Mandate
• strengthening and encouraging the Jewish population in Palestine, and showing the Haganah as being as active as the Irgun and Lehi groups

Outcome

The objectives were fully achieved. The Haganah could hit multiple strategic targets at the same time. As a precaution, the Syrian, Lebanese and Trans-Jordanian armies were put on standby, and the borders were tightened. The British Mandate suffered estimated financial damage of 250,000 pounds sterling.

Targeted bridges

Reaction

Twelve days later, on 29 June 1946, partly in response to the bridge bombings, the British launched Operation Agatha, whose main goal was to suppress the state of anarchy in Palestine by capturing the most militant Zionists. Numbers for involved British personal varies between 10,000, 17,000 and 25,000. During that surprise action, around 2,700 Jews were arrested, including the senior leadership of the Haganah. The British obtained documentary evidence of Jewish Agency involvement in paramilitary acts and collusion between the Haganah and the more violent groups, Irgun and Lehi.

Collaboration of British politicians

In his book Publish It Not: The Middle East Cover-up, Christopher Mayhew recounted the collaboration of Labour MPs Richard Crossman and John Strachey in the attack:"One day, Crossman, now in the House of Commons, came to see Strachey … [Crossman] had heard from his friends in the Jewish Agency that they were contemplating an act of sabotage … Should this be done, or should it not? Few would be killed … Crossman asked Strachey for his advice … The next day in the smoking room at the House of Commons, Strachey gave his approval to Crossman. The Haganah went ahead and blew up all the bridges over the [River] Jordan."

References

References

1. "Roll of Honour – Databases – Palestine 1945–1948 – British Casualties".
2. "דף הבית".
3. The National Archives, Kew "National Archives, KV5/30, Palestine: Statement of Information Relating to Acts of Violence (Colonial Office), July 1946, p. 8.
4. "Some Military Operations – British Forces in Palestine". www.britishforcesinpalestine.org. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
5. Allon, Yigal (1970) ''Shield of David – The Story of Israel's Armed Forces''. [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]]. {{ISBN. 0-297-00133-7. p. 178.
6. Winstanley, Asa. (2017-07-25). "When Israel's friends in Labour advocated genocide".