OPERATION POLLY

the evacuation of British non-essential civilians

from Palestine 1947

Background

The year 1947 had just started. The London Conference convened to decide the fate of Palestine was in session. Conditions in Palestine had deteriorated. The key incident which overshadowed events took place on the 23^rd of April 1946 when the police station at Ramat Gan was attacked and one of the perpetrators of the attack, Dov Gruner was injured and captured. Two days later, on the 25^th of April, 25 members of the Stern Gang attacked the camp of the 6^th Airborne Division and killed seven paratroopers. The fate of Dov Gruner became a deciding factor in the course of British policy in Palestine. The death sentence imposed on Gruner, if carried out, would have dire repercussions and the British Government would have to take the necessary precautions. The administration in Palestine was under pressure to take firmer measures to deal with lawlessness in the country. In London on the 31^st of January, at the request of the opposition, the Government arranged a debate in the House of Commons concerning Law and Order in Palestine. This took place on a motion for the adjournment. The Opposition - as Mr Churchill explained - had no wish to introduce questions of policy, while the fate of Palestine was still being discussed at the London conference, but it was felt that the outrages in Palestine, which had taken place, and the Government’s handling of terrorist activities called urgently for comment. The opposition, whose principle speaker was Mr Oliver Stanley, felt that firmer measures by the Government would have prevented or checked the lawlessness that was a threat to all the British in Palestine. The death sentence imposed on Dov Gruner was one of these firmer measures. But it provoked an increase of trouble in Palestine including, in the first two months of 1947, the kidnapping of two civilians, Judge Ralph Windham and Mr. H. I. Collins.

On the 29^th of January 1947 there was an important meeting of the Palestine Executive Council in Kings David’s Hotel in Jerusalem attended by the High Commissioner, Lieut.Gen. Sir Alan Cunningham. the C-in-C Middle East Land Forces General Sir Miles Dempsey, the Commander of British Troops in Palestine General Sir Evelyn Baker, the Chief Secretary of the Palestine Government Sir Henry Gurney and other members of the Executive Council. At the meeting it was decided that the safety of civilians could no longer be guaranteed and that a general plan for the evacuation of all civilians already formulated (plans for the evacuation of Palestine had been suggested a number of years previously and the cooperation of the Egyptian Government had been secured) would be implemented with the utmost urgency.

The High Commissioner, Sir Alan Cunningham, explained to the US Consul General, Lowell C. Pinkerton - “it was done - to give the government a free hand for any preventative measures necessary without the possible embarrassment of having hostages seized”.

The Foreign Office advised Washington: - “Since civilians cannot be protected effectively, they must be removed so as to permit any action which the Government might think necessary to enforce the law”.

Sir Alan Cunningham said: ‘Further action in his (Dov Gruner’s) case would not be taken until after the evacuation measures had been completed.

The legislation was passed on Friday, the 31^st of January 1947 empowering the Chief Secretary to order the evacuation of ‘non-essential personnel not being Palestinian citizens’ and swiftly in its wake instructions and evacuation notices were issued.

At 2 pm on Friday the 31^st of January a short official announcement was broadcast by the Palestine Broadcasting Service in the three official languages (English, Arabic and Hebrew):

Following on recent events in Palestine it has been decided that British women and children and certain other civilians will be evacuated so that the Government and armed forces will not be hampered in their task of maintaining order. Notification and full instructions are being given to the individuals concerned.