Operation Gideon

Operation Gideon 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. The 1947 UN Partition Plan allocated Beisan and most of its district to the proposed Jewish state. It is possible that Irgun units were involved in parts of the operation. Following the operation, the town formally surrendered with most of its residents fleeing. 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.

Beisan was a predominantly Muslim town in the centre of a fertile valley running into the River Jordan. The area has significant Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Samaritan, Jewish and Roman archeological remains. It was on the main road from 'Afula and Tiberias which was one of the ancient routes between Damascus and Egypt. During the British mandate a number of Jewish villages were established in the valley. By the end of the Second World War, Jews owned a third of the lands in the Beisan valley. The Beisan lands were awarded to the Jews under the 1947 UN Partition plan.

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