Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

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PALMON, YEHOSHUA (JOSH) (1913–?).Born in Palestine to a
Russian Jewish family. Palmon was one of the first workers in the
Palestine Potash Company in Sdom (1935–1939). He spoke Arabic
fluently and formed the Arab Department of the Information Ser-
vice. In 1940, he assumed the position of its national coordinator
(1943–1948). During World War II, Palmon accomplished clandes-
tine missions in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. Thereafter, he became a
highly proficient intelligence officer of the prestate underground Ha-
ganah militia.
Throughout the Arab-Jewish hostilities in Palestine, prior to the es-
tablishment of the State of Israel, Palmon was a close observer of fac-
tional Arab politics. He was aware of the bitter grudge that Fawzi al-
Qawuqji, who would later become the commander of the Arab
Liberation Army (ALA), held against Haj Amin al-Husseini, the
mufti of Jerusalem, who was the most prominent Arab figure in
Palestine during the mandatory period. In 1947, Palmon had wartime
German documents delivered to Qawuqji that he had unearthed con-
cerning this enmity. The papers bore out Qawuqji’s belief that his ar-
rest and imprisonment by the German authorities had been prompted
by the mufti. Qawuqji wanted to meet Palmon, but he abandoned the
notion on being appointed to command the ALA. Other Arab officers
who reached Palestine before their commander, however, made it
known to Palmon that Qawuqji was not intent on going to war with
the Jews and would be amenable to finding ways to prevent it.
The chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive agreed to a secret
meeting between Palmon and Qawuqji to persuade the latter not to
enter the fray between the Haganah and the mufti’s forces. Palmon
traveled to Qawuqji at his headquarters in Nur al-Shams village in
Syria on 1 April 1948. Palmon eventually made known his real pur-
pose in asking for the meeting, namely, to turn inter-Arab rivalries to
the advantage of his side. He suggested that a solution to the problem
of Palestine might be formulated were it not for the mufti and that,
instead of fighting, the Haganah and the ALA should negotiate fol-
lowing Britain’s impending withdrawal. While generally accepting
this, Qawuqji stated candidly that he must have one military success
to prove his credentials. Palmon could not promise to deliver, as an
attack against the Jews would surely result in a counterattack. In the

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