ABSTRACT
A few days before the twenty-three went out on their mission, Hagannah National Headquarters decided on the creation of the Palmach, which was to ‘join the battle immediately’ and ‘carry out actions against the regular army of the enemy, with or without the help of friendly forces (the British armed forces)’. The decision was made on 15 May 1941, but it was preceded by a number of operations carried out by men who were earmarked to take command of the new fighting force. Among these was the operation of the twenty-three men, as well as reconnaissance patrols carried out inside Syrian territory in anticipation of a British invasion into that country. All these are regarded today as the first Palmach operations, even though the unit was formally constituted only some time later.1
