ABSTRACT
On 15 May 1948, the Iraqi Army launched an attack in Palestine on Kibbutz Gesher and the power station of Naharayim. After the failure of the attack on Kibbutz Gesher, the Iraqi units were transferred to an area north of Nablus. Throughout the entire war of 1948-49, the Iraqi forces stationed in the Jenin-Nablus area carried out only a limited number of offensive operations. In January 1949 when the armistice negotiations were launched between Transjordan and Israel, the commanders of the Iraqi forces became worried lest they remain alone to confront the Israeli Army. In March 1949 Iraqi Foreign Minister Fadil al-Jamali announced that the Iraqi units would withdraw to the east bank of the Jordan. The inability of Iraqi governments to ignore the Palestine question, and the temptation to make use of it in order to reinforce the standing of any government, set up a vicious cycle.
