ABSTRACT
Since the 1920s, mandatory Palestine stood out as a critical link – a “transit route” – in the illicit flow of hashish commodities from Lebanon-Syria to Egypt. I explore this issue by focusing on international control and its effects on hashish traffickers in Palestine. First, I examine the entanglement of Palestine in the web of rivalries between the League of Nations, the British Empire, and the USA regarding desirable drug control policies. While the League and Britain sought to control-cum-regulate the trade, the USA insisted on complete global prohibition. Untapped archival sources from multiple locations throw an intriguing light on this rivalry. I then examine border-crossing trafficking operations across Palestine. I demonstrate the challenges they posed to international and local control efforts. The continued flow of hashish commodities through Palestine underscored the porous and perforated nature of the mandatory states’ borders and the futility of control efforts.
