ABSTRACT
At the end of World War Two, the strategic importance of Palestine was reassessed in the light of the transformed strategic role of the region as a whole, and of Egypt in particular. Allied planners agreed that the coastal plain of Palestine would be the scene of the decisive battle between Soviet and Allied forces in the Middle East. Palestine was regarded as the optimal military disposition from which to defend Egypt. During the last week of the Arab-Israeli war, the Atlantic allies debated the consequences of the Arab-Israeli war for their strategic interests in the region. Foreign Office officials believed that those immigrants who did succeed in reaching Israel from behind the Iron Curtain would be 'picked communists'. Even Israeli neutrality, although preferable to communism, would hardly meet Britain's strategic needs. It was predicted that Israel would prove to be unviable economically, and that once the drama was removed from the Palestine question, American funds would dry up.
