Tower and Stockade

“Tower and Stockade” (in Hebrew: Homa U’Migdal) is the name of an operation that the leaders of the Yishuv initiated in Palestine, during which 52 new settlements were founded. This operation was a response of the Yishuv to the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and the restrictions the Mandatory authorities placed, both on the building of new Jewish settlements, and on the amount of Jewish immigrants allowed into Palestine. The building of each settlement began at night. First, the guard tower and the defense stockade were set up – that is why the operation was named “Tower and Stockade”. According to an old Ottoman law that was still valid during the Mandate period, the destroying of a building was not allowed after the roof had been erected. For this reason the British did not destroy the "Tower and Stockade" settlements which had not received building permits. The equipment needed for building the settlements was organized in advance, which allowed for the quick building of new settlements. A wide range of movements in Palestine took part, from Hashomer Hatzair to Beitar.