The Arab Liberation Army was built to avoid war, not to win it.
In short: Formed by the Arab League in 1948, the Arab Liberation Army was a volunteer force designed to bypass the political risks of official state intervention. While ostensibly created to fight for Palestine, its primary mission was to protect Syrian interests and check the territorial ambitions of King Abdullah of Jordan.
The Arab Liberation Army (ALA) emerged from a complex web of regional rivalries rather than a unified military strategy. Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli viewed his own national army as unreliable and feared that a direct, failed confrontation with Jewish forces would destroy his government's reputation. By sponsoring a volunteer force, Syria aimed to influence the situation in Palestine while keeping its own troops safely at home. This allowed the Syrian government to maintain political leverage and claim it was supporting the Palestinian cause without officially declaring war on the British mandate or risking the collapse of its own military leadership.
The ALA’s command structure was heavily influenced by the 'Greater Syria Plan,' an ambition held by King Abdullah of Transjordan to expand his kingdom. Syrian leaders, including Quwatli and his advisor Taha al-Hashimi, viewed the ALA as a necessary counterweight to prevent Abdullah from annexing parts of Palestine. The force was funded by a coalition of Arab League states, with Egypt contributing 42% of the costs, followed by Syria and Lebanon at 23%, Saudi Arabia at 20%, and Iraq at 15%. Despite a recruitment target of 10,000, the force likely never exceeded 6,000 volunteers, with some estimates suggesting as few as 3,500 were actually deployed.
The army's operational history was marked by strategic limitations and internal discord. Units like the Second Yarmuk Battalion began entering Palestine in January 1948, but they struggled against Jewish militias. By October 1948, following the IDF's Operation Hiram, the ALA was routed from its strongholds in the Galilee. While the force suffered hundreds of casualties, its leadership managed to retreat into Lebanon. The ALA was subsequently dismantled, leaving behind a legacy of failed political maneuvering and a small number of defectors who eventually joined the Israel Defense Forces, forming the core of its minority units.
The project was plagued by deep distrust between Arab leaders. The Mufti, Hajj Amin al-Husayni, viewed the ALA's commander, Fawzi al-Qawuqji, with intense suspicion, even threatening his life over the issue of partition. Meanwhile, King Abdullah sought to dismiss the Mufti entirely, and King Faruq of Egypt remained largely detached from the competing factions. Ultimately, the ALA functioned less as a cohesive military instrument and more as a proxy for the conflicting regional agendas of the Arab states.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Arab Liberation Army
- Also: Arab Liberation Army | Encyclopedia.com
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