(A Hebrew acronym for “Plugot Maḥatz” or “strike force”) An operational force formed by the Haganah (a Jewish paramilitary group and the precursor to the Israeli army) with British assistance in 1941. The Jews of the Palmach viewed their force as protection against Arab attacks and the Nazis, while the British viewed it as a guerilla force to be used against the Germans should they occupy British mandate Palestine. Later, the organization went underground and practiced guerilla combat against the British. In the War of 1948, the Palmach formed the backbone of the Jewish forces, with its three brigades and ancillary intelligence, air and naval forces. As the Palmach was politically affiliated with the Israeli groups Ahdut Haavoda and MAPAM, Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion insisted on its integration into the Israeli army in 1948. Some of the commanders of the Palmach, such as Yigal Alon, Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin, became prominent military and political leaders. See Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001. New York: Vintage Books, 2001; and Bickerton, Ian J and Carla L. Klausner. A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 5th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/palmach