Stockade and Watchtower

Between 1936 and 1947, when the Jewish National Fund sought to settle land it purchased far from Jewish populations, a major concern was vulnerability to Arab attacks. In response, Jews established the strategy of erecting Stockade and Watchtower settlements. At dawn, convoys of hundreds of volunteers carrying prefabricated dwellings and fortifications set out for the new location. Before nightfall, settlement construction, including a surrounding double wall filled with earth and stones, searchlights, and a central watchtower, was completed. All told, 118 settlements spanning the Jordan valley and Galilee were erected in this manner. A museum and model of the first Stockade and Watchtower can be found at Tel Amal near Bet She'an.