In today's world, Tegart fort is a highly relevant topic that deserves to be analyzed from different perspectives. With the constant advancement of society and changes in people's way of life, it is essential to understand the importance and impact that Tegart fort has on our daily lives. Throughout history, Tegart fort has been the subject of debate and discussion, motivating researchers, experts and professionals to deepen its study to understand its implications in different aspects of life. For this reason, this article will address Tegart fort in detail, analyzing its causes, effects and possible solutions, with the aim of providing readers with a comprehensive vision of this topic that is so relevant today.
Militarized police forts constructed by British authorities in Mandatory Palestine
The forts are named after their designer, Irish police officer and engineer Sir Charles Tegart.
In Israel, the name is often pronounced "Taggart". This is probably due to the transliteration of the name to Hebrew and then back to Latin alphabet, along with the translator's wrong assumption that the most common way of writing this anglicisedScottish surname has to be applied ("Taggart" is far more widespread than "Tegart").
History
Mandate Palestine
Sir Charles Tegart designed the forts in 1938 based on his experiences in the Indian insurgency. They were built of reinforced concrete with water systems that would allow them to withstand a month-long siege.
The contracts for the construction of the forts was given to Solel Boneh, the building arm of the Jewish trade union Histadrut.
Types
Two types of forts were erected:
Border forts
Five structures were built to reinforce the so-called "Tegart's wall" of the northern border with Lebanon and Syria, using a specific design.
Inland forts
Dozens more, of a different design to the northern forts and sharing a common basic plan, were built at strategic intersections in the interior of Palestine.
Israel
Many of them can still be seen in Israel today, and continue to be used as police stations and jails. One houses Camp 1391 prison for "high-risk" prisoners.
The Tegart fort in Ma'alot-Tarshiha, now a police station, is being restored as a historical landmark, attracting the attention of preservationists and tourists.
West Bank
In the West Bank, several such forts, now known as Mukataa (Arabic: المقاطعة, "District") are used as offices and administrative centers of the Palestinian National Authority.
The Ramallah Mukataa, damaged by Israeli forces in the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield and the later siege during the Second Intifada, was later restored and added to under President Mahmoud Abbas, obscuring the lines of the original British structure.
The fort in Hebron was used as the headquarters of the Jordanian administration between 1949 and 1967, of the Israeli military governor between 1967 and 1997, and of the Palestinian Authority's governor between 1997 and 2002. It was destroyed in 2002 when the city was reconquered by Israeli forces in Operation Defensive Shield.
List of Tegart forts in Mandatory Palestine
A progressing list. Not all British Mandate police stations listed below correspond to the definition of a "Tegart fort", although they were all part of the same security building project from 1940-41, with later additions.
British name of the fort, current location name (if it changed), history, current state/use:
Sukat as-Sufi police station. Also Suqat as-Sufi, Shoket es Sufi. Was on the Egyptian border about 6-7km SE of Rafah, at 0791/0741, now in the Gaza Strip.
Tarshiha police station (active; is being restored as heritage site)
Tani (?) police station, now Be'er Tuvia (abandoned)