12 july 1956
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14-15 oct 1953
The Massacre at Qibya
On the night of October 14-15, 1953 , this village was the object of a brutal “Israeli” attack which was carried out by units from the regular army as part of a pre-meditated plan and in which a variety of weapon types were used. On theevening of October 14, an Israeli military force estimated at about 600 soldiers
moved toward the village. Upon arrival, it surrounded it and cordoned it off from all ofthe other Arab villages.
The attack began with concentrated, indiscriminate artilleryfire on the homes in the village. This continued until the main force reached theoutskirts of the village. Meanwhile, other forces headed for nearby Arab towns suchas Shuqba, Badrus and Na’lin in order to distract them and prevent any aid fromreaching the people in Qibya. They also planted mines on various roads so as toisolate the village completely.
As units of the Israeli infantry were attacking the villageresidents, units of military engineers were placing explosives around some of thehouses in the village and blowing them up with everyone in them under the protection of the infantrymen, who fired on everyone who tried to flee. These acts of brutalitycontinued until 4:00 a.m., October 15, 1953, at which time the enemy forceswithdrew to the bases from which they had begun.16
There was a particular sight thememory of which remained in the minds of all who saw it: an Arab woman sitting on apile of debris and casting a forlorn look into the sky. From beneath the rubble onecould see small legs and hands which were the remains of her six children, while thebullet-maimed body of her husband lay in the road before her.17This vicious terrorist attack resulted in the destruction of 56 houses, the villagemosque, the village school and the water tank which supplied it with water. Moreover,67 citizens lost their lives, both men and women, with many others wounded.18Terrorist Ariel Sharon, the commander of the “101″ unit which undertook the terroristaggression, stated that his leaders’ orders had been clear with regard to how theresidents of the village were to be dealt with. He says, “The orders were utterly clear:Qibya was to be an example to everyone.”19
The Massacre at Qibya
On the night of October 14-15, 1953 , this village was the object of a brutal “Israeli” attack which was carried out by units from the regular army as part of a pre-meditated plan and in which a variety of weapon types were used. On theevening of October 14, an Israeli military force estimated at about 600 soldiers
moved toward the village. Upon arrival, it surrounded it and cordoned it off from all ofthe other Arab villages.
The attack began with concentrated, indiscriminate artilleryfire on the homes in the village. This continued until the main force reached theoutskirts of the village. Meanwhile, other forces headed for nearby Arab towns suchas Shuqba, Badrus and Na’lin in order to distract them and prevent any aid fromreaching the people in Qibya. They also planted mines on various roads so as toisolate the village completely.
As units of the Israeli infantry were attacking the villageresidents, units of military engineers were placing explosives around some of thehouses in the village and blowing them up with everyone in them under the protection of the infantrymen, who fired on everyone who tried to flee. These acts of brutalitycontinued until 4:00 a.m., October 15, 1953, at which time the enemy forceswithdrew to the bases from which they had begun.16
There was a particular sight thememory of which remained in the minds of all who saw it: an Arab woman sitting on apile of debris and casting a forlorn look into the sky. From beneath the rubble onecould see small legs and hands which were the remains of her six children, while thebullet-maimed body of her husband lay in the road before her.17This vicious terrorist attack resulted in the destruction of 56 houses, the villagemosque, the village school and the water tank which supplied it with water. Moreover,67 citizens lost their lives, both men and women, with many others wounded.18Terrorist Ariel Sharon, the commander of the “101″ unit which undertook the terroristaggression, stated that his leaders’ orders had been clear with regard to how theresidents of the village were to be dealt with. He says, “The orders were utterly clear:Qibya was to be an example to everyone.”19
7 feb 1951
SHARAFAT MASSACRE
Israeli soldiers corssed the armistice line to this village (5Km from Jerusalem) and blew up the houses of the Mukhtar and his neighbors. 10 were killed (2 elderly men,raeli soldiers corssed the armistice line to this village (5Km from Jerusalem) and blew up the houses of the Mukhtar and his neighbors. 10 were killed (2 elderly men, 3 woemen and 5 children) and 8 were wounded.
SHARAFAT MASSACRE
Israeli soldiers corssed the armistice line to this village (5Km from Jerusalem) and blew up the houses of the Mukhtar and his neighbors. 10 were killed (2 elderly men,raeli soldiers corssed the armistice line to this village (5Km from Jerusalem) and blew up the houses of the Mukhtar and his neighbors. 10 were killed (2 elderly men, 3 woemen and 5 children) and 8 were wounded.
1948
SALHA MASSACRE
After forcing the population together in the mosque of the village, the occupation forces ordered then to face the wall, then started shooting them from behind until the mosque was turned into bloodbath, 105 person were martyred.
SALHA MASSACRE
After forcing the population together in the mosque of the village, the occupation forces ordered then to face the wall, then started shooting them from behind until the mosque was turned into bloodbath, 105 person were martyred.
29 oct 1948
DAWAYMA MASSACRE
The Israeli army brutally massacred about 100 women and children, precipitating a massive flight of people from that village on the western side of the Hebron mountains. Mr. Walid Khalidi, author of All That Remains, says that the Palestinian inhabitants at Dawayma faced one of the larger Israel massacres, though today it is among the least well-known.
The following are excerpts of a description of the massacre published in the Israeli daily ‘Al ha Mishmar, quoted in All That Remains: The children they killed by breaking their heads with sticks. There was not a house without dead…one commander ordered a sapper to put two old women in a certain house…and to blow up the house with them. The sapper refused…the commander then ordered his men to put in the old women and the evil deed was done.
One soldier boasted that he had raped a woman and then shot her… A former mukhtar (head of a village) of Dawayma interviewed in 1984 by the Israeli daily Hadashot, also quoted by Mr. Khalidi, offered another description: The people fled, and everyone they saw in the houses, they shot and killed.
They also killed people in the streets. They came and blew up my house, in the presence of eye-witnesses…the moment that the tanks came and opened fire, I left the village immediately. At about half-past ten, two tanks passed the Darawish Mosque. About 75 old people were there, who had come early for Friday prayers.
They gathered in the mosque to pray. They were all killed.
About 35 families had been hiding in caves outside Dawayma, according to the mukhtar, and when the Israeli forces discovered them they were told to come out, line up, and begin walking. “And as they started to walk, they were shot by machine guns from two sides…we sent people there that night, who collected the bodies, put them into a cistern, and buried them,” the mukhtar told the Israeli daily.
DAWAYMA MASSACRE
The Israeli army brutally massacred about 100 women and children, precipitating a massive flight of people from that village on the western side of the Hebron mountains. Mr. Walid Khalidi, author of All That Remains, says that the Palestinian inhabitants at Dawayma faced one of the larger Israel massacres, though today it is among the least well-known.
The following are excerpts of a description of the massacre published in the Israeli daily ‘Al ha Mishmar, quoted in All That Remains: The children they killed by breaking their heads with sticks. There was not a house without dead…one commander ordered a sapper to put two old women in a certain house…and to blow up the house with them. The sapper refused…the commander then ordered his men to put in the old women and the evil deed was done.
One soldier boasted that he had raped a woman and then shot her… A former mukhtar (head of a village) of Dawayma interviewed in 1984 by the Israeli daily Hadashot, also quoted by Mr. Khalidi, offered another description: The people fled, and everyone they saw in the houses, they shot and killed.
They also killed people in the streets. They came and blew up my house, in the presence of eye-witnesses…the moment that the tanks came and opened fire, I left the village immediately. At about half-past ten, two tanks passed the Darawish Mosque. About 75 old people were there, who had come early for Friday prayers.
They gathered in the mosque to pray. They were all killed.
About 35 families had been hiding in caves outside Dawayma, according to the mukhtar, and when the Israeli forces discovered them they were told to come out, line up, and begin walking. “And as they started to walk, they were shot by machine guns from two sides…we sent people there that night, who collected the bodies, put them into a cistern, and buried them,” the mukhtar told the Israeli daily.
26 oct 1948
HOULA MASSACRE
Houla is located in southern Lebanon, only a few kilometers from the Israeli border. When Arab volunteers gathered to liberate Palestine from “Israeli” occupation, they established their headquarters in Houla, on hills overlooking Palestine.
The force was successful in fending off major attacks on Lebanese villages, but the fighters suddenly withdrew on October 26, 1948.” “Jewish militants attacked the town to avenge the residents’ support of Arab resistance forces.
On October 31, Jewish militants dressed in traditional Arab attire entered the border village. Residents gathered to cheer the men, thinking Arab volunteer fighters had returned. They were wrong. The militants rounded up 85 people and detained them in a number of houses, firing live ammunition at the civilians and killing all but three. That was not enough. Jewish militants blew up the houses with dead corpses inside. They confiscated property and livestock.
The three who survived the massacre, of whom one is still alive, and other town residents fled to Beirut. Following the armistice agreement between Lebanon and “Israel” in 1949, village residents returned to find their houses in rubbles and their farms burnt. Houla remains under Israeli occupation today, and has suffered the brunt of “Israeli” animosity towards Lebanon. Only 1,200 out of 12,000 people remain in the village.
The Houla massacre was one of a series of massacres committed by “Israel” against Lebanese civilians.
HOULA MASSACRE
Houla is located in southern Lebanon, only a few kilometers from the Israeli border. When Arab volunteers gathered to liberate Palestine from “Israeli” occupation, they established their headquarters in Houla, on hills overlooking Palestine.
The force was successful in fending off major attacks on Lebanese villages, but the fighters suddenly withdrew on October 26, 1948.” “Jewish militants attacked the town to avenge the residents’ support of Arab resistance forces.
On October 31, Jewish militants dressed in traditional Arab attire entered the border village. Residents gathered to cheer the men, thinking Arab volunteer fighters had returned. They were wrong. The militants rounded up 85 people and detained them in a number of houses, firing live ammunition at the civilians and killing all but three. That was not enough. Jewish militants blew up the houses with dead corpses inside. They confiscated property and livestock.
The three who survived the massacre, of whom one is still alive, and other town residents fled to Beirut. Following the armistice agreement between Lebanon and “Israel” in 1949, village residents returned to find their houses in rubbles and their farms burnt. Houla remains under Israeli occupation today, and has suffered the brunt of “Israeli” animosity towards Lebanon. Only 1,200 out of 12,000 people remain in the village.
The Houla massacre was one of a series of massacres committed by “Israel” against Lebanese civilians.
11 july 1948
THE DAHMASH MOSQUE MASSACRE:
After the Israeli 89th Commando Battalion lead by Moshe Dayan occupied Lydda, the Israelis told Arabs through loudspeakers that if they went into a certain mosque they would be safe. In retaliation for a hand grenade attack after the surrender that killed several Israeli soldiers, 80-100 Palestinians were massacred in the mosque, their bodies lay decomposing for 10 days in the mid-summer heat.
The mosque still stands abandoned today. This massacre spread fear and panic among the Arab population of Lydda and Ramle, who were then ordered to march out of these towns after they were stripped of all personal belonging by Israeli soldiers. Yetzak Rabin, Brigade Commander then says:
-There was no way of avoiding the use of force and warning shots in order to make the inhabitants march ten to fifteen miles to the point where they met up with the legion-.
Most of the 60,000 inhabitants of Lyda and Ramble came to refugee camps near Ramallah, around 350 lost their lives on the way through dehydration and son stroke. Many survived by drinking their own urine. The conditions in the refugee camps were to claim more lives.
THE DAHMASH MOSQUE MASSACRE:
After the Israeli 89th Commando Battalion lead by Moshe Dayan occupied Lydda, the Israelis told Arabs through loudspeakers that if they went into a certain mosque they would be safe. In retaliation for a hand grenade attack after the surrender that killed several Israeli soldiers, 80-100 Palestinians were massacred in the mosque, their bodies lay decomposing for 10 days in the mid-summer heat.
The mosque still stands abandoned today. This massacre spread fear and panic among the Arab population of Lydda and Ramle, who were then ordered to march out of these towns after they were stripped of all personal belonging by Israeli soldiers. Yetzak Rabin, Brigade Commander then says:
-There was no way of avoiding the use of force and warning shots in order to make the inhabitants march ten to fifteen miles to the point where they met up with the legion-.
Most of the 60,000 inhabitants of Lyda and Ramble came to refugee camps near Ramallah, around 350 lost their lives on the way through dehydration and son stroke. Many survived by drinking their own urine. The conditions in the refugee camps were to claim more lives.
21 may 1948
BEIT DARAS MASSACRE
After a number of failed attempts to occupy this village, the Zionists mobilized a large contingent and surrounded the village. The people of Beit Daras decided that women and children should leave. As women and children left the village they were met by the Zionist army who massacred them despite the fact that they could see they were women and children fleeing the fighting.
BEIT DARAS MASSACRE
After a number of failed attempts to occupy this village, the Zionists mobilized a large contingent and surrounded the village. The people of Beit Daras decided that women and children should leave. As women and children left the village they were met by the Zionist army who massacred them despite the fact that they could see they were women and children fleeing the fighting.
15 may 1948
THE TANTURA MASSACRE
“From testimonies and information I got from Jewish and Arab witnesses and from soldiers who were there, at least 200 people from the village of Tantura were killed by Israeli troops… “From the numbers, this is definitely one of the biggest massacres,” Teddy Katz an Israeli historian said Tantura, near Haifa in northern Palestine, had 1,500 residents at the time.
It was later demolished to make way for a parking lot for a nearby beach and the Nahsholim kibbutz, or cooperative farm. Fawzi Tanji, now 73 and a refugee at a camp in the West Bank, is from Tantura he said:
I was 21 years old then.They took a group of 10 men, lined them up against the cemetery wall and killed them.Then they brought another group, killed them, threw away the bodies and so on, Tanji said.
I was waiting for my turn to die in cold blood as I saw the men drop in front of me. Katz said other Palestinians were killed inside their homes and in other parts of the village. At one point, he said, soldiers shot at anything that moved.
THE TANTURA MASSACRE
“From testimonies and information I got from Jewish and Arab witnesses and from soldiers who were there, at least 200 people from the village of Tantura were killed by Israeli troops… “From the numbers, this is definitely one of the biggest massacres,” Teddy Katz an Israeli historian said Tantura, near Haifa in northern Palestine, had 1,500 residents at the time.
It was later demolished to make way for a parking lot for a nearby beach and the Nahsholim kibbutz, or cooperative farm. Fawzi Tanji, now 73 and a refugee at a camp in the West Bank, is from Tantura he said:
I was 21 years old then.They took a group of 10 men, lined them up against the cemetery wall and killed them.Then they brought another group, killed them, threw away the bodies and so on, Tanji said.
I was waiting for my turn to die in cold blood as I saw the men drop in front of me. Katz said other Palestinians were killed inside their homes and in other parts of the village. At one point, he said, soldiers shot at anything that moved.
14 may 1948
ABU SHUSHA MASSACRE
This photo is of Ahmed, who’s family hosted me in Ramallah, and his mother, a survivor of the 1948 ethnic cleansing that created Israel.
Abu Shusha 1948, a living memory
Ahmed translated as we interviewed his mother today about this horrific period. She is normally an amazingly cheerful person, and greets me with energetic smiles and lots of happy welcomes (“Ahlan wa sahlan!”) whenever I enter the room. But as she described 1948, her expression changed to the one you see in this photo, and stayed that way. Ahmed, for his part, is one of the most positive, hard-working, cheerful and sweet people I have met. He is now the city director of Ramallah, the acting capitol of the West Bank. I would never have guessed that such a person spent two and a half years in an Israeli prison as a young adult, never accused of any crime except “being active.” But that’s another story…
I taped the interview and will edit it and share it sometime publicly. In short, Ahmed’s mother is from a village called Abu Shusha, which was attacked by the Haganah on, I think May 14th 1948, just before Israel announced itself as a country. The Haganah was the Zionist colonists “army” that later became the Israeli army. She described how the Haganah tried to enter the village three times but was repelled by armed resistance from the village. Finally, the village was occupied. Seventy two men were killed in a massacre, including three of her brothers, who were dragged through the streets. The village was cleared of all men, and those who were not killed fled or escaped. For a time, it was only women and children there, living under the Haganah’s control. Then, the Haganah gathered everyone together and told to leave – they were to go to the next village on foot. As the villagers left, the Haganah fired shots in the air to frighten them and make sure that they understood they could not return. When they arrived in the next village, it was already empty… the residents had fled fearing a massacre like what happened in Abu Shusha.
They continued up into the hills toward Ramallah, sleeping under the trees. Finally, her family arrived in Ramallah, where the Jordanians were in control. The family started their lives over, having lost three sons and one wounded. Since then, they have endured another 39 years of Israeli military occupation after the West Bank was conquered. Today, she lives in a nice house with her son, who is Ramallah’s city director (Ramallah was given some very limited autonomy in the mid-90s, but continues to be raided and occupied by Israel). But in spite of her relatively comfortable situation, especially compared to the refugees who still live in camps, she wants to return to her land. She says in conclusion, ” I don’t want this big house. I want to live in my home, where it’s green and there are trees. This is my wish for my children and grandchildren.”
Ahmed told me that his mother often cries when watching the news about Lebanon. I asked her what she thought of the situation, and she said that seeing the refugees reminded her of 1948, and she felt so sorry for them.
Abu Shusha is one of about 400 Palestinian villages destroyed to make way for Israel in 1948 (Palestinians Muslims and Christians were a 2/3rds majority before the war). Just as most cities in the United States are built over the ruins of a Native American settlements (which were permanent, not nomadic, by the way), most Israeli cities are built over Palestinian villages. Many of the former residents are still living in refugee camps to which they fled on foot. Many of them still have the keys to their homes and deeds to their land: they thought they would be back in days, but it’s been almost 60 years.
Abu Shusha 1948, a living memory
Ahmed translated as we interviewed his mother today about this horrific period. She is normally an amazingly cheerful person, and greets me with energetic smiles and lots of happy welcomes (“Ahlan wa sahlan!”) whenever I enter the room. But as she described 1948, her expression changed to the one you see in this photo, and stayed that way. Ahmed, for his part, is one of the most positive, hard-working, cheerful and sweet people I have met. He is now the city director of Ramallah, the acting capitol of the West Bank. I would never have guessed that such a person spent two and a half years in an Israeli prison as a young adult, never accused of any crime except “being active.” But that’s another story…
I taped the interview and will edit it and share it sometime publicly. In short, Ahmed’s mother is from a village called Abu Shusha, which was attacked by the Haganah on, I think May 14th 1948, just before Israel announced itself as a country. The Haganah was the Zionist colonists “army” that later became the Israeli army. She described how the Haganah tried to enter the village three times but was repelled by armed resistance from the village. Finally, the village was occupied. Seventy two men were killed in a massacre, including three of her brothers, who were dragged through the streets. The village was cleared of all men, and those who were not killed fled or escaped. For a time, it was only women and children there, living under the Haganah’s control. Then, the Haganah gathered everyone together and told to leave – they were to go to the next village on foot. As the villagers left, the Haganah fired shots in the air to frighten them and make sure that they understood they could not return. When they arrived in the next village, it was already empty… the residents had fled fearing a massacre like what happened in Abu Shusha.
They continued up into the hills toward Ramallah, sleeping under the trees. Finally, her family arrived in Ramallah, where the Jordanians were in control. The family started their lives over, having lost three sons and one wounded. Since then, they have endured another 39 years of Israeli military occupation after the West Bank was conquered. Today, she lives in a nice house with her son, who is Ramallah’s city director (Ramallah was given some very limited autonomy in the mid-90s, but continues to be raided and occupied by Israel). But in spite of her relatively comfortable situation, especially compared to the refugees who still live in camps, she wants to return to her land. She says in conclusion, ” I don’t want this big house. I want to live in my home, where it’s green and there are trees. This is my wish for my children and grandchildren.”
Ahmed told me that his mother often cries when watching the news about Lebanon. I asked her what she thought of the situation, and she said that seeing the refugees reminded her of 1948, and she felt so sorry for them.
Abu Shusha is one of about 400 Palestinian villages destroyed to make way for Israel in 1948 (Palestinians Muslims and Christians were a 2/3rds majority before the war). Just as most cities in the United States are built over the ruins of a Native American settlements (which were permanent, not nomadic, by the way), most Israeli cities are built over Palestinian villages. Many of the former residents are still living in refugee camps to which they fled on foot. Many of them still have the keys to their homes and deeds to their land: they thought they would be back in days, but it’s been almost 60 years.
13-14 apr 1948
NASER AL-DIN MASSACRE
A contingent of Lehi and Irgun entered this village (near Tiberias) on the night of 13 April dressed as Palestinian fighters. Upon their entrance to the village the people went out to greet them, the terrorists met them with fire, killing every single one of them.
Only 40 people survived. All the houses of the village were raised to the ground.
NASER AL-DIN MASSACRE
A contingent of Lehi and Irgun entered this village (near Tiberias) on the night of 13 April dressed as Palestinian fighters. Upon their entrance to the village the people went out to greet them, the terrorists met them with fire, killing every single one of them.
Only 40 people survived. All the houses of the village were raised to the ground.
9 apr 1948
The Massacre at Deir Yasin
Deir Yassin Massacre
The forces of the Zionist gangs Tsel, Irgun and Hagana, fitted out with the Zionist terrorist strategy of killing civilians in order to achieve their aspirations, began stealing into the village on the night of April 9, 1948. Their purpose was to uproot the Palestinian people from their land by coming upon the inhabitants of the village unawares, destroying their homes and burning them down on top of those inside,thereby making clear to the entire world to what depths of barbarism Zionist hadsunk. The attack began as the children were asleep in their mothers’ and fathers’arms. In the words of Menachim Begin as he described events, “the Arabs foughttenaciously in defense of their homes, their women and their children.”
The fighting proceeded from house to house, and whenever the Jews occupied a house, they would blow it up, then direct a call to the inhabitants to flee or face death. Believingthe threat, the people left in terror in hopes of saving their children and women. Butwhat should the Stern and Irgun gangs do but rush to mow down whoever fell withinrange of their weapons. Then, in a picture of barbarism the likes of which humanityhas rarely witnessed except on the part of the most depraved, the terrorists beganthrowing bombs inside the houses in order to bring them down on whoever was inside.
The orders they had received were for them to destroy every house. Behindthe explosives there marched the Stern and Irgun terrorists, who killed whoever theyfound alive. The explosions continued in the same barbaric fashion until theafternoon of April 10, 1948.7 Then they gathered together the civilians who were stillalive, stood them up beside the walls and in corners, then fired on them.
About twenty-five men were brought out of the houses, loaded onto a truck and led on a “victory tour” in the neighborhood of Judah Mahayina and Zakhroun Yousif. At theend of the tour, the men were brought to a stone quarry located between Tahawwu’atShawul and Dair Yasin, where they were shot in cold blood. Then the Etsel and Layhi“fighters” brought the women and the children who had managed to survive up to atruck and took them to the Mendelbaum Gate.
Finally, a Hagana unit came and duga mass grave in which it buried 250 Arab corpses, most of them women, children and the elderly.
A woman who survived the massacre by the name of Halima Id describes whathappened to her sister. She says, “I saw a soldier grabbing my sister, Salihaal-Halabi, who was nine months pregnant. He pointed a machine gun at her neck,then emptied its contents into her body. Then he turned into a butcher, and grabbeda knife and ripped open her stomach to take out the slaughtered child with his iniquitous Nazi knife.”10 In another location in the village, Hanna Khalil, a girl at thetime, saw a man unsheathing a large knife and ripping open the body her neighborJamila Habash from head to toe.
Then he murdered their neighbor Fathi in the sameway at the entranceway to the house.11 A 40-year-old woman named Safiyadescribes how she was come upon by a man who suddenly opened up his trousers and pounced on her. “I began screaming and wailing. But the women around me were all meeting the same fate. After that they tore off our clothes so that they could fondle our breasts and our bodies with gestures too horrible to describe.”12 Some of the soldiers cut off women’s ears in order to get at a few small earrings.13
Once news of the massacre had gotten out, a delegation from the Red Cross tried to visit the village. However, they weren’t allowed to visit the site until a day after the time they had requested. Meanwhile the Zionists tried to cover up the evidence of their crime. They gathered up as much as they could of the victims’ dismembered corpses, threw them in the village well, then closed it up. And they tried to change the landmarks in the area so that the Red Cross representative wouldn’t be able to find his way there. However, he did find his way to the well, where he found 150 maimed corpses belonging to women, children and the elderly.
And in addition to the bodies which were found in the well, scores of others had been buried in mass graves while still others remained strewn over street corners and in the ruins of houses.
Afterwards, the head of the terrorist Hagana gang which had taken part in burying the Palestinian civilians wrote saying that his group had not undertaken a military operation against armed men, the reason being that they wanted to plant fear in the Arabs’ hearts. This was the reason they chose a peaceable, unarmed village, since in this way they could spread terror among the Arabs and force them to flee.
The forces of the Zionist gangs Tsel, Irgun and Hagana, fitted out with the Zionist terrorist strategy of killing civilians in order to achieve their aspirations, began stealing into the village on the night of April 9, 1948. Their purpose was to uproot the Palestinian people from their land by coming upon the inhabitants of the village unawares, destroying their homes and burning them down on top of those inside,thereby making clear to the entire world to what depths of barbarism Zionist hadsunk. The attack began as the children were asleep in their mothers’ and fathers’arms. In the words of Menachim Begin as he described events, “the Arabs foughttenaciously in defense of their homes, their women and their children.”
The fighting proceeded from house to house, and whenever the Jews occupied a house, they would blow it up, then direct a call to the inhabitants to flee or face death. Believingthe threat, the people left in terror in hopes of saving their children and women. Butwhat should the Stern and Irgun gangs do but rush to mow down whoever fell withinrange of their weapons. Then, in a picture of barbarism the likes of which humanityhas rarely witnessed except on the part of the most depraved, the terrorists beganthrowing bombs inside the houses in order to bring them down on whoever was inside.
The orders they had received were for them to destroy every house. Behindthe explosives there marched the Stern and Irgun terrorists, who killed whoever theyfound alive. The explosions continued in the same barbaric fashion until theafternoon of April 10, 1948.7 Then they gathered together the civilians who were stillalive, stood them up beside the walls and in corners, then fired on them.
About twenty-five men were brought out of the houses, loaded onto a truck and led on a “victory tour” in the neighborhood of Judah Mahayina and Zakhroun Yousif. At theend of the tour, the men were brought to a stone quarry located between Tahawwu’atShawul and Dair Yasin, where they were shot in cold blood. Then the Etsel and Layhi“fighters” brought the women and the children who had managed to survive up to atruck and took them to the Mendelbaum Gate.
Finally, a Hagana unit came and duga mass grave in which it buried 250 Arab corpses, most of them women, children and the elderly.
A woman who survived the massacre by the name of Halima Id describes whathappened to her sister. She says, “I saw a soldier grabbing my sister, Salihaal-Halabi, who was nine months pregnant. He pointed a machine gun at her neck,then emptied its contents into her body. Then he turned into a butcher, and grabbeda knife and ripped open her stomach to take out the slaughtered child with his iniquitous Nazi knife.”10 In another location in the village, Hanna Khalil, a girl at thetime, saw a man unsheathing a large knife and ripping open the body her neighborJamila Habash from head to toe.
Then he murdered their neighbor Fathi in the sameway at the entranceway to the house.11 A 40-year-old woman named Safiyadescribes how she was come upon by a man who suddenly opened up his trousers and pounced on her. “I began screaming and wailing. But the women around me were all meeting the same fate. After that they tore off our clothes so that they could fondle our breasts and our bodies with gestures too horrible to describe.”12 Some of the soldiers cut off women’s ears in order to get at a few small earrings.13
Once news of the massacre had gotten out, a delegation from the Red Cross tried to visit the village. However, they weren’t allowed to visit the site until a day after the time they had requested. Meanwhile the Zionists tried to cover up the evidence of their crime. They gathered up as much as they could of the victims’ dismembered corpses, threw them in the village well, then closed it up. And they tried to change the landmarks in the area so that the Red Cross representative wouldn’t be able to find his way there. However, he did find his way to the well, where he found 150 maimed corpses belonging to women, children and the elderly.
And in addition to the bodies which were found in the well, scores of others had been buried in mass graves while still others remained strewn over street corners and in the ruins of houses.
Afterwards, the head of the terrorist Hagana gang which had taken part in burying the Palestinian civilians wrote saying that his group had not undertaken a military operation against armed men, the reason being that they wanted to plant fear in the Arabs’ hearts. This was the reason they chose a peaceable, unarmed village, since in this way they could spread terror among the Arabs and force them to flee.
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Where did the name Palestine come from?
The name Palestine is given to the region spreading from eastern Mediterranean coast to the Jordan Valley to the area covering Galilee Lake in the north and southern Negev Desert. The origin of this word lies in “Plesheth”. This is a name appearing frequently in the Bible and have started being known as “Philistine” in English. The world root of “Plesheth” lies in the word “palah” was is a term used generally in the sense of migratory, referring to the Palestinian’s conquest of the coast of Mediterranean. These people were mostly originates of Asia Minor and Greece and gradually became a part of the Arab world. |
The Philistines entered in this region not all at one time but in different eras. The first group reached here in the pre-patriarchal period and made a settlement in Gerar, south of Beersheba. The second group arrived from Crete and settled in the southern coastal area where it divided made different settlements into Gat, Ekron, Ashdod, Ascalon and Gaza. These districts were occupied by the foreign settlers coming mostly from the Mediterranean islands.
In the fifth century BC, the region of eastern coast of the Mediterranean started being called as “the Philistine Syria”, a term coined by the Greek historian, Herodotus and used in its Greek language form. In AD 135, the Emperor Hadrian blotted out the name “Provincia Judea” and renamed it “Provincia Syria Palaestina”. This was the Latin version of the Greek name and soon became a name to be used as an administrative unit. This name was shortened to Palaestina and the name “Palestine” was derived from it as a modern and anglicized version.
No changes occurred to this name until after the fourth century had passed when Palestine was divided in to three regions, following the imperial reorganization. The name Palestine was used by the Christian Crusades to regard all three of the divided regions in general and continued to be used for the regions on both sides of the Jordan River in general. Palestine went under the rule of the Ottoman Turks for 400 years where its administration was attached to Damascus. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the name Palestine was revived and was applied to the land falling under the British Mandate for Palestine. Arabs use the name “Falastin” for Palestine which is an Arab pronunciation of the Roman word “Palaestina.”
In the fifth century BC, the region of eastern coast of the Mediterranean started being called as “the Philistine Syria”, a term coined by the Greek historian, Herodotus and used in its Greek language form. In AD 135, the Emperor Hadrian blotted out the name “Provincia Judea” and renamed it “Provincia Syria Palaestina”. This was the Latin version of the Greek name and soon became a name to be used as an administrative unit. This name was shortened to Palaestina and the name “Palestine” was derived from it as a modern and anglicized version.
No changes occurred to this name until after the fourth century had passed when Palestine was divided in to three regions, following the imperial reorganization. The name Palestine was used by the Christian Crusades to regard all three of the divided regions in general and continued to be used for the regions on both sides of the Jordan River in general. Palestine went under the rule of the Ottoman Turks for 400 years where its administration was attached to Damascus. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the name Palestine was revived and was applied to the land falling under the British Mandate for Palestine. Arabs use the name “Falastin” for Palestine which is an Arab pronunciation of the Roman word “Palaestina.”
8 apr 1948
Abdel Kader Husseini
19 dec 1947
QAZAZA MASSACRE:
(Palestine) : 5 Arab children were murdered when Jewish terrorists blew up the house of the village Mukhtar.
QAZAZA MASSACRE:
(Palestine) : 5 Arab children were murdered when Jewish terrorists blew up the house of the village Mukhtar.
18 dec 1947
KHISAS MASSACRE:
(Palestine) : Two carloads of Haganah terrorists drove through the village of Khisas (on the Lebanese Syrian border) firing machine guns and throwing grenades. 10 Arab civilians were killed in the raid.
KHISAS MASSACRE:
(Palestine) : Two carloads of Haganah terrorists drove through the village of Khisas (on the Lebanese Syrian border) firing machine guns and throwing grenades. 10 Arab civilians were killed in the raid.
13 dec 1947
YEHIDA MASSACRE:
(Palestine) : men of the Arab village of Yehiday (near Petah Tekva, the first Zionist settlement to be established) met at the local coffee house when they saw a British Army patrol enter the village, they were reassured espeically that Jewish terrorists had murdered 12 Palestinians the previous day. The four cars stopped in front of the cafe house and out stepped men dressed in khaki uniforms and steel helmets.
However, it soon became apparent that they had not come to protect the villagers. With machine guns they sprayed bullets into the crowd gathered in the coffee house. Some of the invaders placed bombs next to Arab homes while other disguised terrorists tossed grenades at civilians. For a while it seemed as if the villagers would be annihilated but soon a real British patrol arrived to foil the well organized killing raid.
The death toll of 7 Arab civilans could have been much higher. Earlier the same day 6 Arabs were killed and 23 wounded when home made bombs were tossed at a crowd of Arabs standing near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. In Jaffa another bomb killed six more Arabs and injured 40.
YEHIDA MASSACRE:
(Palestine) : men of the Arab village of Yehiday (near Petah Tekva, the first Zionist settlement to be established) met at the local coffee house when they saw a British Army patrol enter the village, they were reassured espeically that Jewish terrorists had murdered 12 Palestinians the previous day. The four cars stopped in front of the cafe house and out stepped men dressed in khaki uniforms and steel helmets.
However, it soon became apparent that they had not come to protect the villagers. With machine guns they sprayed bullets into the crowd gathered in the coffee house. Some of the invaders placed bombs next to Arab homes while other disguised terrorists tossed grenades at civilians. For a while it seemed as if the villagers would be annihilated but soon a real British patrol arrived to foil the well organized killing raid.
The death toll of 7 Arab civilans could have been much higher. Earlier the same day 6 Arabs were killed and 23 wounded when home made bombs were tossed at a crowd of Arabs standing near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. In Jaffa another bomb killed six more Arabs and injured 40.
july 1947
Clifford Martin, left, and Marvin Paice, whose deaths marked the peak of a British battle with the Irgun.
A chance encounter led filmmaker Peleg Levy to explore the controversial hanging of two British soldiers by Jewish militants, 65 years on.
In July 1947, two British sergeants were being held in a narrow, closely-guarded bunker that had been dug underneath a diamond-polishing plant in Netanya. The two were captured by the Irgun, and the Jewish underground militia threatened to hang them unless the British commuted the death sentences of three Irgun operatives.
On August 1, nearly three weeks after the kidnapping, Haaretz reported that the Palestine Police found "the two corpses ... in a government eucalyptus grove" near Netanya.
A chance encounter led filmmaker Peleg Levy to explore the controversial hanging of two British soldiers by Jewish militants, 65 years on.
In July 1947, two British sergeants were being held in a narrow, closely-guarded bunker that had been dug underneath a diamond-polishing plant in Netanya. The two were captured by the Irgun, and the Jewish underground militia threatened to hang them unless the British commuted the death sentences of three Irgun operatives.
On August 1, nearly three weeks after the kidnapping, Haaretz reported that the Palestine Police found "the two corpses ... in a government eucalyptus grove" near Netanya.
A cartoon from a British newspaper at the time
The front-page headline in the UK's The Daily Express was more acerbic. "HANGED BRITONS: Picture that will shock the world," it screamed to its readers. Beneath that was a grisly photo of the two young soldiers' bodies on a tree, bound and blindfolded.
This past weekend marked the 65th anniversary of these dramatic event that became known as the Sergeants affair, an event that agitated the entire pre-State community in Palestine and has been named in history books as one of the factors that led to the end of the British Mandate.
Filmmaker Peleg Levy has devoted considerable time to researching the affair for a documentary he is producing together with veteran filmmaker Herb Krosney. "You have to understand," says Levy, "that there are many people who are afraid to open this story."
Last Thursday night, Levy marked the anniversary by leading a group of 70 people, aged 11 to 95, on a tour of the final stations in the lives of the two soldiers. The first stop was 15 Herzl Street in Herzliya, where Sergeants Clifford Martin and Mervyn Paice were abducted on July 11. From there the group moved on to the building where they were hidden. The tour ended in "the sergeants' forest" in Kiryat Hasharon, where "the affair reached its climax," according to Levy.
The hanging of the sergeants was the peak of a stubborn battle between the British and the Irgun. During the course of that battle, the Irgun captured (or tried to capture ) British soldiers and commanders to use as bargaining chips, to obtain the release or the commutation of death sentences for Jewish fighters caught by the British.
The front-page headline in the UK's The Daily Express was more acerbic. "HANGED BRITONS: Picture that will shock the world," it screamed to its readers. Beneath that was a grisly photo of the two young soldiers' bodies on a tree, bound and blindfolded.
This past weekend marked the 65th anniversary of these dramatic event that became known as the Sergeants affair, an event that agitated the entire pre-State community in Palestine and has been named in history books as one of the factors that led to the end of the British Mandate.
Filmmaker Peleg Levy has devoted considerable time to researching the affair for a documentary he is producing together with veteran filmmaker Herb Krosney. "You have to understand," says Levy, "that there are many people who are afraid to open this story."
Last Thursday night, Levy marked the anniversary by leading a group of 70 people, aged 11 to 95, on a tour of the final stations in the lives of the two soldiers. The first stop was 15 Herzl Street in Herzliya, where Sergeants Clifford Martin and Mervyn Paice were abducted on July 11. From there the group moved on to the building where they were hidden. The tour ended in "the sergeants' forest" in Kiryat Hasharon, where "the affair reached its climax," according to Levy.
The hanging of the sergeants was the peak of a stubborn battle between the British and the Irgun. During the course of that battle, the Irgun captured (or tried to capture ) British soldiers and commanders to use as bargaining chips, to obtain the release or the commutation of death sentences for Jewish fighters caught by the British.
A pillbox from the British Mandate era
Between 1938 and 1947, 12 members of the Irgun and the Lehi, the other underground militia, were sentenced to death by the British. Ten of them were executed by hanging. The other two committed suicide in prison. The last three on the list were Avshalom Haviv, Yaakov Weiss and Meir Nakar. After they were abducted, Menachem Begin - the Irgun commander who was hiding in a Tel Aviv safe house - ordered the capture of British hostages to secure the trio's release.
Martin and Paice were easy prey: They frequently met with Aharon Weinberg of the rival Haganah underground, and gave him intelligence information about the British forces. A surveillance team followed the pair after one such meeting and abducted them.
But the Irgun failed in their goal. The British hanged the "Olei Hagardom," as they are called in the underground martyrology - Jews who went to the gallows in the struggle against the British. Begin ordered that the sergeants be hanged in response. He later said that this was "the most difficult decision of my life" and defined it as a "cruel revenge."
Between 1938 and 1947, 12 members of the Irgun and the Lehi, the other underground militia, were sentenced to death by the British. Ten of them were executed by hanging. The other two committed suicide in prison. The last three on the list were Avshalom Haviv, Yaakov Weiss and Meir Nakar. After they were abducted, Menachem Begin - the Irgun commander who was hiding in a Tel Aviv safe house - ordered the capture of British hostages to secure the trio's release.
Martin and Paice were easy prey: They frequently met with Aharon Weinberg of the rival Haganah underground, and gave him intelligence information about the British forces. A surveillance team followed the pair after one such meeting and abducted them.
But the Irgun failed in their goal. The British hanged the "Olei Hagardom," as they are called in the underground martyrology - Jews who went to the gallows in the struggle against the British. Begin ordered that the sergeants be hanged in response. He later said that this was "the most difficult decision of my life" and defined it as a "cruel revenge."
Peleg Levy
Levy's interest in the affair began six years ago, when he happened to have met Moshe Moldavsky on a public bench in Netanya. Levy tells how the former Irgun member explained to him that "When the British started hanging Jews, there were those who said aloud that it would be the end of the Empire; they warned them against breaking the neck of 'this stiff-necked people,' aspiring to return to its land."
Levy took a special interest in the unanticipated Jewish angle of the affair: Clifford Martin was the circumcised, Hebrew-speaking son of a Jewish mother. After his abduction, his mother pleaded for help to a Jewish member of Parliament.
"I ask myself how the fact that the abducted man was a Jew affected the abductors for the Irgun on the one hand, and the British commanders on the other," says Levy.
Marvin Paice, was also "one of ours," he adds. "[Paice] was deeply involved in the country, he helped the Jews and he reported to them on the British plans." Paice's father appealed to Begin to have mercy on his son, in a letter addressed simply to "The commander of the Irgun." A postal worker who was an Irgun member got the letter to Begin, who replied in an open radio broadcast: "You must apply to your government that thirsts for oil and blood."
Levy defines the hanging of the sergeants as a tragedy. He believes they should be added to the list of Olei Hagardom.
Before he passed away, Shmuel Katz, a member of the Irgun high command, told Levy: "The British understood that after the Olei Hagardom went to the noose with their heads held high and after the sergeants were hanged, there was no more scope for escalation. The game was over."
The affair left an impact that can still be felt in Israel to this day. One of the scenes in Levy's film shows two participants in the affair: Yossi Meller, an Irgun member who participated in the abduction and who passed away a year and a half ago, and Meir Novick, a Haganah member involved with getting intelligence from Martin and Paice. As fate would have it, both of them lived in the same old age home, but refused to ever speak to each other.
Levy hopes that the film will come out next year.
Levy's interest in the affair began six years ago, when he happened to have met Moshe Moldavsky on a public bench in Netanya. Levy tells how the former Irgun member explained to him that "When the British started hanging Jews, there were those who said aloud that it would be the end of the Empire; they warned them against breaking the neck of 'this stiff-necked people,' aspiring to return to its land."
Levy took a special interest in the unanticipated Jewish angle of the affair: Clifford Martin was the circumcised, Hebrew-speaking son of a Jewish mother. After his abduction, his mother pleaded for help to a Jewish member of Parliament.
"I ask myself how the fact that the abducted man was a Jew affected the abductors for the Irgun on the one hand, and the British commanders on the other," says Levy.
Marvin Paice, was also "one of ours," he adds. "[Paice] was deeply involved in the country, he helped the Jews and he reported to them on the British plans." Paice's father appealed to Begin to have mercy on his son, in a letter addressed simply to "The commander of the Irgun." A postal worker who was an Irgun member got the letter to Begin, who replied in an open radio broadcast: "You must apply to your government that thirsts for oil and blood."
Levy defines the hanging of the sergeants as a tragedy. He believes they should be added to the list of Olei Hagardom.
Before he passed away, Shmuel Katz, a member of the Irgun high command, told Levy: "The British understood that after the Olei Hagardom went to the noose with their heads held high and after the sergeants were hanged, there was no more scope for escalation. The game was over."
The affair left an impact that can still be felt in Israel to this day. One of the scenes in Levy's film shows two participants in the affair: Yossi Meller, an Irgun member who participated in the abduction and who passed away a year and a half ago, and Meir Novick, a Haganah member involved with getting intelligence from Martin and Paice. As fate would have it, both of them lived in the same old age home, but refused to ever speak to each other.
Levy hopes that the film will come out next year.
30-31 jan 1947
The Massacre at Baldat al-Shaikh:
(Palestine) : This massacre took place following an argument which broke out between Palestinian workers and Zionists in the Haifa Petroleum Refinery, leading to the deaths of a number of Palestinians and wounding and killing approximately sixty Zionists. A large number of the Palestinian Arab workers were living in Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa, located in the southeast of Haifa. Consequently, the Zionists planned to take revenge on behalf of fellow Zionists who had been killed in the refinery by attacking Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa. [1]
On the night of January 30-31, 1947, a mixed force composed of the First Battalion of Palmakh and the Carmelie brigade (estimated at approximately 150 to 200 Zionist terrorists) launched a raid against the two towns under the leadership of Hayim Afinu'am. [2] They focused their attack on the outskirts of Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa. Taking the outlying homes by surprise as their inhabitants slept, they pelted
them with hand grenades, then went inside, firing their machine guns. [3]
The terrorist attack led to the deaths of approximately sixty citizens inside their homes, most of them women, elderly and children. [4] The attack lasted for an hour, after which the Zionists withdrew at 2:00 a.m., having attacked a large number of noncombatant homes. [5] According to a report written by the leader of the terrorist operation, "the attacking units slipped into the town and began working on the houses. And due to the fact that gunfire was directed inside the rooms, it was not possible to avoid injuring women and children." [6]
References:
1. The Palestinian Encyclopedia, Part I, op. cit., p. 413, paraphrased.
2. Ghazi al-Sa'di, Massacres and Practices, 1936-1983, Amman, Dar al-Jalil lil-Nashr wal-Dirasat [The Galilee House for Publication and Research] , June 1985, p. 43.
3. The Palestinian Encyclopedia, op. cit., p. 413.
4. al-Sa'di, op. cit., p. 43.
5. The Palestinian Encyclopedia, op. cit., p. 414.
6. al-Sa'di, op. cit., p. 43.
The Massacre at Baldat al-Shaikh:
(Palestine) : This massacre took place following an argument which broke out between Palestinian workers and Zionists in the Haifa Petroleum Refinery, leading to the deaths of a number of Palestinians and wounding and killing approximately sixty Zionists. A large number of the Palestinian Arab workers were living in Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa, located in the southeast of Haifa. Consequently, the Zionists planned to take revenge on behalf of fellow Zionists who had been killed in the refinery by attacking Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa. [1]
On the night of January 30-31, 1947, a mixed force composed of the First Battalion of Palmakh and the Carmelie brigade (estimated at approximately 150 to 200 Zionist terrorists) launched a raid against the two towns under the leadership of Hayim Afinu'am. [2] They focused their attack on the outskirts of Baldat al-Shaikh and Hawasa. Taking the outlying homes by surprise as their inhabitants slept, they pelted
them with hand grenades, then went inside, firing their machine guns. [3]
The terrorist attack led to the deaths of approximately sixty citizens inside their homes, most of them women, elderly and children. [4] The attack lasted for an hour, after which the Zionists withdrew at 2:00 a.m., having attacked a large number of noncombatant homes. [5] According to a report written by the leader of the terrorist operation, "the attacking units slipped into the town and began working on the houses. And due to the fact that gunfire was directed inside the rooms, it was not possible to avoid injuring women and children." [6]
References:
1. The Palestinian Encyclopedia, Part I, op. cit., p. 413, paraphrased.
2. Ghazi al-Sa'di, Massacres and Practices, 1936-1983, Amman, Dar al-Jalil lil-Nashr wal-Dirasat [The Galilee House for Publication and Research] , June 1985, p. 43.
3. The Palestinian Encyclopedia, op. cit., p. 413.
4. al-Sa'di, op. cit., p. 43.
5. The Palestinian Encyclopedia, op. cit., p. 414.
6. al-Sa'di, op. cit., p. 43.
22 july 1946
The King David Massacre:
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The King David Hotel explosion of July 22, 1946 (Palestine), which resulted in the deaths of 92 Britons, Arabs and Jews, and in the wounding of 58, was not just an act of “Jewish extremists,” but a premeditated massacre conducted by the Irgun in agreement with the highest Jewish political authorities in Palestine-- the Jewish Agency and its head David-Ben-Gurion.
According to Yitshaq Ben-Ami, a Palestinian Jew who spent 30 years in exile after the establishment of Israel investigating the crimes of the “ruthless clique heading the internal Zionist movement,” The Irgun had conceived a plan for the King David attack early in 1946, but the green light was given only on July first. According to Dr. Sneh, the operation was personally approved by Ben-Gurion, from his self-exile in Europe. Sadeh, the operations officer of the Haganah, and Giddy Paglin, the head of the Irgun operation under Menachem Begin agreed that thirty-five minutes advance notice would give the British time enough to evacuate the wing, without enabling them to disarm the explosion. The Jewish Agency’s motive was to destroy all evidence the British had gathered proving that the terrorist crime waves in Palestine were not merely the actions of “fringe” groups such as the Irgun and Stern Gang, but were committed in collusion with the Haganah and Palmach groups and under the direction of the highest political body of the Zionist establishment itself, namely the Jewish Agency. That so many innocent civilian lives were lost in the King David massacre is a normal part of the pattern of the history of Zionist outrages: A criminal act is committed, allegedly by an isolated group, but actually under the direct |
authorization of the highest Zionist authorities, whether of the Jewish Agency during the Palestine Mandate or of the Government of Israel thereafter.
The following is a statement made in the House of Commons by then British Prime Minister Clement Attlee:
On July 22, 1946, one of the most dastardly and cowardly crimes in recorded history took place. We refer to the blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
Ninety-two persons lost their lives in that stealthy attack, 45 were injured, among whom there were many high officials, junior officers and office personnel, both men and women. The King David Hotel was used as an office housing the Secretariat of the Palestine Government and British Army Headquarters. The attack was made on 22 July at about 12 o’clock noon when offices are usually in full swing. The attackers, disguised as milkmen, carried the explosives in milk containers, placed them in the basement of the Hotel and ran away.
The Chief Secretary for the Government of Palestine, Sir John Shaw, declared in a broadcast: “As head of the Secretariat, the majority of the dead and wounded were my own staff, many of whom I have known personally for eleven years. They are more than official colleagues. British, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Armenians; senior officers, police, my orderly, my chauffeur, messengers, guards, men and
women-- young and old-- they were my friends.
“No man could wish to be served by a more industrious, loyal and honest group of ordinary decent people. Their only crime was their devoted, unselfish and impartial service to Palestine and its people. For this they have been rewarded by cold-blooded mass murder.”
Although members of the Irgun Z’vai Leumi took responsibility for this crime, yet they also made it public later that they obtained the consent and approval of the Haganah Command, and it follows, that of the Jewish Agency.
The King David Hotel massacre shocked the conscience of the civilizedworld. On July 23, Anthony Eden, leader of the British opposition Conservative
Party, posed a question in the House of Commons to Prime Minister Atlee of the Labor Party, asking “the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make on the bomb outrage at the British Headquarters in Jerusalem.” The Prime Minister responded:
“…It appears that, after exploding a small bomb in the street, presumably as a diversionary measure-- this did virtually no damage-- a lorry drove up to the tradesmen’s entrance of the King David Hotel and the occupants, after holding up the staff at pistol point, entered the kitchen premises carrying a number of milk cans. At some stage of the proceedings, they shot and seriously wounded a British soldier who attempted to interfere with them. All available information so far is to the effect that they were Jews. Somewhere in the basement of the hotel they planted bombs which went off shortly afterwards. They appear to have made good their escape.
“Every effort is being made to identify and arrest the perpetrators of this outrage. The work of rescue in the debris, which was immediately organized, still continues. The next-of-kin of casualties are being notified by telegram as soon as accurate information is available. The House will wish to express their profound sympathy with the relatives of the killed and with those injured in this dastardly outrage.”
The following is a statement made in the House of Commons by then British Prime Minister Clement Attlee:
On July 22, 1946, one of the most dastardly and cowardly crimes in recorded history took place. We refer to the blowing up of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
Ninety-two persons lost their lives in that stealthy attack, 45 were injured, among whom there were many high officials, junior officers and office personnel, both men and women. The King David Hotel was used as an office housing the Secretariat of the Palestine Government and British Army Headquarters. The attack was made on 22 July at about 12 o’clock noon when offices are usually in full swing. The attackers, disguised as milkmen, carried the explosives in milk containers, placed them in the basement of the Hotel and ran away.
The Chief Secretary for the Government of Palestine, Sir John Shaw, declared in a broadcast: “As head of the Secretariat, the majority of the dead and wounded were my own staff, many of whom I have known personally for eleven years. They are more than official colleagues. British, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Armenians; senior officers, police, my orderly, my chauffeur, messengers, guards, men and
women-- young and old-- they were my friends.
“No man could wish to be served by a more industrious, loyal and honest group of ordinary decent people. Their only crime was their devoted, unselfish and impartial service to Palestine and its people. For this they have been rewarded by cold-blooded mass murder.”
Although members of the Irgun Z’vai Leumi took responsibility for this crime, yet they also made it public later that they obtained the consent and approval of the Haganah Command, and it follows, that of the Jewish Agency.
The King David Hotel massacre shocked the conscience of the civilizedworld. On July 23, Anthony Eden, leader of the British opposition Conservative
Party, posed a question in the House of Commons to Prime Minister Atlee of the Labor Party, asking “the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make on the bomb outrage at the British Headquarters in Jerusalem.” The Prime Minister responded:
“…It appears that, after exploding a small bomb in the street, presumably as a diversionary measure-- this did virtually no damage-- a lorry drove up to the tradesmen’s entrance of the King David Hotel and the occupants, after holding up the staff at pistol point, entered the kitchen premises carrying a number of milk cans. At some stage of the proceedings, they shot and seriously wounded a British soldier who attempted to interfere with them. All available information so far is to the effect that they were Jews. Somewhere in the basement of the hotel they planted bombs which went off shortly afterwards. They appear to have made good their escape.
“Every effort is being made to identify and arrest the perpetrators of this outrage. The work of rescue in the debris, which was immediately organized, still continues. The next-of-kin of casualties are being notified by telegram as soon as accurate information is available. The House will wish to express their profound sympathy with the relatives of the killed and with those injured in this dastardly outrage.”