The state of Israel was founded in 1948. This did not go without a hitch, as other residents lived in the territory that became Israel for centuries. In their struggle for sovereignty over the area, Zionists committed several terrorist attacks against both the British mandate government and the residents of the area to be conquered.
Zionist terrorism 1946-1948
- Chronological overview of Zionist terrorism
- Irgun
- Firsts
- Land grabbing and genocide
- Independence
Chronological overview of Zionist terrorism
In the years 1946 to 1948 there was a sharp increase in Zionist-motivated terrorism, a brief chronological overview:
- On June 18, 1946, after their attack on a British government leader, the Zionists achieved a new first, namely taking people hostage in order to exert a certain pressure on the British mandate government.
- A month later on July 22, 1946, part of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem was blown up. This resulted in 91 deaths. They were Arabs, British and Jews. This action was Irgoen’s.
- On October 13, 1946, Zionists in Rome placed a number of suitcases containing bombs in the British embassy.
- On December 5, 1946, Zionists blew up a number of cars in a civilian neighborhood in Sarafand (near Jaffa) using car bombs.
- On December 29, 1946, four British soldiers were kidnapped in retaliation for a punishment imposed by the Military Criminal Court on a Zionist terrorist.
- In early June 1947, 20 letter bombs were sent by Zionists from Italy to London.
- On July 30, 1947, two senior British soldiers were hanged in an orchard near Natanya. They had their removed genitals in their mouths. When the bodies were discovered, another surprise awaited the discoverers: booby traps. Moreover, they were provided with a sign with a text indicating that it was a reprisal for the death sentence of three Jewish terrorists.
- From late 1947 to mid-1948, soldiers shot at Palestinian vehicles from buildings illegally built by Jews along the main road between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Buses were a bonus here.
- In December 1947 the ethnic cleansing of villages and towns began. The first was for Haifa, where around 75 thousand Palestinians lived at the time. Jewish settlers threw down barrels full of explosives and large steel balls from higher areas. After this, they poured oil and gasoline on the roads and set them on fire. People taking refuge in rivers were shot at by the army. Then another bomb was detonated amid a large group of workers trying to flee the city.
- A senior Jewish officer told the British in 1947 that he did not think it was a problem that there were more Palestinians than Jews living in the areas given to the Jews, his response was: ‘We will solve that. She can manage a number of well-planned massacres.’
Irgun
Irgun committed daily attacks against British and Palestinian civilians. The person responsible for this was Menachem Begin, who would later become Prime Minister and receive the Nobel Peace Prize (!). Irgun operated in consultation with Hagana and the provisional Jewish government. After independence, they merged with other terrorist organizations into Hagana: the official Israeli army, which would also more or less take over the policy.
Firsts
It is striking that Zionists always had a world first in every ‘terror discipline’. First the grenades in the Palestinian cafe in Jerusalem in 1937. Then on July 6, 1938, an attack using an advanced time bomb on a busy market in Haifa. This continues until 1947. Such firsts in terrorist acts occur again and again in the following years.
Land grabbing and genocide
David Ben-Gurion wrote the following about this for military doctrine: The question is not whether a measure is necessary or not. It’s just about time and place. Blowing up a house isn’t enough. Cruel and strong measures are needed. At the right time, the right place and with accurately calculated victims. If we know the family, we must strike mercilessly, even if women and children are involved. Otherwise the measure is inefficient. At the scene of action there is no need to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. This is the current doctrine of the Israeli army.
As the end of the British Mandate approached in the year 1948, Haganah began to plunder the Arab quarters of Jerusalem. In April they had also captured large areas of ‘Arab land’ (according to the UN plan). In the same month, Ben-Gurion decided to apply a new and much more violent plan of attack on the Palestinian cities. The 4th Dalet Plan, which consisted of several operations, would be completed in a month and a half and would be ready on the day of the end of the British Mandate. Irgoen and the Stern group were ordered to capture Deir Yaseen. On the night of April 10, 1948, about 250 (mainly women and children) were slaughtered here like animals. Survivors were put into a truck and driven through the streets of Jerusalem. After this they were still riddled with bullets. Another group was stoned to death by a Jewish mob at the Mandelbaum Gate. Another 355 similar operations followed between 1947 and 1949. It was estimated how many murders would lead to the rest fleeing. Israeli soldiers had been given a shopping list of Palestinians who had to be killed anyway. Streams of refugees were also shot at from the air. At first the government was still confused because the murder of Palestinians did not lead to violence on their part. This made it very difficult to argue to the rest of the world that it was about retaliation. But it was decided to include in the policy that a clearly demonstrable reason was not necessary.
Independence
On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed. A day earlier, President Truman of the United States received a letter about this with the request to recognize the state. Secretary of State Marshall demanded that Truman not grant recognition. They don’t deserve a state, they stole that country. If you decide to recognize me, I will probably not vote for you in the next elections… were his words. Despite that, it still happened…