Bloody massacre, apology to the king, expected revenge …

November 29, 1947 UN General Assembly of the Arabs in Palestine and adopted Resolution No. 181 on the establishment of the Jewish state. The Arab countries vehemently rejected the document and The frequent clashes in Palestine that day turned into full-scale military operations the next day.

In the first phase of these operations, which will be called the First Arab-Jewish War, before the establishment of the state of Israel, the Arab Liberation Army, the Holy Jihad Army, and the Muslim Brotherhood were on one side. and local self-defense groups were involved. To them snowand the Jews to Hagan, Irgun and Lehi’s militants were fighting.

The Haganah was established in 1920 to protect Jewish settlements. In 1931, some of its members complained about the organization’s very lenient treatment of Arabs and its retaliation for the killing of Jews. protest They separated and created the Race.

Irgun, along with the Arabs, also to the British, who at that time had a mandate over Palestine snowhe was also fighting. At the outbreak of World War II, many imprisoned members of the organization were sent to Britain, where they were at war with the Nazis snowcalled for a temporary cessation of hostilities. Some more radical members did not share this opinion and formed the Lehi organization.

In other words, Irgun was made up of more radical people than Haganah and Lehi was more radical than Irgun. Race and The attitude to the project was ambiguous. For many, they were a terrorist organization. The activities of the two organizations were discussed at the XXII Zionist Congress held in 1946.political led to the adoption of a resolution condemning the “shedding of innocent blood as a method of struggle.”

Well-known Jews, such as Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt, viewed Irgun as an organization similar to Mussolini’s fascist party. Lehi was accused of fighting Nazis during the war and providing actual assistance to Nazi Germany. There are even allegations that the organization is trying to contact Berlin.

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From the first day, the Arab-Jewish war was marked by attacks on innocent people. On November 30, seven people were killed when Jewish buses came under fire in various places. In response, 4 Arabs were killed. On December 2, seven more Jews were killed. On the same day, a Jewish looting took place in the Syrian city of Aleppo, 150 houses, 10 synagogues, five schools, and Jewish shops were burned. Various sources indicate that 8 to 75 Jews were killed.

In general, attacks and terrorist acts are committed almost every day throughout December, killing dozens of people on both sides. Sometimes the killings were domino effect, in response to each other.

On the morning of December 30, Irgun members threw three grenades at Arab workers in front of the Haifa refinery, killing six and injuring more than 40. After that, the workers attacked the Jews working in the factory, beating them with various objects. As a result, 39 people died and 49 were injured. Meanwhile, some Arab workers hid their Jewish colleagues.

Although Haganah condemned Irgu’s attack on civilians, since December 31 Januaryheld a retaliatory operation in Balad al-Sheikh, where most of the Arab workers lived, on the night of the 1st. The people involved in the attack on the Jewish workers at the refinery were identified based on eyewitness accounts, evicted from their homes and shot. The exact number of people killed here is unknown, the number ranges from 21 to 70. This time 2 women and 5 children also died. Hagan lost three warriors.

In the following months, with bloody battles, terrorist acts, a large number of combatants and passed with the death of the civilian population that, it is impossible to list them all. The most notorious crime in the first period of the war was Irgun and What they did together was the Deir Yassin massacre. However, the information about this event is quite confusing and in many cases contradict each other, we will try to show the real picture through this confusion.

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UN to the resolution according to, The city of Jerusalem should not have been part of a Jewish or Arab state. To the enclave of Jerusalem UN under the direction of free was given the status of a city. The enclave also included the village of Deir Yasin, 5 km from the city. In the village where there are 144 houses, according to various sources according toFrom 600 10The Arabs lived until 00.

From the beginning of the military operation, the Arabs controlled the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. Various obstacles were placed on the road, and Jewish cars slowing down to cross them were fired upon from the surrounding heights. As a result, the supply of some 100,000 Jews (16 percent of all Jews in Palestine) living in West Jerusalem became difficult. In March, the situation worsened. In the last week of the month, only 41 of the 136 trucks trying to deliver food to Jews in Jerusalem were able to do so.

Hagan launched Operation Nakhchivan on April 6 to remedy the situation. The purpose of the operation is to expel the population of Arab villages on the road to Jerusalem and to take control of those points. In the battle for al-Qastal, one of the key positions, not only was the village captured, but the commander of the Holy Jihad Army (MCO), Abdul Qadir al-Husseini, was killed. This caused serious frustration among the Arabs.

Deir Yassin is also near the road to Jerusalem and It was located at an altitude of 800 meters. There are various opinions that this village was used by the Arabs for military purposes. To a version according tothe villagers did not allow MCO fighters who wanted to take a position here.

In addition, they maintain normal relations with the nearby Jewish town of Givat-Shaul, and even have agreements on non-hostility and free movement. In February, when a group of armed Arabs tried to attack Givat-Shaul, the residents of Deir Yassin drove them out. The militants, too acThey opened fire on a herd of sheep in the village.

To another version according to and good relations and Neutrality used to exist, the agreement reached in January was no longer observed in April, and in recent days, neighboring Jewish settlements have come under fire from the village. It is even said that the youth of Deir Yassin took part in the battle for al-Gastal.

Anyway, Irgun and Lehi’s militants hesitated when they approached Hagan’s intelligence chief, David Chaltiel, to attack Deir Yassin. and he advised them to attack Ein-Karam, who was more hostile to the Jews. Race and Lehi’s administration said it would not have enough forces to attack the village.

Attack on Deir ez-Zor 72 Race and 60 Lehi warriors would attend. On April 8, they were instructed. Allegations from the Jewish side according tothis time women, children, the elderly, the unarmed and or those who put down their weapons were instructed not to be harmed. The purpose of the operation was to expel the villagers. After that, an armed group of Jews would be stationed there.

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The operation began on April 9 at 4.30 am and did not go well in advance. Plana according toIrgun and Lehi had to attack from different directions at the same time. Lehi was late. In addition, Lehi must bring a loudspeaker with him and had to warn the population before the attack began. But when they arrived, the village was already fighting. The car also fell in the back near the village and from there began to warn, but most likely that, no one heard his voice.

Race and It is clear from the conversation of Lehi’s representatives with David Chaltiel that, Deir Yassin’s capture was seen as an easy task, but was met with unexpected resistance. The Arabs began firing on the Jews from higher altitudes. Irgun, who has so far carried out mostly terrorist acts and has no combat experience and Lehi had a hard time.

They opened fire wherever they came from, throwing grenades at the houses they passed to get inside the village. Despite all this, they could not control the village for hours. Irgun even approached Lehi with a proposal to withdraw. But the battle continued.

Sniper fire from the village governor’s house was a particular problem for the Jews. In some cases, attackers fail acthey came out of the civilians who surrendered. At least one such case is known to the Jewish side, and its victims were many. An Irgun fighter raised his hands and shot the family of 11 who left the house. It is said that there are other similar cases.

Around noon, more experienced Hagan warriors arrived in the village. As a result of their grenade fire, the snipers in the mayor’s house were neutralized. Thus, the fate of the war was decided and the shooting soon ceased. Five Jews were killed and more than 40 were injured. Controversy continues over the death toll from the Arabs. The minimum number is 101 and the maximum number is 254.

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It is interesting that, the largest number (254) was chanted by Lehi members. That’s it according to and in the press of that time about the death of 254 people in Deir ez-Zor information went. But Lehi did it in order to exaggerate his authority, to meet them according tothere was nothing wrong with killing civilians.

Subsequent research, including those conducted by Arabs, shows that the number of victims is lower. Sharif Kanaana, an expert at the University of Birzeit in Palestine, came to the conclusion according to13 armed during the attack and 107 civilians were killed. In our opinion, this study trust can be done.

In any case, the Deir Yasin massacre was the bloodiest event of the first period of the war and played a special role in the further escalation of Jewish-Arab hostility. Not accidental that, Many Jewish organizations, including Hagan and celebrities condemned the crime. The Jewish agency sent an apology to King Abdullah I of Transjordan (now Jordan).

Four days after the Deir ez-Zin massacre, he was taken to Hadassah Hospital under Haganah’s protection medical equipment and A convoy of ammunition was ambushed by the MCO. As a result, 79 Jews, most of them medical staff, including the hospital director (20 woman) and 1 British soldier was killed. The Arabs presented it as revenge for Deir Yassin.