Israeli terrorism (original) (raw)

''The neutrality of this article is disputed.

This article is about hostile actions, or actions termed terrorist against Palestinians and British soldiers, by Jewish groups within the British Mandate of Palestine, and later, by Israelis.

These attacks were not all directly connected with the "mainstream" pre-Statehood Jewish leadership, who condemned these attacks publicly, and often extradicted their members. Strong ties remained, though, between the formal Jewish leadership and its underground counterparts. See also: terrorism against Israel.

Pre-Statehood Jewish terrorism

In the 1940s, two Jewish underground organizations, the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern gang, were responsible for a number of terrorist acts:

The King David Hotel bombing on July 26, 1946, killing 91.
The bombing of the British Embassy in Rome, also in 1946.
Assassinated British minister Lord Moyne in Cairo in 1944 for his refusal to allow Jews to flee from the Holocaust into Palestine during World War II.
Assassinated the UN mediator Count Bernadotte in September, 1948 for his allegedly pro-Arabic conduct during the cease-fire negotiations.
Are claimed to be responsible for the massacres of hundreds of Arab villagers and the forced exile of thousands. In particular, on April 9th, 1948 a military operation at Deir Yassin.
In 1947, killed two British hostages, sergeants who had been taken prisoner and later killed in response to British refusal to cancel the death sentence of two Jewish activists in Akko prison. Also, killed several suspected collaborators with the Haganah and the British mandate government.
Attacked British military airfields and railways several times in 1946.
Destroyed bridges over the Jordan River.
Dozens of massacres before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, see List of massacres committed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war by both parties to the conflict.

Actions following the establishment of the State of Israel

Qibya massacre, carried out among others by Unit 101 under the command of Ariel Sharon. It lead to the death of almost 70 civilians.
Operation Suzannah (also known as the Lavon Affair), conducted in 1954. Conducted by an Israeli intelligence agency, it was an attempt to thwart Egypt's relations with the West by bombing selected Western targets in that country.
Kfar Kassem massacre, carried out by the Israeli border police in 1956. Altogether 49 Israeli Arab civilians were killed, including 11 children.
In numerous cases during the al-Aqsa Intifada, Israel has assassinated individuals involved in violence against Israeli civilians that have been employed by the Palestinian Authority security forces and terrorist organisations including, the Fatah, Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad. Most of these assassinated people have publicly stated (before, not after their assassination) that they were behind terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians. Israel has asked the Palestinian Authority numerous times to either arrest them or extradict them; the Authority never did either. Palestinians have claimed this constitutes terrorism, due to the many civilians killed as a result of this policy; Israel on the other hand declares all killings were due to a specific security alert, intended to prevent the deaths of many more civilians and as a result of the Palestinian Authority's total failure to accept responsibility.

Actions by Israeli allies

The Sabra and Shatila massacre occurred on September 16th to 18th, 1982, during the Lebanese civil war; it was carried out by Lebanese Christian soldiers, in a zone surrounded by Israeli army. Casualties were in the thousands, though no exact number has ever been known.

An Israeli investigation found a number of officials (including the Defense Minister of that time, Ariel Sharon) "indirectly responsible" for the massacre, as they allowed the entry of Christian soldiers into the camps. This was done despite a documented history of abusive, murderous acts by the Lebanese Christian Militias. Many Arabs claim that there was an Israeli conspiracy with intent to carry out the massacre, although no evidence has been uncovered to support this claim.

Additional Reading

The Case for Israel By Alan Dershowitz ISBN: 047146502X Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Israeli terrorism (original) (raw)

Pre-Statehood Jewish terrorism

Actions following the establishment of the State of Israel

Actions by Israeli allies

Additional Reading

External links