Zionist political violence

Terrorism inflicted on Palestinians and British by Israelis (and pre-Israelis). This is a controversial issue.

Areas to work on:

• In the 1940s, two Jewish undergrounds, the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern gang:
  • Attacked British military airfields and railways several times in 1946.
  • In 1946, bombed the King David Hotel and the British Embassy in Rome, although they reportedly issued warnings prior to the bombings.
  • In 1947, killed two British sergeants after the British authorities refused to cancel the death sentence of two of their comrades in Akko prison. Also killed several suspected collaborators with the Haganah and the British.
  • Assassinated Lord Moyne in Cairo in 1944 for his refusal to allow Jews to flee from the Holocaust into Palestine during World War II, and 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 carried out a military operation at Deir Yassin.
  • During the attacks that included hurting civilians, were not connected with the mainstream Jewish leadership, which condemned these undergrounds and extradicted their members.

• Israeli official organizations are responsible for:
  • Qibya operation, carried out among others by Unit 101 under the command of Ariel Sharon is often classified as terrorism. It lead to the death of almost 70 civilians. Others claim it was not terrorism but a tragic incident during a period of bitter border warfare between Israel, Jordan and Egypt.
  • Operation Suzannah (also known as the Lavon Affair), carried out by the Mossad in 1954. It was an attempt to undermine Egyptian relations with the West by carrying out terror attacks against Western targets in Egypt.
  • The Sabra and Chatila Massacre occured 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. Most Arabs claim that there was an Israeli conspiracy to carry out the massacre. 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.
  • In a handful of cases during the recent Intifada, Israel has assassinated self-declared freedom fighters that have been employed by the Palestinian Authority security forces, Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Most of these assassinated people have publicly stated 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.

• Non-governmental organizations
  • The Jewish Defense League and the Kach movement follow Rabbi Meir Kahane (subsequently assassinated) and support the killings carried out by Dr. Baruch Goldstein. They have also organized murders and beatings of Palestinians in the U.S.
  • In a number of cases settlers on the West Bank have attacked Palestinian civilians. In particular, the Hebron settler Dr. Baruch Goldstein associated with the Kach murdered some 30 Palestinians while they were praying on February 26, 1994. Israeli security services have arrested since a number of individuals plotting terrorist activities.
  • The above organizations are condemned by all mainstream Jewish organizations. Kach has been declared illegal by Israeli authorities. Members of the JDL have been prosecuted by the U.S. government.

See also

• Terrorism against Arabs
• Terrorism against Israel
• Palestinian terrorism
• B'Tselem

External links

• Live from Palestine
• Palestinian negotiation team
• Israeli position: 1948 Arab-Israeli War
• Israeli position: Israel and Lebanon
• Palestinian position: Israel and Lebanon
• Israeli position: Human rights in Israel and the territories

Israeli human rights organization: Human rights in Israel and the territories