Balad al-Shaykh massacre: Difference between revisions

Balad al-Shaykh massacre
Balad al-Shaykh massacre
Location	Balad al-Sheikh
Coordinates	32°46′21″N 35°02′34″E / 32.7725°N 35.0427°E
Date	December 31, 1947 – January 1, 1948; 76 years ago
Target	Palestinian Arab civilians
Deaths	60–70 Arab villagers, 2 Haganah soldiers
Injured	41 Arab villagers,[citation needed] 2 Haganah soldiers
Perpetrators	Haganah

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The Balad al-Shaykh massacre^[f] was the killing of a large number of Palestinians by the Haganah in the village of Balad al-Shaykh during the early stages of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine. It was one of the largest, and earliest, massacres during the 1948 Palestine war.

Between 60 and 70 Arab villagers were killed in the attack, which was conducted as a retaliation to the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre.^[1] The killings had a significant effect on morale amongst Palestinian civilians in the Haifa region and contributed to the 1947-1949 Palestinian expulsion and flight.

Background

The incident was part of the 1947–1948 civil war between Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was preceded by a number of violent incidents, perpetrated one in retaliation for the other. The first major reprisal against the village of Balad al-Shaykh took place on the 12 December, following sporadic Arab firing at traffic through Wadi Rushmiya. Haganah forces killed 6 villagers.^[2]

The Haifa Oil Refinery massacre took place on 30 December 1947, the day before the second Balad al-Shaykh attack.^[3] In this case, it was the Zionist paramilitary group, the Irgun, which threw a number of grenades at a crowd of some 100 Arab day laborers who had gathered outside the main gate of the British-owned Haifa oil refinery looking for work, resulting in 6 deaths and 42 wounded.^[3] Arab refinery workers and others attacked Jewish workers, killing 39 of them.^[4]

The conclusion of a committee of inquiry established by the Jewish community of Haifa was that the Arab attack was unpremeditated, being a response to the Irgun assault. The Jewish Agency condemned the same group for what it called an 'act of madness' that was responsible for the catastrophic loss of Jewish lives. At the same time, it authorized the Haganah to undertake an operation of retaliation.^[5]

Incident

On the night of December 31, 1947, to January 1, 1948, the Palmach, an arm of the Haganah, attacked the town of Balad al-Shaykh while the residents were asleep, firing from the slopes of Mount Carmel.^[4]

Israeli historian Benny Morris writes:

The Haganah massively retaliated on the night of 31 December 1947 - 1 January 1948 raiding the villages of Balad al Sheikh and Hawassa, in which many of the refinery's workers lived. The raiding unit's orders were to 'kill maximum adult males'. The raiders penetrated to the center of Balad al Sheikh, fired into and blew up houses, and pulled out adult males, and shot them. According to the HGS, 'the penetrating units... were forced to deviate from the line agreed upon and in a few cases hit women and children' after being fired upon from inside houses. The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured. Haganah reports put Arab casualties variously at 'about 70 killed', and 21 killed ('including two women and five children') and 41 injured.^[6]

According to Zachary Lockman, about 60 men, women and children were killed and several dozen houses were blown up.^[5]

Legacy

The land of the former village is today part of the Israeli town of Nesher.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Golani, M.; Manna, A. (2011). وجها العملة: الاستقلال والنكبة: Independence and Nakba, 1948 : Two Narratives of the 1948 War and Its Outcome. Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation Series (in Arabic). Republic of Letters. p. 66. ISBN 978-90-8979-080-4. Retrieved 2021-12-12. During the latter attack, 70 village residents – including men, women and children – were murdered in their homes, and in some cases in their beds, by Palmach members who managed to surprise the villages toward daybreak.
^ Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p.100.
^ ^a ^b Pappé, 1999, p. 119.
^ ^a ^b Benny Morris, 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, Yale University Press, p.406.
^ ^a ^b Lockman (1996), p. 353.
^ Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p.100.

^ Golani & Manna 2011, "70 village residents – including men, women and children – were murdered in their homes"
^ Lockman 1996, "The Jewish attackers killed some sixty men, women, and children and destroyed several houses."
^ Pappé 2006, "Over sixty Palestinians dead"
^ Morris 2004, "The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured."
^ Morris 2004, "The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured."
^ Also spelled Balad al-Sheikh

Bibliography

Lockman, Zachary (1996). Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948. University of California Press. p. 353. ISBN 978-0-520-91749-1. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
Morris, Benny (2003). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00967-7
Pappé, Ilan (1999), The Israel/Palestine Question, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-16947-9
'The British Withdrawal From Palestine: Possible Advance Of Date By Six Weeks, 17 Killed In Attack On Arab Village', The Times, Friday, January 2, 1948; pg. 4; Issue 50958; col A.

External links

Haifa Refinery Riots from MidEastWeb

[Golani_Manna_2011_p._66-7] Golani, M.; Manna, A. (2011). وجها العملة: الاستقلال والنكبة: Independence and Nakba, 1948 : Two Narratives of the 1948 War and Its Outcome. Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation Series (in Arabic). Republic of Letters. p. 66. ISBN 978-90-8979-080-4. Retrieved 2021-12-12. During the latter attack, 70 village residents – including men, women and children – were murdered in their homes, and in some cases in their beds, by Palmach members who managed to surprise the villages toward daybreak.

[8] Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p.100.

[Pappe119-9] Pappé, 1999, p. 119.

[Morris406-10] Benny Morris, 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, Yale University Press, p.406.

[Lockman-11] Lockman (1996), p. 353.

[12] Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p.100.

[1] Golani & Manna 2011, "70 village residents – including men, women and children – were murdered in their homes"

[2] Lockman 1996, "The Jewish attackers killed some sixty men, women, and children and destroyed several houses."

[3] Pappé 2006, "Over sixty Palestinians dead"

[4] Morris 2004, "The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured."

[5] Morris 2004, "The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured."

[6] Also spelled Balad al-Sheikh

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
 {{Infobox civilian attack
-|title      = Balad al-Shaykh massacre
+| title            = Balad al-Shaykh massacre
-|image=
+| image            =
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+| image_size       =
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+| alt              =
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+| caption          =
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+| map              =
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+| map_size         =
-|map_alt=
+| map_alt          =
-|map_caption=
+| map_caption      =
-|location   = [[Balad al-Sheikh]]
+| location         = [[Balad al-Sheikh]]
-|target     = Arab civilians
+| target           = [[Palestinian Arab]] civilians
+| coordinates      = {{Coord|32.7725|35.0427|region:PS_type:event|display=it}}
-|coordinates=
-|date       = {{start date|1947|12|31}} - {{end date and age|1948|1|1}}
+| date             = {{start date|1947|12|31}} – {{end date and age|1948|1|1}}
-|time=
+| time             =
-|type=
+| type             =
+| fatalities       = 60–70 Arab villagers,{{efn|Golani & Manna 2011, "70 village residents – including men, women and children – were murdered in their homes"}}{{efn|Lockman 1996, "The Jewish attackers killed some sixty men, women, and children and destroyed several houses."}}{{efn|Pappé 2006, "Over sixty Palestinians dead"}} 2 Haganah soldiers{{efn|Morris 2004, "The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured."}}
-|fatalities = 9<ref name=Kew/>-70<ref name=Morris101/> Arabs, 3 Jews<ref name=Kew/>
+| injuries         = 41 Arab villagers,{{cn|date=August 2024}} 2 Haganah soldiers{{efn|Morris 2004, "The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured."}}
-|injuries   = 30<ref name=Kew/>-41<ref name=Morris101/> Arabs, 2 Jews<ref name=Kew/>
-|victim=
+| victim           =
-|perps      = [[Haganah]]
+| perps            = [[Haganah]]
-|perp=
+| perp             =
-|susperps=
+| susperps         =
-|susperp=
+| susperp          =
-|weapons=
+| weapons          =
-|numparts=
+| numparts         =
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+| numpart          =
-|dfens=
+| dfens            =
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+| dfen             =
 }}
-{{Lead too short|date=February 2021}}
+{{Nakba}}
-[[Balad al-Sheikh|Balad al-Shaykh]] was a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian Arab]] village that suffered a massacre during the [[1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine]].
+The '''Balad al-Shaykh massacre'''{{efn|Also spelled ''Balad al-Sheikh''}} was the killing of a large number of [[Palestinian]]s by the [[Haganah]] in the village of [[Balad al-Shaykh]] during the early stages of the [[1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine]]. It was one of the [[Killings_and_massacres_during_the_1948_Palestine_war#List|largest, and earliest, massacres]] during the [[1948 Palestine war]].
+Between 60 and 70 Arab villagers were killed in the attack, which was conducted as a retaliation to the [[Haifa Oil Refinery massacre]].<ref name="Golani Manna 2011 p. 66">{{cite book | last1=Golani | first1=M. | last2=Manna | first2=A. | title=وجها العملة: الاستقلال والنكبة: Independence and Nakba, 1948 : Two Narratives of the 1948 War and Its Outcome | publisher=Republic of Letters | series=Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation Series | year=2011 | isbn=978-90-8979-080-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_-FBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 | language=ar | access-date=2021-12-12 | page=66 | quote= During the latter attack, 70 village residents – including men, women and children – were murdered in their homes, and in some cases in their beds, by Palmach members who managed to surprise the villages toward daybreak.}}</ref> The killings had a significant effect on morale amongst Palestinian civilians in the Haifa region and contributed to the [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight | 1947-1949 Palestinian expulsion and flight]].
 ==Background==
-The incident was part of the 1947–1948 civil war between Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was preceded by a number of violent incidents, perpetrated one in retaliation for the other.
+The incident was part of the 1947–1948 civil war between Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was preceded by a number of violent incidents, perpetrated one in retaliation for the other.  The first major reprisal against the village of Balad al-Shaykh took place on the 12 December, following sporadic Arab firing at traffic through Wadi [[Romema (Haifa)|Rushmiya]]. Haganah forces killed 6 villagers.<ref>Morris, Benny (2004). ''The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited'', p.100.</ref>
-The [[Haifa Oil Refinery massacre]] took place on 30 December 1947, the day before the Balad al-Shaykh attack.<ref name=Pappe119>Pappé, 1999, p. 119.</ref> The [[Zionism|Zionist]] paramilitary group, the [[Irgun]], threw a number of grenades at a crowd of 100 [[Arab]] day laborers who had gathered outside the main gate of the British-owned Haifa Oil refinery looking for work, resulting in 6 deaths and 42 wounded.<ref name=Pappe119/> Arab refinery workers and others attacked Jewish workers, killing 39 of them.<ref name=Morris406>[[Benny Morris]], ''1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, [[Yale University Press]], p.406.</ref>
+The [[Haifa Oil Refinery massacre]] took place on 30 December 1947, the day before the second Balad al-Shaykh attack.<ref name=Pappe119>Pappé, 1999, p. 119.</ref> In this case, it was the [[Zionism|Zionist]] paramilitary group, the [[Irgun]], which threw a number of grenades at a crowd of some 100 [[Arab]] day laborers who had gathered outside the main gate of the British-owned [[Haifa oil refinery]] looking for work, resulting in 6 deaths and 42 wounded.<ref name=Pappe119/> Arab refinery workers and others attacked Jewish workers, killing 39 of them.<ref name=Morris406>[[Benny Morris]], ''1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, [[Yale University Press]], p.406.</ref>
-The conclusion by a committee of inquiry by the Jewish community of Haifa was that the Arab attack was unpremeditated, being a response to the Irgun assault. The [[Jewish Agency]] condemned the same group for what it called an 'act of madness' that was responsible for the catastrophic loss of Jewish lives. At the same time, it authorized the Haganah to undertake an operation of retaliation.<ref name=Lockman>Lockman (1996), p. 353.</ref>
+The conclusion of a committee of inquiry established by the Jewish community of Haifa was that the Arab attack was unpremeditated, being a response to the Irgun assault. The [[Jewish Agency]] condemned the same group for what it called an 'act of madness' that was responsible for the catastrophic loss of Jewish lives. At the same time, it authorized the Haganah to undertake an operation of retaliation.<ref name=Lockman>Lockman (1996), p. 353.</ref>
 ==Incident==
 On the night of December 31, 1947, to January 1, 1948, the [[Palmach]], an arm of the [[Haganah]], attacked the town of [[Balad al-Sheikh|Balad al-Shaykh]] while the residents were asleep, firing from the slopes of [[Mount Carmel]].<ref name=Morris406/>
-According to the British Mandate police files kept at [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] at [[Kew]] in [[Greater London]], on the Arab side 7 adult males and 2 children were killed, and on the Jewish (Palmach) side there were 3 fatalities.<ref name=Kew>Police reports</ref> 30 Arab villagers were injured, of which about 25 male and 5 children.<ref name=Kew/>
 Israeli historian [[Benny Morris]] writes:
-{{quote|The Haganah massively retaliated on the night of 31 December 1947 - 1 January 1948 raiding the villages of Balad al Sheikh and Hawassa, in which many of the refinery's workers lived. The raiding unit's orders were to 'kill maximum adult males'. The raiders penetrated to the center of Balad al Sheikh, fired into and blew up houses, and pulled out adult males, and shot them. According to the HGS, 'the penetrating units... were forced to deviate from the line agreed upon and in a few cases hit women and children' after being fired upon from inside houses. The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured. Haganah reports put Arab casualties variously at 'about 70 killed', and 21 killed ('including two women and five children') and 41 injured. (Morris, 2004, p. 101).<ref name=Morris101>Morris, p. 101.</ref>}}
+{{quote|The Haganah massively retaliated on the night of 31 December 1947 - 1 January 1948 raiding the villages of Balad al Sheikh and Hawassa, in which many of the refinery's workers lived. The raiding unit's orders were to 'kill maximum adult males'. The raiders penetrated to the center of Balad al Sheikh, fired into and blew up houses, and pulled out adult males, and shot them. According to the HGS, 'the penetrating units... were forced to deviate from the line agreed upon and in a few cases hit women and children' after being fired upon from inside houses. The Haganah suffered two dead and two injured. Haganah reports put Arab casualties variously at 'about 70 killed', and 21 killed ('including two women and five children') and 41 injured.<ref>Morris, Benny (2004). ''The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited'', p.100.</ref>}}
-According to Zachery Lockman, about 60 men, women and children were killed and several dozen houses were blown up.<ref name=Lockman/>
+According to Zachary Lockman, about 60 men, women and children were killed and several dozen houses were blown up.<ref name=Lockman/>
 ==Legacy==
@@ Line 58: / Line 60: @@
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+{{notelist}}
 ==Bibliography==
 {{refbegin}}
-* {{cite web |author= Criminal Investigation Department (CID), British Mandate |title= National Archive files WO 275/67, CO 537/3855 |date= 1-3 January 1948 |url= https://david-collier.com/myth-balad-al-shaykh-massacre/ |access-date= 4 March 2021}}
 * {{cite book |last= Lockman |first= Zachary |title= Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948 |page= 353 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year= 1996 |isbn= 978-0-520-91749-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OUfZdWktbTQC&pg=PA353 |access-date= 4 March 2021}}
 * [[Benny Morris|Morris, Benny]] (2003). ''The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-00967-7}}
@@ Line 70: / Line 72: @@
 ==External links==
 * [http://www.mideastweb.org/refriots.htm Haifa Refinery Riots from MidEastWeb]
 {{Massacres against Palestinians}}
+{{Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
-{{coord missing|Palestine}}
+{{nakbaend}}
 {{Authority control}}
-[[Category:1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
 [[Category:1947 in Mandatory Palestine]]
 [[Category:1948 in Mandatory Palestine]]
 [[Category:Mass murder in 1947]]
 [[Category:Mass murder in 1948]]
-[[Category:December 1947 events]]
+[[Category:December 1947 events in Asia]]
-[[Category:January 1948 events]]
+[[Category:January 1948 events in Asia]]
-[[Category:Massacres in the 1940s]]
 [[Category:History of Mandatory Palestine]]
-[[Category:Massacres in Mandatory Palestine]]
+[[Category:1948 massacres of Palestinians]]
-[[Category:Massacres of men]]
+[[Category:Israeli massacres of Palestinians]]
-[[Category:Massacres of Palestinians]]
+[[Category:Massacres committed by Israel]]

v t e Nakba
Background	Mandatory Palestine Israeli Declaration of Independence Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine New Historians Palestine Plan Dalet 1947 partition plan
Main articles	1947–1949 Palestine war 1947–1948 civil war 1948 Arab–Israeli War 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight causes UNRWA Nakba Day Nakba denial Palestine refugee camps Palestinian refugee Palestinian right of return Present absentee Transfer Committee Resolution 194
Key incidents	Battle of Haifa Deir Yassin massacre Expulsion from Lydda and Ramle
Notable writers	Aref al-Aref Yoav Gelber Efraim Karsh Walid Khalidi Nur Masalha Benny Morris Ilan Pappé Tom Segev Avraham Sela Avi Shlaim The Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem
Related categories/lists	Villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestinian exodus
Related templates	Palestinians Arab–Israeli conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Gaza–Israel conflict
The Holocaust and the Nakba