Perhaps the most complicated and famous of all Irgun operations was the raid of the hitherto impenturable prison in Acre. After the British hung three of its members and the suicide of another two hours before their scheduled hanging, The Irgun sent in 23 men to raid the prison. With the help of Irgun and LEHI prisoners, this raid freed 41 underground members. Some were caught outside of the prison and some were killed in the escape. Along with the underground movement members, many Arab criminals also escaped. The operation resonated all over the world.
In retaliation for the arrest and subsequent execution of three members of the Acre rescue team, the Irgun kidnapped and then hanged two British sergeants in the forest outside of Netanya. This action caused an uproar in Britain and was condemned both there and by leaders of the Yishuv. However, it was this action, along with incident of the ship Exodus 1947 just two weeks later, that played a crucial role in finally convincing the British to leave Palestine. More importantly, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) was also heavily influenced by the Irgun’s actions.
UNSCOP’s eventual unanimous conclusion was to end the British Mandate immediately. The Irgun went quiet during the deliberations so as not to bring any negative attention on itself. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of ending the Mandate and establishing independent Arab and Israeli States on the land west of the Jordan River. That very same day the Irgun and LEHI renewed their attacks on British targets. The next day the local Arabs began attacking the Jewish community, thus began the first stage of the Israeli War of Independence.
Many more attacks and retaliations followed. The Irgun was instrumental in the liberation of some important strategic spots such as Haifa and Jaffa and in retaliatory attacks for the infamous Arab ambush and subsequent massacre of a convoy of 35 soldiers in Gush Etzion and a medical team of 77 doctors and nurses heading into Ein Karem.
Having achieved most of these goals, the group was formally dissolved and its members integrated into the newly formed Israeli Defense Forces in 1948.
For more information go to the following websites:
- http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/irguntoc.html
- http://www.etzel.org.il/english/index2.html
- http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/irgun.html
- http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9042762/Irgun-Zvai-Leumi?refresh=Y
- http://www.historama.com/online-resources/online-gallery/irgun_etzel_hebrew_revolt_war_liberation_manifesto.html
- http://www.paperlessarchives.com/irgun.html
Faith and Fate is not responsible for the content of external websites.