List of attacks against Israeli civilians before 1967

Objections by the Arab population to the planned creation of a Jewish state in Palestine included violent means, such as anti-Jewish riots in 1920-21, the of 1929, in Hebron and Safed, the Arab Revolt of 1936-39 during which the Tiberias massacre occurred. In the leadup to the partition of the country, terrorism was not infrequent, on both sides, and within both sides. In the Arab Revolt, for 1939 alone, substantially more Arabs than Jews were killed by Arab terrorists [Esco Foundation,"Palestine: A Study of Jewish, Arab and British Policies", Yale University Press 1947 vol.2 pp.876-880, cited Noam Chomsky "Peace in the Middle east?" 1974 p.173 n.19] . Jewish undergrounds groups like the Irgun and Stern gang also engaged in widespread terrorism. With the outbreak of the joint Arab invasion and the State of Israel, over 700,000 Palestinians fled from their lands and villages into exile [Benny Morris, "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited", Cambridge University Press, Cambridge England 2004 provides the most up-to-date breakdown of the reasons for the flight] This article deals only with acts of political violence or terrorism against Israelis after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 but before 1967.

Pre-1967 Six Day War

Prior to Israel's capture of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six Day War in 1967 these areas, originally destined for a Palestinian state, were under Egyptian (in the case of the Gaza Strip) and Jordanian (in the case of the West Bank) occupation. Palestinians crossing the border for a variety of reasons, primarily efforts to return to their homes from which they had been forcefully expelled by Zionist armed forces in the 1948 war, to harvest food or visit relatives, in a small percentage of cases for organized attacks. This resulted in confrontations with Israeli military and border guards, from 1949 to 1956 about 500 Israelis died, half of them "combatants," and between 2,800 and 5,000 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli armed forces (see Israel's Border Wars 1949-1956, by Benny Morris). Simultaneously, a variety of Israeli military attacks targeted the civilians, fedayeen, Egyptian and Jordanian military forces in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jordan. Israeli military attacks on the Egyptian military provoked it into organizing Palestinian fedayeen for counter attacks from the Gaza Strip.

A number of fedayeen attacks deliberately targeted civilians, causing many deaths and serious injuries and disrupting daily life. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs [cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Which+Came+First-+Terrorism+or+Occupation+-+Major.htm
title=Which Came First- Terrorism or Occupation - Major Arab Terrorist Attacks against Israelis Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War | date=31 March 2002 | publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ] describes the following events as terrorist attacks:

Border conflict, 1949-1956

* Jan 1, 1952 - Seven armed gunmen attacked and killed a nineteen year-old girl in her home, in the neighborhood of Beit Yisrael, in Jerusalem. The Mixed Armistice on investigation found that the case against Jordanian infiltrators could not be substantiated.

December 31 1951/ Jan 1 1952 a rape murder occurred. The MAC investigating officer, Major Loreaux, reported that the body of the girl had been found hidden in a cave about a mile from the Jordan border, the girl had been raped and murdered her face had been mutilated. Nothing, however, had been found to indicate that Jordanians had committed this atrocity. The case had not been discussed by the Commission. Major Loreaux expressed the opinion that the Israeli police would have a better chance of finding the killer than the Arabs would. [ [http://ia301304.us.archive.org/3/items/violenttrucearab006617mbp/violenttrucearab006617mbp.pdf E H Hutchison “Violent Truce”] ]

The incident was used as pretext for the Israeli “reprisal raid” at Beit Jalla on January 6, 1952

* Apr 14, 1953 - Terrorists tried for the first time to infiltrate Israel by sea, but were unsuccessful. One of the boats was intercepted and the other boat escaped.

* June 7, 1953 - A youngster was killed and three others were wounded, in a shooting attacks on residential areas in southern Jerusalem.

* June 9, 1953 - Terrorists attacked a farming community near Lod, and killed one of the residents. The terrorists threw hand grenades and sprayed gunfire in all directions. On the same night, another group of terrorists attacked a house in the town of Hadera. This occurred a day after Israel and Jordan signed an agreement, with UN mediation, in which Jordan undertook to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel from Jordanian territory.

* June 10, 1953 - Terrorists infiltrating from Jordan destroyed a house in the farming village of Mishmar Ayalon.

* June 11, 1953 - Terrorists attacked a young couple in their home in Kfar Hess, and shot them to death.

* Sept 2, 1953 - Terrorists infiltrated from Jordan, and reached the neighborhood of Katamon, in the heart of Jerusalem. They threw hand grenades in all directions. No one was hurt.

* Mar 17, 1954 - Alleged terrorists ambushed a bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv, and opened fire at short range when the bus reached the area of Ma'ale Akrabim (Scorpion Pass) in the northern Negev. In the initial ambush, the alleged terrorists killed the driver and wounded most of the passengers. The alleged terrorists then boarded the bus, and shot each passenger, one by one. Eleven passengers were murdered. Survivors recounted how the murderers spat on the bodies and abused them. The massacre was apparently reprisal raid conducted by members of a Bedouin tribe expelled from the al-Auja region of the Sinai three and a half years earlier. [Kennet Love, "Suez", New York 1969, cited Noam Chomsky "Peace in the Middle east?", (1974) 1975 p.166 n.20] [E H Hutchison “Violent Truce” p. 66-69] [ [http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/7121d70719d01c5e05256728006a84b1!OpenDocument Report dated 19 June 1954 by the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine to the Secretary-General concerning the Scorpion Pass incident UN Doc S/3252] ]

* Jan 2, 1955 - Terrorists attacked and killed 2 hikers in the Judean Desert.

* Mar 24, 1955 - Gunmen threw hand grenades and opened fire on a crowd at a wedding in the farming community of Patish, in the Negev. A young woman was killed, and eighteen people were wounded in the attack.

* Apr 7, 1956 - A resident of Ashkelon was killed in her home, when terrorists threw three hand grenades into her house. Two members of kibbutz Givat Haim were killed, when terrorists opened fire on their car, on the road from Plugot Junction to Mishmar HaNegev. There were further hand grenade and shooting attacks on homes and cars, in areas such as Nitzanim and Ketziot. One person was killed and three others wounded.

* Apr 11, 1956 - Gunmen opened fire on a synagogue full of children and teenagers, in the farming community of Shafrir. Three children and a youth worker were killed on the spot, and five were wounded, including three seriously.

* Apr 29, 1956 - Egyptians killed Roi Rotenberg, 21 years of age, from Nahal Oz.

* Sept 12, 1956 - Terrorists killed three Druze guards at Ein Ofarim, in the Arabah region.

* Sept 23, 1956 - Gunmen opened fire from a Jordanian position, and killed four archaeologists, and wounded sixteen others, near kibbutz Ramat Rachel.

* Sept 24, 1956 - Terrorists killed a girl in the fields of the farming community of Aminadav, near Jerusalem.

* Oct 4, 1956 - Five Israeli workers were killed in Sdom.

* Oct 9, 1956 - Two workers were killed in an orchard of the youth village, Neve Hadassah, in the Sharon region.

uez Crisis, October 1956-March 1957

* Nov 8, 1956 - Gunmen opened fire on a train, attacked cars and blew up wells, in the North and Center of Israel. Six Israelis were wounded.

* Feb 18, 1957 - Two civilians were killed by landmines, next to Nir Yitzhak, on the southern border of the Gaza Strip.

* Mar 8, 1957 - A shepherd from kibbutz Beit Guvrin was killed by terrorists in a field near the kibbutz.

Border conflict, 1957-1967

* Apr 16, 1957 - Terrorists infiltrated from Jordan, and killed two guards at Kibbutz Mesilot.

* May 20, 1957 - A gunman opened fire on a truck in the Arava region, killing a worker.

* May 29, 1957 - A tractor driver was killed and two others wounded, when the vehicle struck a landmine, next to kibbutz Kissufim.

* June 23, 1957 - Israelis were wounded by landmines, close to the Gaza Strip.

* Aug 23, 1957 - Two guards of the Israeli Mekorot water company were killed near Kibbutz Beit Govrin.

* Dec 21, 1957 - A member of kibbutz Gadot was killed in the Kibbutz fields.

* Feb 11, 1958 - Terrorists killed a resident of moshav Yanov who was on his way to Kfar Yona, in the Sharon area.

* Apr 5, 1958 - Terrorists lying in an ambush shot and killed two people near Tel Lakhish.

* Apr 22, 1958 - Jordanian soldiers shot and killed two fishermen near Aqaba.

* May 26, 1958 - Four Israeli police officers were killed in a Jordanian attack on Mount Scopus, in Jerusalem.

At 1654 Local time Lieutenant-Colonel Flint of the Mixed Armistice Commission was killed apparently by a single sniper round while trying to evacuate the dead and wounded Israelis from an Israeli police patrol. The Israeli police patrol was on a disputed route past the Issawiya village in the Jordanian controled area of Mount Scopus. [ [http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/b150f4c5505cda730525650000381049!OpenDocument UN Doc S/4030] of 17 June 1958, Report by the UNTSO of the Firing Incident of 26 May 1958 on Mount Scopus]

* Nov 17, 1958 - Syrian terrorists killed the wife of the British air attaché in Israel, who was staying at the guesthouse of the Italian Convent on the Mt. of the Beatitudes.

* Dec 3, 1958- A shepherd was killed at Kibbutz Gonen. In the artillery attack that followed, 31 civilians were wounded.

* Jan 23, 1959 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Lehavot HaBashan was killed.

* Feb 1, 1959 - Three civilians were killed by a terrorist landmine near Moshav Zavdiel.

* Apr 15, 1959 - A guard was killed at kibbutz Ramat Rachel.

* Apr 27, 1959 - Two hikers were shot at close range and killed near Massada.

* Oct 3, 1959 - A shepherd from kibbutz Heftziba was killed near kibbutz Yad Hana.

* Apr 26, 1960 - Terrorists killed a resident of Ashkelon south of the city.

* Apr 12, 1962 - Terrorists fired on an Egged bus on the way to Eilat; one passenger was wounded.

* Sept 30, 1962 - Two terrorists attacked an Egged bus on the way to Eilat. No one was wounded.

* Jan 1, 1965 - Palestinian militants attempted to bomb the National Water Carrier. This was the first attack carried out by the PLO's Fatah faction.

* May 31, 1965 - Jordanian Legionnaires fired on the neighborhood of Musrara in Jerusalem, killing two civilians and wounding four.

* June 1, 1965 - Terrorists attack a house in Kibbutz Yiftah.

* July 5, 1965 - A Fatah cell planted explosives at Mitzpe Massua, near Beit Guvrin; and on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem near Kafr Battir.

* Aug 26, 1965 - A waterline was sabotaged at kibbutz Manara, in the Upper Galilee.

* Sept 29, 1965 - A terrorist was killed as he attempted to attack Moshav Amatzia.

* Nov 7, 1965 - A Fatah cell that infiltrated from Jordan blew up a house in Moshav Givat Yeshayahu, south of Beit Shemesh. The house was destroyed, but the inhabitants were unhurt.

* Apr 25, 1966 - Explosions placed by terrorists wounded two civilians and damaged three houses in moshav Beit Yosef, in the Beit She'an Valley.

* May 16, 1966 - Two Israelis were killed when their jeep hit a terrorist landmine, north of the Sea of Galilee and south of Almagor. Tracks led into Syria.

* July 14, 1966 - Terrorists attacked a house in Kfar Yuval, in the North.

* July 19, 1966 - Terrorists infiltrated into Moshav Margaliot on the northern border and planted nine explosive charges.

* Oct 27, 1966 - A civilian was wounded by an explosive charge on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem.

ee also

*Arab-Israeli conflict
*Israel's Border Wars 1949-1956 (book)
*Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
*Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission

External links

* [http://ia301304.us.archive.org/3/items/violenttrucearab006617mbp/violenttrucearab006617mbp.pdf E H Hutchison “Violent Truce”]

References