Operation Agatha

June 16, 1946 went down in history as the "Night of the Bridges." Palm trees blew up eight roads and railway bridges linking Palestine with neighboring countries. On June 17, Lehi attacked the railway workers' seminars in Haifa. Shortly afterwards, Irgun abducted six British officials. One official subsequently escaped, two were released. Irgun announced that the remaining officials would only be released in exchange for the abolition of the death penalty for two members of the organization. ^[one]

For several months, the British army was militantly opposed to Zionist underground organizations, but its actions were blocked by High Commissioner Alan Cunningham, opposed to hostilities undertaken against the Jewish Agency. After Bridges Night, Cunningham changed his mind and flew to London to meet with representatives of the British cabinet and Army Chief Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery in London . Montgomery formulated a plan for Operation Agatha. Cunningham accepted it, hoping that with more militant limited Zionists it would be easier to reach a political settlement than with more moderate ( Pro -British) leaders such as Chaim Weismann .

During a radio operation, Cunningham said: “[The arrests] are not directed against the Jewish community as a whole, but exclusively against those few who are actively involved in the existing violence campaign and those responsible for inciting ...." ^[2]

The head of the Secretariat, Sir John Shaw, outlined the official purpose of the operation at a press conference in Jerusalem: “Large-scale operations were allowed to end the state of anarchy in Palestine and allow law-abiding citizens to continue their normal lives without fear of being kidnapped, killed or blown up. " The show, believing that the British should end the current situation, proposed dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and then leaving or dismantling the Jewish Agency, which should assist administrative authorities. At the same time, he secretly supported the actions of underground Zionist military organizations and approved the operation. ^[2]

The official objectives of the operation were different. It was necessary to break with the "anarchy" existing in Palestine. It was necessary to obtain documentary evidence of the approval of the Jewish Agency for the sabotage of Palmah , the alliance between Hagana and the stronger Lehi with Irgun in committing acts of violence. In addition, it was necessary to prevent a coup. In June, the leaders of the Jewish Agency and the High Command of the Haganah met with delegates of Irgun and Lehi. The representative of the latter, according to intelligence, announced his intention to ask the Yeshuvs (the Jewish population of Palestine) to participate in the coup and help "proclaim a future Jewish state and interrupt all relations with the existing Palestinian administration." Another, in connection with the "Night of the Bridges", was to break the military power of Hagana . Since Hagana seemed to be acting in collusion with Lehi and Irgun, the British authorities mistakenly believed that it was also necessary because Hagana could cooperate during the alleged coup with Irgun and Lehi. Montgomery finally declared that the operation was necessary to enhance the morale of the army. ^[2]

A group of police attacked the Jewish Agency . The total number of British security forces taking part in these raids, in different sources, varies from 10,000 to 25,000. During the operation, large military forces were involved. Low flying planes surrounded Jerusalem. Checkpoints were saved, trains stopped, passengers evacuated and sent home. Special licenses were required for technical assistance machines. A curfew was imposed; secret weapons depots were discovered. In Kibbutz Yagur, troops found more than 300 rifles, approximately 100 two-inch mortars, more than 400,000 bullets, approximately 5,000 grenades and 78 revolvers. The weapons were shown at a press conference, and all the Yagur men were arrested. ^[3] Agatha elicited an echo of the Holocaust in the minds of many people. Women tore their clothes to expose tattoos made in concentration camps. There have been cases when people were driven into cells. In response, they shouted that the Nazis did so. Some representatives of the British troops only exacerbated the situation, acting with the slogan "Heil Hitler" and scratching the swastika on the walls during searches. ^[four]

After the operation was over, the abducted British officials were released, and High Commissioner Alan Cunningham commuted the death sentences to life sentences for members of Irgun. Hagan and Palmach after persuasion refused long anti-British operations. ^[5] However, other groups, such as Lehi and Irgun Zwei Leumi, were more aggressive, continued and even intensified their attacks. ^[6] In particular, Irgun, in response to the operation, hit the south wing of the King David Hotel, which was the headquarters of the British government in Palestine (see related article ).