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1946 Attack on Jerusalem's King David Hotel

The attack on Jerusalem's King David Hotel July 22, 1946 by the underground Jewish group Irgun led, by Menachem Begin, was by far the most extraordinary terroristic act against British authority in Palestine, both for number of casualties and for its political significance. Before looking in detail at the way it was planned and executed, an overview of the historical and political background against which this event took place is important. It is equally important to look at the political conflicts involving not just the Irgun and the British government, but also the Irgun and the rest of the Jewish resistance movement at this time in the history of the birth of Israel. Doing so allows full evaluation of the consequences of this terrorist act.

Palestine in 1946 was a difficult and complex place to live in. Almost 30 years had passed since the brief moment in which most Arabs, Britons and Jews celebrated together and were united in a single emotion. On December 11, 1917, Jerusalem welcomed the arrival of British general Sir Edmund Allenby. Two days before his army had captured this city so important to Jews, Muslims and Christians throughout the world, abruptly ending four centuries of Turkish rule. The immediate future of the Middle East had already been decided in 1915 by the Sykes-Picot agreement dividing this area between England and France. The agreement was then ratified by the League of Nations in 1922. Palestine and the other Arab-populated Turkish territories became mandates and were supposed to reach independence under European tutelage. Palestine became a British mandate and remained so until 1948, after the United Nations voted to partition it into Jewish and Arab states.

The Balfour Declaration of November 1917 was a crucial moment in the history of Zionism, the political movement advocating the return of the Jews to Palestine since 1895. British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour had sent a letter to Lord Rothschild...

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1946 Attack on Jerusalem's King David Hotel. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:05, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1683602.html