Open Writing

There were four militant, armed organisations in Palestine, the biggest being the Haganah, estimated at being about 70,000 strong. They had a well-armed section called the Palmach, that they used as a strike force. A few thousand more militant members broke away and formed the Irgun Zvai Leumi, who specialised in sabotage. Yet a fourth group, even more militant, was the Stem Gang, whose expertise was assassination and cold-blooded murder.

A Jew once explained to me that the Haganah was only a Defence Force; in fact, they were more than that, carrying out acts of terrorism and fully aware of similar acts by the others.

The main target of all of them was the British Army. It seemed to us that, at this stage anyway, the Arabs were of lesser importance in their eyes, although there were skirmishes.

Near the Army camp at Petah Tiqfa, a Jew riding home on his bicycle was ambushed, shot by Arabs and killed. Another, trying to run away, was also killed. That night, a nearby Arab village was attacked by the Jews in retaliation. Two Arabs were killed and two women wounded.

A favourite tactic was to lay a mine at the side of the road with a long wire leading to cover. When an Army vehicle came along, a plunger was pushed, blowing up the vehicle while the terrorists made their escape. On one occasion when the Palestine Police were on hand, I went along with them and their Doberman Pinscher tracking dogs, who soon picked up the scent and led us to a Jewish settlement. Interrogation led nowhere, for nobody had seen anyone nor heard anything. Almost daily jeeps and trucks were blown up and casualties were being suffered.

The Irgun Zvai Leumi, or the IZL, as we called them, blew up the Army Headquarters in the King David Hotel, Jerusalem. Milk churns were delivered to the building; the chums exploded. Six floors collapsed, 91 people were killed, including Arabs and Jews, and many were injured. There was a massive search by the Army, and many members of the illegal organisations were arrested.

This increased the terrorist attacks. The railway lines were blown up in over 150 places. The railways were at a standstill. The terrorists went on a rampage with explosives, attacking police stations, radar stations, airfields, the Haifa oil refinery, trains, and Army camps, when grenades were thrown into them. They were raked with small arms fire at night.

Once I happened to be in the camp at Petah Tiqfa when, sitting in my room at night, there was suddenly the sound of small arms fire. Being an easy target behind the window next to the lamp on the table, I dived for the floor as bullets sprayed the outside walls and broke some windows. The Petah Tiqfa camp also had an airstrip, which was attacked with bombs, while on another occasion two mines were exploded outside the camp gates.

One night, when entering the road leading up to the top of Mount Carmel, we had to stop our jeep when we ran into the middle of a small battle, with the sound of continuous firing coming from an Army camp alongside the road. After waiting for about ten minutes, I walked across the road and entered the camp. In the darkness I saw a Sergeant and asked who was in charge.

"I am, Sir. About twenty minutes ago, two grenades were thrown into our camp, followed by machine gun fire. I got some of the men out and returned the fire."

They were firing hopefully but blindly into the darkness. They were really enjoying themselves and it seemed a shame to stop them 'having a go', but they were all firing into the bank of the hillside, which by now, would have received enough lead to start a mine.

"Where are the officers?" I asked him, "Aren't there any about?"

"No, I haven't seen any, Sir."

"In that case, tell the lads to cease fire. The terrorists are either dead or, more likely, half way to Tel Aviv by now, wouldn't you think?"

"Yes, Sir. Let's hope they are dead." He yelled to them to cease fire.

"Better get them to clean their weapons, Sergeant, then inspect them. Did you say that it was you who called the men out to return the fire?"

“Yes, Sir, that's right."

"Well done, Sergeant: you did well; bloody good effort. Good night."

"Thank you, Sir, good night."

I continued my journey up the hill. It was another small, yet typical incident. Some were far more serious, as when the Stern Gang murdered seven men of the 6th Airborne. The Stern Gang specialised in murderous assassinations. It was they who assassinated the United Nations' Representative in Palestine, Count Bernadotte, and it was they who sent a party to Italy and blew up the British Embassy in Rome. They also blew up the oil refinery in Haifa.

Kidnapping was also carried out against the British. Seven officers were kidnapped from the Officers' Club, but later released. A British judge was taken, also an ex-Army officer, while in another incident, a British officer and three NCOs were kidnapped and then flogged by the Jews.

The worst case of all was the kidnapping of two British Sergeants, Mervyn Paice and Clifford Martin, by the IZL. They were imprisoned under appallingly claustrophobic conditions in a small, underground concrete cell in complete darkness. A fortnight later they were found dead, hanging from eucalyptus trees with hoods over their heads and with their hands tied behind their backs. One body had a notice on it reading, 'This is the sentence of Irgun's high tribunal'. The IZL had booby-trapped the bodies. When they were taken down, a mine exploded, wounding those carrying out the task.

The Irgun Zvai Leumi officer in charge of this horrific act of butchery was later rewarded by appointment to an Israeli Cabinet post. The incident caused outrage in the British newspapers. Even the Jewish Agency and the Haganah professed to be shocked. The terrorists' atrocities were widespread and the casualties, killed and wounded, among the British soldiers were steadily mounting.