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In the 1930s and 1940s, groups within the Zionist underground in Palestine committed several acts of political violence to advance their campaign for a Jewish National Homeland in the territory of the Mandate for Palestine. These included actions by the Irgun and by the Lehi group, also known as the Stern Gang, primarily against British policemen and soldiers, but also against suspected Jewish collaborators. In the 1930s, attacks were also made against Arabs in response to attacks against Jewish communities. In the late 1940s, attacks were carried out against UN personnel. (See the list below for some examples.)

At the time, the British described such political violence as "Jewish terrorism" or "Zionist terrorism", although the latter phrase is now used as a political epithet in reference to present-day events outside that historical context.

The Haganah and Irgun suspended their activity against the British after the beginning of World War II so as not to distract the British from the fight against Nazi Germany. The Irgun resumed attacks in 1944, after the defeat of the Nazis was assured. The smaller Lehi continued anti-British attacks and direct action throughout the war.

Irgun and Lehi attacks

• 1937-1939 — A campaign of retaliatory acts of violence conducted by the Irgun against Arab civilians. More than 320 Jews were killed by Arabs during the same period.
• 1944 — The assassination of British minister Lord Moyne by Lehi in Cairo.
• 1944–1945 — The killings of several suspected collaborators with the Haganah and the British mandate government during "The Hunting Season," which, according to Yehuda Lapidot, a member of Irgun and later an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, at , was "the code-name for the Haganah's persecution of the Irgun, aimed at putting an end to its activities"
• 1946 — The bombing of British headquarters at the King David Hotel on July 26, killing 91 people — 28 Britons, 41 Arabs, 17 Jews, and five others. Around 45 people were injured. A warning was sent before the explosion.
• 1946 — Several attacks on British military airfields and railways.
• 1946 — The bombing by the Irgun of the British Embassy in Rome.
• 1947 — The reprisal killing of two British sergeants who had been taken prisoner in response to the British execution of two Irgun members in Akko prison.
• 1948 — The September assassination by Lehi of the United Nations mediator, Count Bernadotte, whom Lehi accused of taking a pro-Arab stance during the cease-fire negotiations.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

• Deir Yassin massacre, in April 1948, by Irgun and Lehi forces

See also

• Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Palestinian political violence
• Political terrorism

Reference

• J. Bowyer Bell (1977). Terror out of Zion: Irgun Zvai Leumi, LEHI, and the Palestine underground, 1929-1949. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-79205-0.

• Arab-Israeli conflict
• Zionism
• Terrorism