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From: mokhtar@ubc-vision.UUCP (Farzin Mokhtarian)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Haganah and terrorists
Message-ID: <97@ubc-vision.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 23:59:50 EST
Article-I.D.: ubc-visi.97
Posted: Mon Mar 10 23:59:50 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Mar-86 03:10:44 EST
Organization: UBC Computational Vision Lab, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 38

Subject: Haganah and terrorists

> The massacre at Dir Yassin was carried out by the Irgun and Stern
> forces in an attempt to outflank the Haganah, which considered Dir
> Yassin a friendly village (check any military history of the Israeli War
> of Independence). Jewish political leaders associated with the Haganah
> uniformly condemned the Irgun-Stern murderers.      [Adam Reed]

Indeed. After the full extent of the brutality displayed in Deir Yassin was
known, David Shaltiel, the Haganah commander in Jerusalem, issued a statement
in which he said:
  
"The splinter groups did not launch a military operation ... they chose one
 of the quiet villages in the area that had not been connected with any of
 the gang attacks since the start of the present campaign; one of the few
 villages that has not let foreign gangs in.
 For a full day, Etzel and LEHI soldiers stood and slaughtered men, women and
 children, not in the course of operation, but in a premediated act which had
 as its intention slaughter and murder only. They also took spoils and when
 they finished their work, they fled."
(See: Terror out of Zion, J. Bowyer-Bell, St. Martin's Press, New York 1977)

In response to Shaltiel's statement, Irgun released a letter by Shaltiel to
the Irgun and Stern gang leaders in which he had said:

"I learn that you plan an attack on Deir Yassin. I wish to point out that the
 capture of Deir Yassin and its holding are one stage in our general plan. I
 have no objection to your carrying out the operation provided you are able
 to hold the village."

It was learned later that twenty Haganah soldiers had participated in the
attack.
        -- Farzin Mokhtarian
	   
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"We will wrestle with God and with death,
 We will welcome the Redeemer of Zion."