1948 in Mandatory Palestine

1948 in Mandatory Palestine
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See also: 1948 in the United Kingdom Other events of 1948

Events in the year 1948 in the British Mandate of Palestine.

Incumbents

• High Commissioner – Sir Alan Cunningham

Events

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2010)

Car bomb explosion on Ben Yehuda Street, Jerusalem

, 22 February 1948

• 5 January – The Haganah bombs the Semiramis Hotel in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, killing 24 or 26 people.^[1]
• 2 February – Three people are killed in a bombing in the Palestine Post (now the Jerusalem Post) building.
• 2 February –
  1948 Ben Yehuda Street Bombing: Three British Army trucks, led by an armoured car driven by Arab irregulars and British deserters, explode on Ben Yehuda Street, Jerusalem, killing 58 Jewish civilians and injuring 140.^[2][3]
• 15 February – The first issue of the Hebrew language daily tabloid Maariv is published.
• 28 February – The Carmeli Brigade and Golani Brigade are formed.
• 2 March – Haganah forces carry out bombing raids on Jezreel Valley railway, which significantly damaged it.
• 6 March – Fawzi al-Qawuqji, the field commander of the Arab Liberation Army, crosses the Allenby Bridge with his troops, which includes approximately 500 soldiers.
• 11 March – The
  Haj Mohammed Amin al-Husseini
  ; twelve people are killed.
• 17 March 1947 – The Jewish Agency Press Office at 5 Ben Yehuda Street is bombed by John Hanson (Jack) May, a Palestine Police officer, in retribution for the deaths of colleagues and in response to a Palestine Post article by American commentator Ben Hecht, who wrote that he had "a little holiday in (his) heart when he heard of each British death". The bomb caused significant property damage, but as it was planted in the evening, when the offices were empty, there were no deaths or injuries.
• 30 March –
  Operation Hashmed: Haganah clearance of the Isdud–Yibna
  road.
• 4–5 April – Haganah clearance of villages around Haifa–Jenin road.
• 5–20 April –
  road to Jerusalem
  .
• 9 April – The
  blockade of Jerusalem.^[5]
• 10 April – The founding of the moshav Bror Hayil.
• 12–16 April – Battle in Ramat Yohanan between Druze and Haganah forces, leading to a Druze–Haganah alliance.
• 13 April – The Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
• 15–21 April – Operation Harel:^[6][7] Haganah clearance of Arab forces northeast of the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem road.
• 15 April – Operation Yiftach: Haganah/Palmach capture of Safed and other villages in the eastern Galilee
• 21–22 April – Operation Bi'ur Hametz: Haganah capture of Haifa.
• 22 April–2 May – Operation Yevusi:^[8] Haganah capture of buildings in Jerusalem's Jewish neighborhoods.
• 25–27 April – Battle of Manshiyya: Irgun attack on the Manshiyya neighborhood of Jaffa, leading to British intervention.
• 27 April– 13 May – Operation Hametz: Haganah capture villages east of Jaffa.
• 3–4 May – Operation Matateh (part of Operation Yiftach): opening up Tiberias–Metula by Palmach forces.
• 6–12 May –
  Battle of Safed (part of Operation Yiftach): Capture of Safed by Palmach
  forces.
• 8 May –
  Operation Maccabi: Haganah opening up the corridor to Jerusalem
  .
• 10–15 May – Operation Barak: Capturing areas under responsibility of Givati Brigade.
• 11 May – Operation Gideon: Haganah capture of the Beit She'an and surrounding area.
• 13 May –
  Jews, including 21 women, are killed in the battles of 12–13 May and the subsequent massacre.^[9] Only three men and one woman survive.^[10] The following day, the three other kibbutzim surrender and the prisoners are taken as POWs by the Arab Legion and held by Jordan for a year before being released.^[11]
• 13–14 May – Operation Ben-Ami: Capture of Acre and the coast up to the Lebanese border.
• 13 May –
  Operation Schfifon
  : Capture of buildings abandoned by British troops in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• 13 May –
  nurses
  , are killed in the attack.
• 14 May – The
  Declaration of Independence of Israel is made in Tel Aviv, the day before the British Mandate of Palestine
  is due to expire.
• 15 May – At midnight between 14 and 15 May, the British Mandate is officially terminated and the State of Israel comes into being.

• 
  Haganah soldier in

  Al-Qastal

  , 5 April 1948.
• 
  Palestinian Arab refugees, 1948

Notable births

• 15 January; Avishay Braverman, Israeli economist and politician and president of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
• 17 January; David Witzthum, Israeli television presenter, editor, and lecturer.
• 24 March; Shraga Bar, Israeli footballer.
• 4 April; Michael Kleiner, Israeli politician.
• 8 April; Esther Salmovitz, Israeli lawyer and politician.
• 3 May; Amikam Balshan, Israeli chess master.

Notable deaths

• 8 April – Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Palestinian Arab military commander, killed in battle.
• 13 April – Chaim Yassky, Jewish physician and medical administrator, killed in the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.

References