Ma'ale Akrabim massacre
Encyclopedia
The Ma'ale Akrabim massacre was an attack on an Israel
i civilian passenger bus, carried out the night of 16–17 March 1954. Eleven passengers were shot dead by the attackers who ambushed and boarded the bus. Four passengers survived, 2 of whom had been injured by the gunmen.
, just south of Makhtesh Katan
, and roughly 60 miles south of Beersheba. The pass was on the primary route between Eilat and central Israel in 1954.
The 1948 Arab–Israeli war ended with the signing of several armistice agreements
between Israel and her neighboring Arab states, but border clashes began almost immediately after the signing agreements. On the Israeli-Jordanian border lines, infiltrations, unarmed (71%) and armed (29%), were not infrequent from both sides. According to Israeli sources, between June 1949 and the end of 1952, a total of 57 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed by infiltrators from Jordan. The Israeli death toll for the first 9 months of 1953 was 32. Over roughly the same time (November 1950 – November 1953), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
(HJK/IMAC) condemned Israeli military reprisal actions 44 times and claimed that it suffered 629 killed and injured from Israeli incursions. Similar attacks, carried out largely by Palestinian terrorists under Egyptian sponsorship, originated from across the Egyptian border and the Gaza strip. Israel historian Benny Morris
states that between 1949 and 1956 between 200 and 250 Israelis were killed by infiltrators and a similar number of Israeli soldiers were killed in action. Other sources give a total of 1,300 killed over this period. Between 2,700 and 5,000 infiltrators were killed in the same period, the great majority of whom were unarmed. A group named as the "Black Hand", composed of predominantly Bedouin from 'Azazme
and Tarrabin tribes living within the al-Auja Demilitarised zone, were known to be carrying out 'revenge raids' principally against other Bedouin, informers in the area but also against Israeli tartgets.
In the Negev, Israel embarked on development projects, which became the target of theft by Bedouin
s. Israeli security forces' shooting of these Bedouin had created blood feuds in the area.
on an unscheduled journey carrying 14 passengers made its way from Eilat to Tel Aviv
. As it was climbing up the steep grade, it was ambushed by gunmen who shot and killed the driver as well as passengers who tried to escape; they then proceeded to board the bus and shoot and pilfer from the remaining passengers. The male driver, Efraim Firstenberg, was killed, along with eight male passengers and two female passengers. The four survivors were two Israeli soldiers, a woman, and a five-year-old girl, Miri Firstenberg (whose parents were both killed in the attack), after one of the soldiers riding the bus defended her with his body.
called for restraint and diplomatic measures, as less than six months before the events, Unit 101
had attacked the village of Qibya
as part of Israel's retaliation policy, which resulted in the deaths of 69 people
and worldwide condemnation.
Israel requested that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
(HJK/IMAC) denounce Jordan for the crime. Jordan's representative to the HJK/IMAC pointed out the possibility of the atrocity being carried out by Israeli Bedouin, and HJK/IMAC Chairman, Commander Hutchinson abstained as there was no conclusive proof, resulting in no decision. As a result, Israel left the HJK/IMAC.
Hutcheson suggested that the attackers were either Gaza Bedouin or Israeli Bedouin. John Bagott Glubb suggested that the culprits were from Gaza. This theory gained credibility when, in 1956, an ID from the Ma’ale Akrabim incident was found in Gaza. Many believe that Glubb had been right and Israel wrong, and that the Ma'ale Akrabim killers had indeed come from Egyptian-controlled territory rather than Jordan.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the Ma'ale Akrabim incident as evidence that Arab terrorist attacks preceded the Israeli occupation of 1967. In 2007, a reconstructed bus was placed in the Eilat City Museum.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i civilian passenger bus, carried out the night of 16–17 March 1954. Eleven passengers were shot dead by the attackers who ambushed and boarded the bus. Four passengers survived, 2 of whom had been injured by the gunmen.
Background
Scorpions Pass is a narrow, winding grade on the old road connecting Eilat and BeershebaBeersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
, just south of Makhtesh Katan
Makhtesh Katan
HaMakhtesh HaKatan is a makhtesh, a geological erosional landform of Israel's Negev desert. One of five makhteshim in Israel, and seven in the world, it is the third largest in Israel at 5 km by 7 km. It was charted in 1942 by Jewish explorers....
, and roughly 60 miles south of Beersheba. The pass was on the primary route between Eilat and central Israel in 1954.
The 1948 Arab–Israeli war ended with the signing of several armistice agreements
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
between Israel and her neighboring Arab states, but border clashes began almost immediately after the signing agreements. On the Israeli-Jordanian border lines, infiltrations, unarmed (71%) and armed (29%), were not infrequent from both sides. According to Israeli sources, between June 1949 and the end of 1952, a total of 57 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed by infiltrators from Jordan. The Israeli death toll for the first 9 months of 1953 was 32. Over roughly the same time (November 1950 – November 1953), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations organisation of observers which dealt with complaints from Jordan and Israel to maintain the fragile cease fire along the demarcation line between Israel and Jordan...
(HJK/IMAC) condemned Israeli military reprisal actions 44 times and claimed that it suffered 629 killed and injured from Israeli incursions. Similar attacks, carried out largely by Palestinian terrorists under Egyptian sponsorship, originated from across the Egyptian border and the Gaza strip. Israel historian Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
states that between 1949 and 1956 between 200 and 250 Israelis were killed by infiltrators and a similar number of Israeli soldiers were killed in action. Other sources give a total of 1,300 killed over this period. Between 2,700 and 5,000 infiltrators were killed in the same period, the great majority of whom were unarmed. A group named as the "Black Hand", composed of predominantly Bedouin from 'Azazme
'Azazme
A Bedouin tribe whose grazing territory used to be the desert around the wells at El Auja and Bir Ain on the border between Israel and Egypt.In 1948 the 'Azazme numbered around 3,500. During 1950 the entire tribe was driven from the area around El Auja. In a series of raids the IDF burnt tents and...
and Tarrabin tribes living within the al-Auja Demilitarised zone, were known to be carrying out 'revenge raids' principally against other Bedouin, informers in the area but also against Israeli tartgets.
In the Negev, Israel embarked on development projects, which became the target of theft by Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
s. Israeli security forces' shooting of these Bedouin had created blood feuds in the area.
The attack
On the night of 16 March, a bus operated by the Egged Israel Transport Cooperative SocietyEgged Bus Cooperative
Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd , a cooperative owned by its members is the largest transit bus company in Israel. It provides about 55 % of public transport services throughout the country, employs 6,227 workers and has 2,861 buses for more than 928 service routes and 3,103...
on an unscheduled journey carrying 14 passengers made its way from Eilat to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. As it was climbing up the steep grade, it was ambushed by gunmen who shot and killed the driver as well as passengers who tried to escape; they then proceeded to board the bus and shoot and pilfer from the remaining passengers. The male driver, Efraim Firstenberg, was killed, along with eight male passengers and two female passengers. The four survivors were two Israeli soldiers, a woman, and a five-year-old girl, Miri Firstenberg (whose parents were both killed in the attack), after one of the soldiers riding the bus defended her with his body.
Fatalities
|
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with... Tel Aviv Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with... |
Tracking
The next day, Israeli trackers assisted by police dogs and accompanied by UN observers followed the attackers' tracks to a point 6 miles west of the Jordanian border, where the tracks were lost. Relying on informants, Israeli intelligence sources named 3 suspects from the Jordanian village of Safi as the perpetrators and Lt. Colonel Shalev passed the names to Elmo Hutchison. The Jordanians continued in their endeavours to discover the perpetrators of the attack.Aftermath
Despite public outcry and call for military retaliation against Jordan, Israel's prime minister Moshe SharettMoshe Sharett
Moshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:...
called for restraint and diplomatic measures, as less than six months before the events, Unit 101
Unit 101
Unit 101 was a special forces unit of the Israeli Defense Forces , founded and commanded by Ariel Sharon on orders from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in August 1953...
had attacked the village of Qibya
Qibya
Qibya is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, located northwest of Ramallah and exactly north of the large Israeli city of Modi'in. It is part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, and according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 4,901 in...
as part of Israel's retaliation policy, which resulted in the deaths of 69 people
Qibya massacre
The Qibya massacre, also known as the Qibya incident, occurred in October 1953 when Israeli troops under Ariel Sharon attacked the village of Qibya in the West Bank. Sixty-nine Palestinian Arabs, two thirds of them women and children were killed. Forty-five houses, a school, and a mosque were...
and worldwide condemnation.
Israel requested that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations organisation of observers which dealt with complaints from Jordan and Israel to maintain the fragile cease fire along the demarcation line between Israel and Jordan...
(HJK/IMAC) denounce Jordan for the crime. Jordan's representative to the HJK/IMAC pointed out the possibility of the atrocity being carried out by Israeli Bedouin, and HJK/IMAC Chairman, Commander Hutchinson abstained as there was no conclusive proof, resulting in no decision. As a result, Israel left the HJK/IMAC.
Hutcheson suggested that the attackers were either Gaza Bedouin or Israeli Bedouin. John Bagott Glubb suggested that the culprits were from Gaza. This theory gained credibility when, in 1956, an ID from the Ma’ale Akrabim incident was found in Gaza. Many believe that Glubb had been right and Israel wrong, and that the Ma'ale Akrabim killers had indeed come from Egyptian-controlled territory rather than Jordan.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the Ma'ale Akrabim incident as evidence that Arab terrorist attacks preceded the Israeli occupation of 1967. In 2007, a reconstructed bus was placed in the Eilat City Museum.