What Happened?

31^st January 1948 – Palestinians belonging to Qisarya (a village south of Haifa) were travelling on the local No. 25 bus (en route to Haifa) when an electronic mine on the road exploded. The passengers were then fired upon by Lehi militants waiting in a nearby orange grove. The attack led to a death toll of 2, while 8 civilians were injured.

Israeli historian Benny Morris writes that most of Qisarya’s population fled after this attack, but the Israeli Haganah was certain that the British would counterattack and recapture the village. Over the next three weeks, the Haganah Palmach troops looted and demolished the village, leaving it in ruins forever.

References

Morris, B. (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge Middle East Studies, Series Number 18.

Pictorial and Evidence

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