Altalena Affair

Altalena Affair
	Part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
	; Altalena on fire after being shelled near Tel Aviv
Date	20 June – 23 June 1948
Location	Coast of Israel
Result	IDF victory
Belligerents
Israel Defense Forces	Irgun
Commanders and leaders
David Ben-Gurion; Yigael Yadin	Menachem Begin; Monroe Fein
Strength
unknown	800–900
Casualties and losses
3 killed	16 killed; 200+ arrested

The Altalena Affair was a violent confrontation that took place in June 1948 between the newly created Israel Defense Forces and the Irgun (also known as Etzel), one of the Jewish paramilitary groups that were in the process of merging to form the IDF. The confrontation involved a cargo ship, the Altalena, captained by ex-US Navy lieutenant Monroe Fein and led by senior Etzel commander Eliyahu Lankin, which had been loaded with weapons and fighters by the independent Irgun, but arrived during the murky period of the Irgun's absorption into the IDF. The incident brought the newfound Israel to the brink of civil war.^[1]^[2]

^ Cite error: The named reference murdered was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ravid, Barak (23 June 2011). "Underwater search for sunken Altalena ship set to begin". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 June 2011. The Altalena lay on its side in shallow water off the coast of Tel Aviv for several months, but then Ben-Gurion ordered the navy to drag it out to sea and sink it.

[murdered-1] Cite error: The named reference murdered was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[underwater-2] Ravid, Barak (23 June 2011). "Underwater search for sunken Altalena ship set to begin". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 June 2011. The Altalena lay on its side in shallow water off the coast of Tel Aviv for several months, but then Ben-Gurion ordered the navy to drag it out to sea and sink it.

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