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{{Infobox civilian attack |
{{Infobox civilian attack |
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| title = Scorpion Pass |
| title = Scorpion Pass incident |
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| image = Maale Akrabim Massacre.jpg |
| image = Maale Akrabim Massacre.jpg |
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| caption = The bus after the |
| caption = The bus after the incident |
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| location = Scorpions Pass, south of [[Makhtesh Katan]] |
| location = Scorpions Pass, south of [[Makhtesh Katan]] |
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| date = 16/17 March 1954 |
| date = 16/17 March 1954 |
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| timezone = [[Israel Standard Time|IST]], [[UTC]] +2 |
| timezone = [[Israel Standard Time|IST]], [[UTC]] +2 |
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| type = Shooting |
| type = Shooting |
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| fatalities = |
| fatalities = 11 |
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| injuries = |
| injuries = 2 |
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| susperps = Jordanian villagers |
| susperps = By Israel Jordanian villagers By UN Bedouin tribesmen from within Israel or Gaza |
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| weapons = |
| weapons = |
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| numparts = UN suggests Israeli Bedouins. Israel names 3 Jordanians (later proved to be incorrect) |
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| numparts = 3 named |
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| dfens = |
| dfens = |
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}} |
}} |
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The ''' |
The '''Ma-aleh Akrabim incident''' was an attack on an [[Israel]]i civilian passenger bus, carried out the night of 16-17 March, 1954. 11 passengers were shot dead by the attackers who ambushed and boarded the bus. Three passengers survived, 2 were left for dead by the gunmen. |
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== Background == |
== Background == |
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== The attack == |
== The attack == |
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On the night of Match 16, a bus operated by the [[Egged Bus Cooperative|Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society]] carrying 14 passengers made its way from Eilat to [[Tel-Aviv]].<ref>Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956, p. 309, Benny Morris, Oxford University Press, 1997</ref> 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 the remaining passengers. The only |
On the night of Match 16, a bus operated by the [[Egged Bus Cooperative|Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society]] on an unscheduled journey carrying 14 passengers made its way from Eilat to [[Tel-Aviv]].<ref>Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956, p. 309, Benny Morris, Oxford University Press, 1997</ref> 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 the remaining passengers. The only three survivors were a five-year-old girl, Miri Firstenberg, after one of the soldiers riding the bus defended her with his body and two Israeli soldiers.<ref name="ohayoun">{{Cite news |
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| last = Ohayoun |
| last = Ohayoun |
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| first = Meir |
| first = Meir |
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| date = 2007-01-22 |
| date = 2007-01-22 |
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| url = http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3355452,00.html |
| url = http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3355452,00.html |
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}} {{he icon}}</ref><ref>[http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/7121d70719d01c5e05256728006a84b1!OpenDocument UN Doc S/3252 of 19 June 1954]Report dated 19 June 1954 by the Chief of Staff of the UNTSO in Palestine to the Secretary-General concerning the Scorpion Pass incident</ref> |
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}} {{he icon}}</ref> |
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== |
==Tracking== |
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[[Image:אבישי טייכר 075.jpg|thumb|widthpx|A memorial to the victims at Scorpions Pass.]] |
[[Image:אבישי טייכר 075.jpg|thumb|widthpx|A memorial to the victims at Scorpions Pass.]] |
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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.<ref name="time">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819663,00.html Massacre at Scorpion's Pass]</ref> In subsequent days, a joint Israeli-Jordanian posse managed to follow the tracks as far as 2 miles from the border.<ref name="time">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819663,00.html Massacre at Scorpion's Pass]</ref> Relying on informants, Israeli intelligence sources named 3 suspects from the Jordanian village of Safi as the perpetrators. |
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.<ref name="time">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819663,00.html Massacre at Scorpion's Pass]</ref> In subsequent days, a joint Israeli-Jordanian posse managed to follow the tracks as far as 2 miles from the border.<ref name="time">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819663,00.html Massacre at Scorpion's Pass]</ref> Relying on informants, Israeli intelligence sources incorrectly named 3 suspects from the Jordanian village of Safi as the perpetrators. |
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==Aftermath== |
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⚫ | Despite public outcry and call for military retaliation against Jordan, Israel's prime minister [[Moshe Sharett]] called for restraint and diplomatic measures. Israel requested that the Israeli-Jordanian Mixed Armistice Commission denounce Jordan for the crime. Jordan's representative to the IJMAC blamed the atrocity on Israel, and IJMAC Chairman, Commander Hutchinson abstained as there was no conclusive proof, resulting in no decision.<ref>Morris p 311</ref><ref name="S/3252 of 19 June 1954">[http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/7121d70719d01c5e05256728006a84b1!OpenDocument UN Doc S/3252 of 19 June 1954]Report dated 19 June 1954 by the Chief of Staff of the UNTSO in Palestine to the Secretary-General concerning the Scorpion Pass incident</ref> As a result, Israel left the IJMAC.<ref>Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956, p. 311, Benny Morris, Oxford University Press, 1997</ref> |
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Hutcheson suggested that the attackers were either Gaza Bedouin or Israeli Bedouin. Pasha Glubb suggested that the culprits were from Gaza, this was later confirmed when ID from the Ma’ale Akrabim incident was found in Gaza.<ref>Morris pp 311-313</ref> It appears that Glubb had been right and Israel wrong. The Ma’ale ‘Akrabim killers had indeed come from Egyptian-controlled territory rather than Jordan. |
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⚫ | Despite public outcry and call for military retaliation against Jordan, Israel's prime minister [[Moshe Sharett]] called for restraint and diplomatic measures. Israel requested that the Israeli-Jordanian Mixed Armistice Commission denounce Jordan for the crime. Jordan's representative to the IJMAC blamed the atrocity on Israel, and IJMAC Chairman, Commander Hutchinson abstained, resulting in no decision.<ref name="S/3252 of 19 June 1954">[http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/7121d70719d01c5e05256728006a84b1!OpenDocument UN Doc S/3252 of 19 June 1954]Report dated 19 June 1954 by the Chief of Staff of the UNTSO in Palestine to the Secretary-General concerning the Scorpion Pass incident</ref> As a result, Israel left the IJMAC.<ref>Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956, p. 311, Benny Morris, Oxford University Press, 1997</ref> |
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In 2007, a reconstructed bus was placed in the Eilat City Museum.<ref name="ohayoun"/> |
In 2007, a reconstructed bus was placed in the Eilat City Museum.<ref name="ohayoun"/> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==Bibliography== |
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Morris, Benny (1997) ''Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956: Arab Infiltration, Israeli Retaliation, and the Countdown to the Suez War,'' Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198292627 |
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[[Category:Israeli-Palestinian conflict]] |
[[Category:Israeli-Palestinian conflict]] |
Revision as of 07:43, 10 December 2008
Scorpion Pass incident | |
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Location | Scorpions Pass, south of Makhtesh Katan |
Date | 16/17 March 1954 (IST, UTC +2) |
Attack type | Shooting |
Deaths | 11 |
Injured | 2 |
No. of participants | UN suggests Israeli Bedouins. Israel names 3 Jordanians (later proved to be incorrect) |
The Ma-aleh Akrabim incident was an attack on an Israeli civilian passenger bus, carried out the night of 16-17 March, 1954. 11 passengers were shot dead by the attackers who ambushed and boarded the bus. Three passengers survived, 2 were left for dead by the gunmen.
Background
Scorpions Pass (Hebrew:Ma'ale 'Akrabim) is a narrow, winding grade on the old road between Eilat and Beer Sheva, just south of Makhtesh Katan, and roughly 60 miles south of Beer Sheva. The pass was on the primary route between Eilat and central Israel in 1954.
The 1948 Palestine 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, armed or otherwise, 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.[1] Over roughly the same time (November 1950-November 1953), the Israeli-Jordanian Mixed Armistice Commission (IJMAC) condemned Israeli military infiltrations and aggressions 44 times.[2] During the same time Jordan claimed that it suffered 629 killed and injured from Israeli incursions and cross-border bombings.[2]
The attack
On the night of Match 16, a bus operated by the Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society on an unscheduled journey carrying 14 passengers made its way from Eilat to Tel-Aviv.[3] 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 the remaining passengers. The only three survivors were a five-year-old girl, Miri Firstenberg, after one of the soldiers riding the bus defended her with his body and two Israeli soldiers.[4][5]
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.[6] In subsequent days, a joint Israeli-Jordanian posse managed to follow the tracks as far as 2 miles from the border.[6] Relying on informants, Israeli intelligence sources incorrectly named 3 suspects from the Jordanian village of Safi as the perpetrators.
Aftermath
Despite public outcry and call for military retaliation against Jordan, Israel's prime minister Moshe Sharett called for restraint and diplomatic measures. Israel requested that the Israeli-Jordanian Mixed Armistice Commission denounce Jordan for the crime. Jordan's representative to the IJMAC blamed the atrocity on Israel, and IJMAC Chairman, Commander Hutchinson abstained as there was no conclusive proof, resulting in no decision.[7][8] As a result, Israel left the IJMAC.[9]
Hutcheson suggested that the attackers were either Gaza Bedouin or Israeli Bedouin. Pasha Glubb suggested that the culprits were from Gaza, this was later confirmed when ID from the Ma’ale Akrabim incident was found in Gaza.[10] It appears that Glubb had been right and Israel wrong. The Ma’ale ‘Akrabim killers had indeed come from Egyptian-controlled territory rather than Jordan.
In 2007, a reconstructed bus was placed in the Eilat City Museum.[4]
References
- ^ Which Came First- Terrorism or Occupation - Major Arab Terrorist Attacks against Israelis Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War
- ^ a b S/635/Rev.1
- ^ Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956, p. 309, Benny Morris, Oxford University Press, 1997
- ^ a b Ohayoun, Meir (2007-01-22). "The blood bus returned to Scorpions Pass". Ynet. Retrieved 2008-12-08. Template:He icon
- ^ UN Doc S/3252 of 19 June 1954Report dated 19 June 1954 by the Chief of Staff of the UNTSO in Palestine to the Secretary-General concerning the Scorpion Pass incident
- ^ a b Massacre at Scorpion's Pass
- ^ Morris p 311
- ^ UN Doc S/3252 of 19 June 1954Report dated 19 June 1954 by the Chief of Staff of the UNTSO in Palestine to the Secretary-General concerning the Scorpion Pass incident
- ^ Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956, p. 311, Benny Morris, Oxford University Press, 1997
- ^ Morris pp 311-313
Bibliography
Morris, Benny (1997) Israel's Border Wars, 1949-1956: Arab Infiltration, Israeli Retaliation, and the Countdown to the Suez War, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198292627