| Al-Khisas raid | |
|---|---|
| Part of the1947–1949 Palestine war and theNakba | |
 Remains of a house destroyed in the attack | |
 Interactive map of Al-Khisas raid | |
| Location | 33°13′31″N35°37′10″E / 33.22528°N 35.61944°E /33.22528; 35.61944 Al-Khisas,Mandatory Palestine |
| Date | 18 December 1947 |
| Target | Palestinian Arabs |
Attack type | Arson,Massacre |
| Deaths | 10-15 villagers, including 5 children |
| Perpetrators | Palmach,Haganah |
Theal-Khisas raid, also known as theal-Khisas massacre, was an attack on thePalestinian village ofal-Khisas carried out by thePalmach on December 18, 1947, during the1948 Palestine war. 10-15 Palestinian villagers were killed in the attack, including 5 children.
The attack took place during thecivil war phase of the1948 Palestine war and was conducted as a reprisal for the killing of a Jewish man near Al-Khisas.[a] LocalPalmach commanders decided to launch a retaliatory attack on the village, arguing that "if there was no reaction to the murder, the Arabs would interpret this as a sign of weakness and an invitation to further attacks".[1] TheHaganah High Command approved the action on condition that the attack be directed against "men only and they should burn [only] a few houses".[1]
The massacre was carried out by thePalmach's 3rd Battalion, which later became part of theYiftach Brigade.[citation needed]
According to Haim Levenberg:
One unit attacked with hand-grenades a four-roomed house killing two men and five children, and wounding five other men. At the same time, another unit attacked a house in the village owned by Amir Al-Fa’ur of Syria, in which one Syrian and two Lebanese peasants were killed and another Lebanese and two local men were wounded. According to HQ British Troops in Palestine, the villagers did not use any firearms to defend themselves.[2]
10-15 Palestinian villagers were killed in the attack, 5 of them children.[3][4]
Following the attack a large number of al-Khisas' residents fled their homes, becoming a part of the1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight.[5]
The events led to an escalation in violence that rapidly spread through theUpper Galilee region;[1] the region had generally been quiet before the massacre, which was blamed for unnecessarily widening the hostilities.[6]
The Jewish leadership at the time sharply criticized the attack.[1] Three weeks later, Arab forces crossed the Syrian border and carried out a reprisal attack on the kibbutzKfar Szold, but suffered heavy losses and were repulsed.[1]
During the operation a female member of the battalion had refused to throw a grenade into a room in which she could hear a child crying; following the event the battalion's commanderMoshe Kelman argued that women should not be used on front line duties but should be used as "cooks and service people."[7]
On the night of 5 June 1949, the remaining inhabitants of Khisas were forcibly expelled as part of the1949–1956 Palestinian expulsions.[8] Some time after the village was destroyed.[1]
