Operation Hametz

| place = [[Jaffa]] and surrounding area, [[Mandatory Palestine]]

| place = [[Jaffa]] and surrounding area, [[Mandatory Palestine]]

| casus =

| casus =

| territory = Jewish conquest of [[Saqiya]], [[Kafr 'Ana]], [[Al-Khayriyya]], [[Yazur]], [[Bayt Dajan]], [[Al-Safiriyya]], [[Al-'Abbasiyya]] and [[Menashiya]]

| territory = Jewish conquest of [[Saqiya]], [[Kafr 'Ana]], [[Al-Khayriyya]], [[Yazur]], [[Bayt Dajan]], [[Al-Safiriyya]], [[Al-'Abbasiyya]] and [[Manshiya]]

| result = {{ublist|Yishuv victory}}

| result = {{ublist|Yishuv victory}}

*British intervention temporarily halts offensive towards Jaffa

*British intervention temporarily halts offensive towards Jaffa

*Failed British attempt to retake Menashiya

*Failed British attempt to retake Manshiya

| combatant1 = {{tree list}}

| combatant1 = {{tree list}}

*{{flagicon|Israel|size=22px}} [[Yishuv]]

*{{flagicon|Israel|size=22px}} [[Yishuv]]

}}

}}

'''Operation Hametz''' ({{langx|he|מבצע חמץ}}, ''Mivtza Hametz''; 25–30 April 1948) was an operation to conquer [[Jaffa]] and towns around it conducted by the [[Irgun]] and the [[Haganah]] shortly before the termination of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]], in the [[1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine|civil war phase]] of the [[1948 Palestine war]].Morris, p.95.{{Failed verification|date=March 2026|reason=Morris doesn't list these dates. He lists 28-30 of April. The dates are discussed on page 217. The operation is also discussed on page 96 in my version of the book, not page 95.}} The operation, which led to the first direct battle between the British and the Irgun, was seen as a great victory for the latter, and enabled the Irgun to take credit for the complete conquest of Jaffa that happened on May 13.Bell, Bowyer J.: ''Terror out of Zion'' (1976) While the Haganah had no prior warning of the attack, some historians have argued that the operation constituted part of their [[Plan Dalet]].

'''Operation Hametz''' ({{langx|he|מבצע חמץ}}, ''Mivtza Hametz''; 25–30 April 1948) was an operation to conquer [[Jaffa]] and towns around it conducted by the [[Irgun]] and the [[Haganah]] shortly before the termination of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]], in the [[1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine|civil war phase]] of the [[1948 Palestine war]].Morris, p.95.{{Failed verification|date=March 2026|reason=Morris doesn't list these dates. He lists 28-30 of April. The dates are discussed on page 217. The operation is also discussed on page 96 in my version of the book, not page 95.}} The operation which led to the first direct battle between the British and the Irgun, was seen as a great victory for the latter, and enabled the Irgun to take credit for the complete conquest of Jaffa that happened on May 13.Bell, Bowyer J.: ''Terror out of Zion'' (1976) While the Haganah had no prior warning of the attack, some historians have argued that the operation constituted part of their [[Plan Dalet]].

The battle was the first and only time that the British became heavily involved in fighting between the Jews and the Arabs during the 1948 Palestine war.{{Cite journal |last=Golan |first=Arnon |date=2012 |title=The Battle for Jaffa, 1948 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41721193 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=997–1011 |issn=0026-3206}}

The battle was the first and only time that the British became heavily involved in fighting between the Jews and the Arabs during the 1948 Palestine war.{{Cite journal |last=Golan |first=Arnon |date=2012 |title=The Battle for Jaffa, 1948 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41721193 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=997–1011 |issn=0026-3206}}

The offensive alarmed the British. Jewish forces had just [[Battle of Haifa (1948)|captured]] the Arab areas of [[Haifa]], and as a result, the British government feared for its position in the Middle East, worrying that the Arabs would develop greater antagonism against the British. The British Army was concerned that increased Arab hostility would endanger British troops - British forces were by then evacuating Palestine, and as they used routes that passed through Arab-populated territory, it was feared that withdrawing units could be attacked. British Foreign Secretary [[Ernest Bevin]], upon hearing the news of the start of the offensive, ordered that Jewish forces be prevented from capturing Jaffa, or, if they did capture it, to be immediately driven out. Within hours of the start of the assault on Jaffa, William Fuller, the British district commissioner for Lydda, asked [[Israel Rokach]], the mayor of Tel Aviv, to call off the attack. Throughout the following two days, Fuller continued asking Rokach to have the attack called off, warning that the British Army would intervene. The British rejected Arab demands to allow [[Arab Legion]] units to enter Palestine to defend Jaffa. However, they rushed four battalions of infantry, armor, and naval commandos to Palestine. These reinforcements were meant to free up units already in Palestine to deploy to Jaffa. The British authorities, through Rokach, issued an ultimatum demanding that Irgun forces cease fire and immediately withdraw from Manshiya, threatening to bomb Tel Aviv, and warning that they would "save Jaffa for the Arabs at all costs, especially in light of the fact that the Jews had conquered Haifa". The Irgun rejected the demands. On the same day, the British began a show of force to deter the Jewish assault. Infantry and armor entered Jaffa, with British deploying a total of 4,500 troops in the town. [[Royal Navy]] destroyers cruised up and down the Palestinian coast, and [[Royal Air Force]] warplanes overflew southern Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

The offensive alarmed the British. Jewish forces had just [[Battle of Haifa (1948)|captured]] the Arab areas of [[Haifa]], and as a result, the British government feared for its position in the Middle East, worrying that the Arabs would develop greater antagonism against the British. The British Army was concerned that increased Arab hostility would endanger British troops - British forces were by then evacuating Palestine, and as they used routes that passed through Arab-populated territory, it was feared that withdrawing units could be attacked. British Foreign Secretary [[Ernest Bevin]], upon hearing the news of the start of the offensive, ordered that Jewish forces be prevented from capturing Jaffa, or, if they did capture it, to be immediately driven out. Within hours of the start of the assault on Jaffa, William Fuller, the British district commissioner for Lydda, asked [[Israel Rokach]], the mayor of Tel Aviv, to call off the attack. Throughout the following two days, Fuller continued asking Rokach to have the attack called off, warning that the British Army would intervene. The British rejected Arab demands to allow [[Arab Legion]] units to enter Palestine to defend Jaffa. However, they rushed four battalions of infantry, armor, and naval commandos to Palestine. These reinforcements were meant to free up units already in Palestine to deploy to Jaffa. The British authorities, through Rokach, issued an ultimatum demanding that Irgun forces cease fire and immediately withdraw from Manshiya, threatening to bomb Tel Aviv, and warning that they would "save Jaffa for the Arabs at all costs, especially in light of the fact that the Jews had conquered Haifa". The Irgun rejected the demands. On the same day, the British began a show of force to deter the Jewish assault. Infantry and armor entered Jaffa, with British deploying a total of 4,500 troops in the town. [[Royal Navy]] destroyers cruised up and down the Palestinian coast, and [[Royal Air Force]] warplanes overflew southern Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

Though most British action was merely demonstrative, they did take limited action. A four-plane formation of [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]] attacked a Haganah position in [[Bat Yam]]. British forces shelled and strafed Irgun positions in Menashiya and sent in armored columns. However, the Irgun resisted. An Irgun bazooka team disabled a British tank and Irgun fighters blew up buildings that collapsed into the streets as the armor advanced. Irgun men also climbed onto the tanks and tossed live dynamite sticks into them. During the fighting an Irgun [[Universal Carrier|Bren gun carrier]] was destroyed by a British tank. Facing heavy resistance, British forces withdrew, leaving Irgun in control of Manshiya. One British tank commander and about 20 Irgun fighters were killed in the fighting between the British and Irgun. />Karsh, Efraim: ''Palestine Betrayed''

Though most British action was merely demonstrative, they did take limited action. A four-plane formation of [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]] attacked a Haganah position in [[Bat Yam]]. British forces shelled and strafed Irgun positions in Menashiya and sent in armored columns. However, the Irgun resisted. An Irgun bazooka team disabled a British tank and Irgun fighters blew up buildings that collapsed into the streets as the armor advanced. Irgun men also climbed onto the tanks and tossed live dynamite sticks into them. During the fighting an Irgun [[Universal Carrier|Bren gun carrier]] was destroyed by a British tank. Facing heavy resistance, British forces withdrew, leaving Irgun in control of Manshiya. One British tank commander and about 20 Irgun fighters were killed in the fighting between the British and Irgun.Karsh, Efraim: ''Palestine Betrayed''

Following the battle, the British sent an ultimatum to [[David Ben-Gurion]], threatening to bomb Tel Aviv if he did not rein in the Irgun. As a response, the Irgun threatened to use its mortars to shell the [[American–German Colony]] in Jaffa, and declared that it was up to the British whether their departure from Palestine - already in its finishing stage - would be peaceful or bloody."[http://www.etzel.org.il/english/ac18.htm ETZEL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111055047/https://etzel.org.il/english/ac18.htm |date=2021-11-11 }}"

Following the battle, the British sent an ultimatum to [[David Ben-Gurion]], threatening to bomb Tel Aviv if he did not rein in the Irgun. As a response, the Irgun threatened to use its mortars to shell the [[American–German Colony]] in Jaffa, and declared that it was up to the British whether their departure from Palestine - already in its finishing stage - would be peaceful or bloody."[http://www.etzel.org.il/english/ac18.htm ETZEL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111055047/https://etzel.org.il/english/ac18.htm |date=2021-11-11 }}"

On 29 April, British commanders met with Ben-Gurion's son Amos and Jaffa mayor [[Yousef Haikal]]. An agreement was worked out, under which Operation Hametz would be stopped and the Haganah would not attack Jaffa until the end of the Mandate. The British dropped the demand for a complete withdrawal of Jewish forces from Manshiya, and only demanded control of the police station and road access to it. Rather than responding to the British demands, the Irgun blew up the police station as well as several houses, using the debris to block the very road that the British had demanded access to. Afterwards, the Irgun command declared that it was ready to hand over its positions in Manshiya to the Haganah.

On 29 April, British commanders met with Ben-Gurion's son Amos and Jaffa mayor [[Yousef Haikal]]. An agreement was worked out, under which Operation Hametz would be stopped and the Haganah would not attack Jaffa until the end of the Mandate. The British dropped the demand for a complete withdrawal of Jewish forces from Manshiya, and only demanded control of the police station and road access to it. Rather than responding to the British demands, the Irgun blew up the police station as well as several houses, using the debris to block the very road that the British had demanded access to. Afterwards, the Irgun command declared that it was ready to hand over its positions in Manshiya to the Haganah.

On 30 April, the fighting finally came to an end.Morris, pp.96,99.Morris, Benny: ''1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War'', pgs 151-152 Jaffa would eventually fall on May 13, when Haganah forces entered the city.

On 30 April, the fighting finally came to an end.Morris, pp.96,99.Morris, Benny: ''1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War'', pgs 151-152 Jaffa would eventually fall on 13 May, when Haganah forces entered the city.

==Aftermath==

==Aftermath==