The Irgun Zvai Leumi today blasted British police headquarters in Haifa, in a dawn explosion that took the lives of ten persons and injured about 70 others. Four Jews were seized for alleged participation in the attack.
An official announcement said that the dead were four British and four Arab policemen, an Arab girl and an Arab street vendor. The wounded included 28 British constables, a British police sergeant, and 14 Jewish and 11 Arab civilians. Thirteen of the constables suffered serious injuries.
A police communique describing the Haifa incident said that a truck drove up to the wire security fence surrounding the building at 6 a.m. and its occupants lowered an improvised ramp over the fence. A large barrel was rolled down the ramp and crashed into the front wall of the police headquarters, where it exploted a few moments later. The force of the explosion blew a six-by-twelve-foot hole in the first floor of the building and blasted parts of bodies 50 yards across the Kingsway, Haifa’s central business district, Windows were broken in buildings a quarter mile away from the blast and buildings opposite the headquarters were badly damaged.
ATTACK WAS IN RETALIATION FOR DEPORTATION OF IMMIGRANTS TO HAMBURG, CYPRUS
An Irgun announcement issued this afternoon termed the operation "Hambaf," asserting that it was in retaliation both for the landing of the Exodus refugees at Hamburg and the deportation to Cyprus of 432 refugees whose vessel was captured over the week-end. "Af" were the first two letters of the ship’s Hebrew name. The Irgun statement continued: "We overcame the enemy’s fortifications and penetrated the heart of Haifa’s security zone by planting a bomb of one ton, which was manufactured by our latest invention, the details of which will soon be announced. We carried out the attack on a Jewish holiday to avoid Jewish casualties.
"Britain has announced its intention of leaving Palestine. This, however, is a lie–Britain wants to impose its own solution. Britain wants to intimidate the United Nations into accepting their plan: establishment of an Anglo-Arab quisling government, and turn the Jews over to their mercy. Vishinsky’s comment is correct. (Soviet delegate Andrei Vishinsky told a press conference last week that the statement of British policy on Palestine by Colonial Secretary Creech-Jones meant the withdrawal of the Jews from Palestine.) We, therefore, are continuing to fight until Britain actually evacuated Palestine."
Sirens wailed in Jerusalem shortly before 8 p.m. tonight when a small bomb exploded in the Rehavia quarter. The entire area was cordoned off while troops screened persons in the streets. The all-clear was sounded 30 minutes later.
The 432 refugees who were captured Saturday aboard the Afalpi were landed in Cyprus yesterday afternoon. A few hours earlier funeral services were held in Haifa for Noach Goldfarb, who was killed during a battle between the refugees and a British boarding party aboard the Afalpi.
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