PA daily accuses “Zionist terrorist ‘Haganah’ gangs” of carrying out Holocaust-like massacre, forcing residents of village to dig pits and shooting them

Headline: “Tantura: The magical village on the sea and the forgotten massacre”

“On the night of May 22 and the day of May 23, 1948, the Zionist terrorist ‘Haganah’ gangs (i.e., Jewish defense forces in the pre-state period) occupied the village of Tantura, which lies 24 kilometers south of Haifa, and committed a massacre that claimed 230 Martyrs (reliable evidence has not been found supporting claims of a massacre in Tantura; see note below –Ed.)… They forced dozens of them to dig pits, and then shot and buried them in those pits and in mass graves.”

Tantura - During Israel’s War of Independence, the Israeli army carried out an operation to take control of the Arab village of Tantura on the northern Israeli coast, which was serving as a port through which Arab fighters were receiving weapons and reinforcements from Lebanon. In addition, forces from Tantura were blocking the Tel Aviv - Haifa road and attacking Israeli vehicles. During the battle, on May 22-23, 1948, 70 of Tantura’s residents were killed, after which most of the residents left for the neighboring Arab villages, primarily Fureidis. What exactly happened in Tantura is the subject of debate. Some claim there was a massacre; others claim there was a “transfer” or “expulsion” of Arabs. On the other hand, a record in the Israeli army archives refutes that a massacre took place, and likewise, a report on the battle in the book "Al-Tantura," written by Yahya Mahmoud, a son of one of the village’s families, does not mention a massacre, and mentions that actually 52 residents were killed in the battle.