On this day in 1946, members of the Jewish defense organization, the Irgun, bombed the British administrative headquarters, which was based in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Located in the hotel were the British military headquarters and intelligence stations. Ninety-one people were killed, and 46 were injured in the attack. The majority of those killed and injured were hotel staff, but several were bystanders off of the street below. The goal of this attack was to pressure the British into leaving Palestine, which they did roughly six months later.
The Irgun was founded in 1931 by Vladimir Jabotinsky. Jabotinsky believed that the Haganah, the Palestinian military, was not being aggressive enough towards the British. The group has been denoted as a terrorist origination, specifically against the British and Arabs.
Disguised as hotel staff, members of the Irgun planted a bomb in the hotel’s basement. The explosion caused the western half of the hotel’s south wing to collapse. The Irgun stated that they provided multiple warnings that an attack would happen and evacuate the hotel. The first was a call to the hotel approximately 15 minutes before the explosion, and another was given to the Palestine Post. However, officials were never given these warnings.
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