Balad al-Shaykh

A massacre was committed in Balad al-Shaykh by the Haganah on 31 December 1947. The History of the Haganah states that a force of 170 men from the Palmach were ordered to 'encircle the village, harm the largest possible number of men, damage property, and refrain from attacking women and children.' More than 60 villagers were left for dead by the attackers, and despite the last clause in the orders, women and children were counted among the victims. A report issued by the attacking forces after the 'operation' stated that, 'because of the fire issuing from inside the rooms, it was impossible to avoid harming women and children also.' Several dozen houses were also destroyed during the attack. The massacre was meant to be in retaliation for the killing of Jewish oil refinery workers the previous day, allegedly by Palestinian coworkers from the village. Their action had itself been provoked by a bombing by the Irgun at the gates of the Haifa oil refinery in which 6 Palestinian workers were killed and another 42 wounded, according to the Palestinian newspaper Filastin. The paper reported that the Palestinian casualties had been caused by a bomb that was thrown from a speeding car while they were standing in an employment line outside the refinery. After this attack, Palestinian workers inside the refinery turned in rage against Jewish workers, killing 41. Ironically, the Haganah had labeled the original Irgun attack 'irresponsible,' according to Israeli historian Benny Morris.

After the massacre, the village was partially evacuated on 7 January 1948. It was not occupied by Zionist forces until late April 1948. Plan Dalet had called for the occupation of Balad al-Shaykh by the Carmeli Brigade in the same operation that captured Haifa. With the fall of Haifa, on 22 April, some women and children were moved to safety, as the village expected an attack. Then, at dawn on 24 April, Haganah units surrounded the village and demanded that the villagers surrender their arms (as both the New York Times and Benny Morris report.) Both accounts state that the villagers handed over '22 old rifles' and asked for a truce, but the Haganah refused, threatening to attack if other weapons were not surrendered. At 5:00 a.m., the Haganah opened fire with mortars and machine guns. A British unit which reached the scene at 6:00 a.m. reported that there was 'virtually no reply' to the Haganah fire from the village. The British then negotiated an agreement which provided for the evacuation of the villagers, including women and children, under British escort. Some of them apparently went to Acre, and Morris reports that a few days later they fled that city when panic gripped it in anticipation of a new Haganah attack.