Late PM Begin – did he plan to kill British minister?
צילום: לע"מ
Report: Begin planned to kill UK minister
Recently released British intelligence documents reveal former Irgun head and Prime Minister Menachem Begin was behind plan to assassinate senior UK officials in 1940s, including former British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin
Members of Irgun (The National Military Organization - Etzel,) a Jewish group that fought against British control of Palestine before Israel's establishment, planned to assassinate former British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin in 1946, the UK-based Sunday Times revealed Sunday.
According to the newspaper's report, based on classified intelligence documents, the assassination plan was conceived by none other than former Irgun head, and later Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin.
The group's plan, British agents claimed in 1946, was to send five cells to Britain where they were to perform a series of attacks and assassinations in a bid to hit the British "on their home turf," thus advancing the establishment of an independent Jewish state.
Begin's plan was fully endorsed by the Soviet Union, the intelligence reports stated.
The documents, which were only published recently, after the limitation on their release has expired, claim that Irgun won the "privilege" of carrying out the killings abroad in a raffle involving two other organizations active in the area at the time – the Lehi (also known as the "Stern Gang") and the Haganah.
Explosive envelopes to British officials
One of the documents contains a report by head of the British intelligence's Middle Eastern Desk James Robertson, in which he says Irgun is plotting to send cells to Britain that will imitate IRA terror actions.
According to Robertson, the organization was training selected members for the purpose of assassinating high ranking British figures, mainly Bevin, a stern objector to the founding of a Jewish state.
Eventually, the report stated, Irgun opted to focus on sending explosive envelopes instead. Some 20 such envelopes were sent to senior British officials during 1947, including Bevin.
'No real plan'
Historian Dr. Meir Pa'il said he was quite surprised by the published documents, adding he had never heard of such an assassination plan. Pa'il also claimed this method of action contradicts Begin's strategy as Irgun leader at the time.
"It just doesn't make sense. Perhaps it was the idea of (former Prime Minister) Yitzhak Shamir's associates. It may have been discussed, but I doubt there was a real plan to carry out such an operation," he said.
Yossi Ahimeir, director-general of the Jabotinsky Institute and the man in charge of the Irgun's archives, said he has no knowledge of any intentions to assassinate a British minister.
"I believe we have all the documents to prove otherwise. Even had it been true, I can't believe such a thing would have been kept a secret for so many years," he said.
Rinat Malkes contributed to the report
