The Hebrew Insurgency

Years of armed resistance by four interlinked Zionist militia groups helped end British rule in Palestine, but led to a bitter civil war between Jews and Arabs.

A Haganah fighter dashes across a human bridge formed by two comrades over barbed wire, Tel Aviv, 1948.
A Haganah fighter dashes across a human bridge over barbed wire, Tel Aviv, 1948. Everett Collection Inc/Alamy.

In the years between 1945 and the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, the British struggled to rule Palestine. At the centre of their problems were four highly active Zionist insurgent groups: Haganah and the Palmach, Irgun and Lehi.

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