The Acre Prison break was an operation undertaken by the
Irgun
The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
on May 4, 1947, in the
British Mandate of Palestine, in which its men broke through the walls of the
Central Prison in
Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
and freed 27 incarcerated Irgun and
Lehi members.
History
At the time of the British Mandate the citadel in the old city of Acre was used as a prison.
In total, the prison contained 700 Arab prisoners and 90 Jewish prisoners, the latter mainly members of the Jewish underground groups
Haganah
Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
,
Lehi, and
Irgun
The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
, who had been captured by the British. One of those prisoners was
Eitan Livni (father of
Tzipi Livni
Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni (, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat and lawyer.
A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel), foreign mini ...
), the Irgun operations officer.
On April 16, 1947, four Irgun members,
Dov Gruner,
Yehiel Dresner,
Mordechai Alkahi, and
Eliezer Kashani, who had been captured by the British
6th Airborne Division
The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who m ...
, were hanged in
Acre Prison to become the Irgun's first postwar 'martyrs'. At his trial, Dov Gruner declared the British Army and Administration to be 'criminal organizations'.
The Lehi and Irgun prisoners considered an escape but concluded that would be impossible without outside assistance. They therefore contacted Irgun headquarters with a plan. Dov Cohen, AKA "Shimshon", a former member of the British
Special Interrogation Group, was selected to lead the operation. The plan was facilitated by Peres Etkes, an American of Russian Jewish origins, who worked for the Mandatory authorities as an engineer and who had built the prison. According to his nephew, Etkes furnished the Irgun with a detailed map of the prison.
Operation

The break-out was originally planned for April, but was eventually rescheduled for Sunday, May 4, 1947, at 4 p.m., the day the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
convened to discuss the Palestine issue. The Irgun High Command selected 41 prisoners for escape: 30 Irgun and 11 Lehi, as that was the available number of spots available at safe houses. The Irgun High Command, and
Eitan Livni, an imprisoned Irgun member, extensively planned the break and escape route.
[Bell, Bowyer J.: ''Terror out of Zion'' (1976)] The logistic preparations were complicated: The Irgun purchased a truck, a jeep, two military pickup trucks and civilian vehicles, which were then disguised as British. British Army uniforms were also acquired. A stock of civilian clothing was also arranged to help the escapees blend in with the general population. Irgun reconnaissance efforts had discovered a weak spot in the citadel: the southern wall right above a
Turkish bath
A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model ...
. The Irgun had therefore smuggled
TNT
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
into the prison, which was then used to improvise 30 hand grenades and two bombs.
On Sunday, May 4, 1947, the Irgun fighters arrived at Acre in a convoy consisting of a military truck, two military vans painted in British camouflage colors, two civilian vans, and a command jeep in the lead. Twenty fighters were dressed in
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
uniforms, and three as Arabs. The operation commander, Dov Cohen, who was riding in the command jeep, was dressed as a decorated
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
captain. The truck pulled up to the prison's gate, while the two vans pulled into a nearby market. At 14:00 a
military engineer
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
ing unit of the Irgun, under the command of Dov Salomon and Yehuda Afiryon, went into action. Ladders were removed from one of the vehicles, and the men made their way to the nearby Turkish bath, disguised as Royal Engineers telephone technicians and carrying TNT, ropes and other necessary incursion equipment. They set the charges and climbed back down onto the street.
[
While the Irgun units were moving into position, the prisoners were putting the plan into effect inside. At 15:00, the doors of the cells were opened for afternoon exercise. The prisoners who were not scheduled to escape went down to the courtyard to create a diversion, while the designated escapees remained in their cells. At the same time, Irgun blocking squads mined nearby roads to delay any British pursuers, and a diversion party disguised as Arabs moved into position in the vicinity of a British Army camp with a mortar.][
At 16:22, the charges detonated, blowing a massive hole in one of the prison's walls. Upon hearing the blast, the diversion party fired mortar shells at the British Army camp, then withdrew. Meanwhile, in the prison, the first group of escapees quickly ran out of their cells towards the breach in the wall, and had to push through a crowd of Arab prisoners that had run out of their cells in panic. Using the smuggled explosive charges, they blew up two iron gates that obstructed their way to the kerosene room, where the hole in the prison wall was. The second group of escapees put up a barricade of flammable materials and set it alight to create a fire which blocked the escape route, preventing the guards from immediately reaching it. The resulting smokescreen and fire only added to the chaos that the explosions had caused. The Arab prisoners in the prison yard began shouting and running wildly, with some running directly into the barbed-wire fences, and others rushing to or breaking out of their cells in fear of the fire and explosions.
The Arab guards, assuming a prison break was underway, began shooting into the crowd. Amidst this chaos, a third group stepped into the prison yard and tossed grenades at guards positioned on the roof, causing them to flee. The explosions caused further panic and chaos among the other prisoners. Amidst the chaos, the two groups escaped through the hole in the wall. Uncertain as to what was happening, the guards did not enter the yard. Meanwhile, Arab prisoners running through the yard and corridors began to discover the hole in the wall. Over the following hour, 214 of the 394 Arab prisoners in Acre Prison escaped through the hole in the wall and disappeared into the city.][
The first group of escapees and some of the strike force boarded the first truck, which sped off and managed to exit Acre, but immediately south of the city they were ambushed by British soldiers who had been bathing at a nearby beach and were alerted by sounds of the commotion at Acre Prison. They opened fire on the truck. The driver, attempting to dodge the fire, drove the truck into a cactus clump, causing it to collapse on its left side. The men tumbled out and were immediately fired on by the British as they tried to escape. Dov Cohen and two other Irgun fighters, Nissim Levy and Zalman Lifshitz, was waiting by their jeep at a nearby command post. When the British opened fire, Cohen at first attempted to intervene and guide the other prisoners to safety. His uniform initially prevented the British from shooting at him, but in the end he, along with Levy and Lifshitz, were shot while providing covering fire for the escapees. A total of nine escapees and attackers died. Some had been taken alive but wounded, and died in jail after being refused medical treatment. Only one of the escapees from the first truck, Nissim Benado, managed to evade capture; but he was seriously wounded and died later in a ]Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
hideout. The survivors were swiftly recaptured and returned to prison.[
]
The remaining escapees and members of the strike force quickly boarded the second and third trucks, and Salomon began calling the blocking squads away. Although they withdrew in good order, he forgot to call away one squad commanded by Avshalom Haviv. Meanwhile, one of the trucks experienced engine problems and would not start. As a result, the occupants had to push it while the driver tried to start the engine, and the truck was surrounded by an Arab mob, which began pelting it with objects. When the driver managed to start up the engine again, the pushers quickly climbed aboard and a sound grenade was tossed into the Arabs blocking its path, causing the crowd to disperse. The two trucks then linked up and drove away from Acre. As they passed Haviv's blocking squad, the men called to him that the operation was over, but Haviv, who felt he had to wait for a formal order from Salomon, chose to remain in place. As the trucks drove off a burst of fire hit one of them, killing one of the escapees inside. The mines planted by the blocking squads were successful in holding the British back, and five British soldiers were wounded by one mine. When the British arrived at Haviv's blocking position, the squad was captured.[
After the two trucks had escaped Acre, a British truck began following them shortly after they turned away from the sea road. The guard sitting in the passenger seat began firing at them with his pistol. A sound grenade was then tossed in the British truck's path. The resulting noise and burst of smoke caused the driver to brake sharply, allowing the convoy to lose the pursuing truck. The trucks reached kibbutz Dalia, where the fighters and escapees abandoned their vehicles and weapons. The head of the escapees, Eitan Livni, met with two ]Haganah
Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
men in the kibbutz and insisted they not contact the authorities until nine. They then walked to the town of Binyamina, and hid there for the rest of the day. The following morning, they were dispersed throughout Palestine to pre-designated hiding places.[ Overall, 27 Irgun and Lehi prisoners escaped, along with 214 Arab prisoners. Seven of the fighters who were killed during the operation are buried in the nearby cemetery of Shavei Tzion.
]
Aftermath
The ''New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'' wrote that the underground had carried out "an ambitious mission, their most challenging so far, in perfect fashion", while in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, Oliver Stanley asked what action His Majesty's Government was planning to take "in light of the events at Acre prison which had reduced British prestige to a nadir."
The Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
As an ...
called the break "an irresponsible suicidal act", while Irgun commander Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel.
Before the creation of the state of Isra ...
hailed it as an act of heroism.
The five men from the blocking squads who had been captured, Avshalom Haviv, Meir Nakar
Meir Nakar (; July 26, 1926 – July 29, 1947) was a member of the Irgun in pre-state Mandatory Palestine and one of 12 Olei Hagardom.
Early life and army service
Meir Nakar was born in Jerusalem to a poor Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox-Jewish famil ...
, Yaakov Weiss, Amnon Michaelov, and Nahman Zitterbaum, were tried in a British military court. Haviv, Weiss, and Nakar were sentenced to death. Michaelov and Zitterbaum received life sentences since they were minors. In response to the death sentences, the Irgun abducted two British sergeants, Clifford Martin and Mervyn Paice, and threatened to kill them should the British carry out the death sentences. When the British authorities did not relent and hanged the three, the Irgun killed the two sergeants and hanged their bodies from a tree in a eucalyptus grove near Netanya
Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...
. This action is credited with being one of the major catalysts for the eventual British withdrawal from Palestine.[
The Acre Prison break, with other operations had a strong effect on the morale of the ]Yishuv
The Yishuv (), HaYishuv Ha'ivri (), or HaYishuv HaYehudi Be'Eretz Yisra'el () was the community of Jews residing in Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The term came into use in the 1880s, when there were about 2 ...
and on the fight for the foundation of Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. It is considered to have seriously damaged British prestige and sped up to the foundation of the UNSCOP committee.UN Doc A/364 Add. 1 of 3 September 1947
See Annex 10 Letter; dated 17 June 1947 from relatives of the men sentenced to death by the Jerusalem Military Court on 16 Juno 1947
The operation is marked by a monument on the Acre promenade.[
]
References
{{coord, 32.9237, N, 35.0694, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Escapees from British detention
Prison escapes in Asia
Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine
1947 in Mandatory Palestine
Prison break
''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
Irgun attacks
Lehi (militant group)
May 1947 in Asia
Prison bombings
Building bombings in Israel
Attacks on military installations in the 1940s
Attacks on government buildings and structures in Israel
Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1947
Attacks on prisons in Asia