Bethlehem – Al-Hayat Al-Jadida – Osama Al-Eissa

Those who remain among the participants in the massacre of the village of Tantura, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, have acknowledged their involvement in the horrific crime, which has since become known locally and internationally. However, they did so only after reaching the age of ninety, and following repeated denials in the state of Israel.

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz published, in its supplement, testimonies from surviving members of the unit responsible for the massacre, the Alexandroni Brigade, under the striking headline: “Here, in the Dor Beach parking lot, there is a mass grave,” referring to the mass burial of the massacre’s victims, which took place 74 years ago.

Zionist militias committed the massacre against the residents of the village of Tantura in May 1948, forcing the victims to dig a mass grave before killing them.

This belated acknowledgment by those perpetrators who remain alive comes with the release of a new documentary about the massacre, directed by Alon Schwarz.

The perpetrators’ testimonies, along with footage featured in the film, confirm that beneath the parking lot in Tantura—specifically at what the state of Israel calls “Dor Beach”—there is a mass grave containing some of those who were killed in cold blood after the village was attacked by Zionist militias.

This belated Israeli acknowledgment does not present anything fundamentally new. The massacre has already been documented and supported by testimonies from Tantura residents, as well as by the master’s thesis submitted by researcher Teddy Katz to the University of Haifa twenty years ago under the supervision of Dr. Ilan Pappé.

Katz paid a price for publicly stating what he had found when he was pursued by the so-called “Alexandroni Association,” which includes members of the unit that carried out the massacre. This led the University of Haifa to distance itself from the thesis, and Katz temporarily withdrew his claims.

The organization Zochrot commented on Haaretz’s report on the Tantura massacre, saying: “The truth cannot be hidden forever. It is time to take responsibility for this crime and all the other crimes of ethnic cleansing that continue to this day.”

Ilan Pappé, author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, commented:

“In 2007, under pressure from the Ministry of Education, I was forced to resign from my position at the University of Haifa. One of my ‘crimes’ was insisting that a massacre had taken place in the village of Tantura in 1948, as exposed by master’s student Teddy Katz. I conducted my own research and stated unequivocally that this was one of the most horrific crimes committed by the Israeli army in 1948, even after Katz retracted his findings under enormous pressure and intimidation.”

Pappé said:

“I do not regret it for a moment, and I am grateful that I was able to continue the struggle against the denial of the Nakba at the University of Exeter over the past 15 years. I still hope to establish a center in London dedicated to combating Nakba denial.”

Regarding Haaretz’s report, Pappé said:

“I was ridiculed when I insisted that the massacre had taken place. We do not need Haaretz to tell us that the Nakba was an Israeli crime against humanity, but what it published is an important development.”

Pappé asked:

“When will academia and the Western media stop denying the Nakba? When will we have an international alliance against Nakba denial? I hope it will be soon.”

Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida