Netanyahu Visits Etzel Museum Following Discovery of Altalena Shipwreck, Vows 'Never Again' to Civil Conflict
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Etzel Museum following the discovery of the Altalena shipwreck off Tel Aviv. He plans to deliver a statement titled "Civil War, Never Again," recalling the 1948 internal conflict during Israel's War of Independence when the IDF shelled the Etzel's Altalena ship. The shipwreck was found 78 years after it sank, with ministers presenting the findings as a historic closure.
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- Netanyahu visited the Etzel Museum after the Altalena shipwreck was discovered off Tel Aviv.
- He will soon issue a statement titled 'Civil War, Never Again' addressing the 1948 internal conflict.
- The Altalena carried weapons for Etzel forces during Israel's War of Independence in June 1948.
- A violent confrontation occurred between the IDF and Etzel, leading to the ship being shelled and set on fire.
- Menachem Begin, aboard the ship, urged avoiding civil war despite the conflict.
- The shipwreck was located 78 years later at a depth of about 503 meters off Israel's coast.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Etzel Museum on Monday to stand beside the exhibit dedicated to the Altalena ship, following the recent discovery of its wreckage off the coast of Tel Aviv. Netanyahu is expected to soon deliver an official statement titled "Civil War, Never Again," emphasizing the painful internal conflict that erupted around the Altalena shortly after Israel's independence.
The Altalena was a weapons ship belonging to the Etzel (Irgun) that arrived in June 1948, about a month after Israel declared independence and during the height of the War of Independence. It carried immigrants and a large cache of arms intended for Etzel forces. At that time, the newly formed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) demanded all paramilitary groups unify under its command, leading to a dispute over the distribution of the weapons aboard the Altalena.
The confrontation escalated first near Kfar Vitkin and later off the Tel Aviv coast, where the IDF shelled the ship, which caught fire. Among those aboard was Etzel leader Menachem Begin, who urged his men to avoid civil war even as the conflict intensified. This stance became a defining element in how the Altalena affair has been remembered, especially within the political traditions of Herut and Likud.
The incident remains one of the most sensitive moments of internal strife in Israel's early statehood. Yitzhak Rabin, then a Palmach officer present during the events, later described the deep-seated animosity between the Palmach and Etzel forces and recounted efforts to cease fire once the ship was ablaze and the battle was effectively over.
Earlier on the same day, 78 years after the Altalena sank, its remains were located approximately 503 meters deep off Israel's coast. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu presented the findings and documentation from the underwater search operation, marking a historic closure to this chapter of Israeli history.
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