Page 15 - Old Katamon adv-RB_Neat

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Advanced Level – ‫קטמון הישנה‬

The Semiramis Hotel Bombing

In 1947, there were mainly Arab residents in Katamon. Katamon
was surrounded by Jewish neighborhoods and the Arabs fired
from inside it at the Jewish neighborhoods, and mainly at the
adjacent neighborhood of Mekor Haim. The residents of Mekor
Haim lived in fear, day and night.
The Haganah decided to attack the Arab party at Katamon.
When commanders of the Haganah had heard that three leaders
of the Arab army, headed by Al-Houseiny, arrived at the
neighborhood and are planning to place a hundred fighters in the
neighborhood - they decided to try to harm him. They followed
Al-Houseiny, who stayed at the Semiramis Hotel, and when they
saw his Jeep outside the hotel for most of the time, they realized
that that’s where his headquarters is, and decided to blow the
hotel up.
The night chosen for the operation was a very stormy night.
Members of the Haganah hid explosives in the hotel’s basement
and set it off.
26 people were killed in the explosion and about 60 were injured,
and the hotel was entirely destroyed.
It turned out that Al-Houseiny wasn’t at the hotel at the time of
the explosion.
The British, who ruled over Israel at the time, were outraged over
the act, and called David Ben-Gurion for a reprimand [talk].
When Ben-Gurion found out that Al-Houseiny wasn’t even at the
hotel during the explosion, he fired those responsible for the
operation.
The hotel wasn’t rebuilt after the explosion, and today (you) can
find a house there.

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