SHUMEL KATZ ANSWER TO BEN GURION’S ULTIMATUM, 20 SEPTEMBER 1948

Shmuel Katz’s public answer to Ben Gurion’s ultimatum of threat of civil war sent to the Irgun, 20 September 1948:

“Rejection of this ultimatum would involve considerable bloodshed.  The strength of the Irgun Zvai Leumi in Jerusalem is sufficient to ensure that any attack would involve the attackers in heavy losses.  We are not prepared to shed the blood of Haganah soldiers whose lives the Government of Israel is so lightly prepared to throw away.  We are consequently informing the Haganah Army this morning of our acceptance of the ultimatum, and members of the Irgun Zvai Leumi will be told to join the Haganah Army.

          “But this ultimatum – which incidentally shows considerable advance from the 10 minutes allowed to the Irgun Commander at Kfar Vitkin – provides yet another example of the practiced deception and trickery with which the Provisional Government of Israel behaves.

          “This document comes three weeks after the Provisional Government had had the I.Z.L. reply to its previously stated demand of disbandment.  Then too and for the same reason that we were not prepared to let the Government plunge us into Civil War – the I.Z.L. announced its readiness to yield to the demand.  But then the demand was accompanied by proposals (verbally) made to I.Z.L.   They were as follows:

1.      The I.Z.L. in Jerusalem joins the Haganah Army in Jerusalem, according to its formation, with its officers and its arms, as a battalion and as companies in the auxiliary services of the Jerusalem garrison.

2.      The Provisional Government of Israel undertakes not to disband the battalion and companies and not to send them out of the city of Jerusalem.

3.      The soldiers of eh I.Z.L. in Jerusalem will swear an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel which will oblige them to serve in Jerusalem and only in Jerusalem.

4.      These terms are mutually binding as long as there is Jewish rule in Jerusalem.

“The Irgun Zvai Leumi representatives were told they could regard these proposals as official.  On the other hand, non-acceptance would result in the Government’s use of force.  The I.Z.L. accepted the proposals in principle.  And then began the by now characteristic shifty behaviour of the Provisional Government.  It was then we were told that the proposals were not the Government’s, but those of the negotiator.  Then the negotiator had to ‘negotiate on them’ with the Government.  And on one pretext or another treh  matter dragged on for three weeks.

          “Yesterday, three weeks after they knew that we were not going to give them the opportunity of shedding Jewish blood and that we were prepared to join the Haganah Army, the Cabinet-member who had been negotiating with us announced telephonically that the matter was now out of his hands.  And the ultimatum was delivered by the Adjutant to the Minister of Security, Mr. Ben Gurion.