Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Health Ministry: 1 woman martyred, 11 wounded in Israeli strike on residential apartment in Nabatieh, South Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Four civilians injured in Israeli strike that targeted house in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, South Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launch strikes on regions of al-Mahmoudiyah, al-Khardali
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli aircraft execute series of strikes in Kfar Tibnit, South Lebanon.
Iranian ambassador in Beijing to Al Mayadeen: We hope that Europe and the US give up their illegal actions and authoritarian hegemony.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli shelling targets displaced persons' tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, casualties were reported
IOF storm Jalazone camp, north of Al Bireh city in the occupied West Bank
Israeli media: A severe incident reported in Gaza some time ago
Israeli media: Military evacuation helicopters are transporting injured soldiers from Khan Younis
Israeli media: A security incident has been reported in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip

Mass grave in Palestine: Israeli soldiers admit to massacre

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 22 Jan 2022 15:56
  • 3 Shares
2 Min Read

Israeli soldiers that took part in a massacre at Tantura in 1948 admitted to a mass murder of Palestinian civilians.

  • x
  • I don't want to talk about it, but it happened. What can you do? It happened
    "I don't want to talk about it, but it happened. What can you do? It happened."

Israeli soldiers that took part in a massacre in 1948 at the Palestinian village of Tantura have admitted to a mass killing of Palestinian civilians after decades, Haaretz revealed on Thursday.

An Israeli director collected testimonies from Israeli soldiers that were present during the massacre in a documentary film entitled "Tantura".

For decades, Israel denied the massacre at Tantura in 1948. Now, the soldiers who committed the heinous acts of ethnic cleansing are confirming what Palestinians have said all along: villagers were systematically slaughtered. https://t.co/haAO36N360

— IMEU (@theIMEU) January 21, 2022

Moshe Diamant, one of the soldiers who finally admitted to the massacre, was reported as saying, "It mustn’t be told, it could cause a whole scandal. I don’t want to talk about it, but it happened. What can you do? It happened."

The villagers, according to Diamant, were shot to death by a savage using a submachine gun after the battle was over.

Another soldier said, "It’s not nice to say this. They put them into a barrel and shot them in the barrel. I remember the blood in the barrel." 

Related News

97 killed in Gaza, including aid seekers, in Israeli attacks

Guterres: Gaza crisis worst yet, urges ceasefire and aid access

The soldiers' testimonies, which were collected by director Alon Schwarz for his documentary, show that the victims were buried in a mass grave, which is now under a parking lot at "Dor Beach", south of Haifa.

A new documentary at Sundance this weekend demolishes the official Israeli denial of the Tantura massacre, when more than 200 Palestinians in a seaside community were gunned down by a Zionist militia days after the establishment of Israel in 1948.https://t.co/7GMGQUos1e

— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) January 21, 2022

The Israeli massacre had been described in detail by Palestinian historians but had been consistently denied by "Israel", which never recognized what happened.

“The fate of Tantura was sealed long before the night of its fall. It was one of the tens of Palestinian villages and towns inside and outside the boundaries of the UN-envisaged Jewish state specifically targeted for capture under the notorious Plan Dalet, the Haganah master plan for the military establishment of Israel on the largest area possible of Palestine.” 

 

- Journal of Palestine Studies, 2001.

An Israeli researcher by the name of Teddy Katz had also described the massacre in his master's thesis at Haifa University. He had written how more than 200 Palestinian villagers were shot dead after they surrendered. 

Israeli soldiers from the Alexandroni Brigade that attacked the village filed a lawsuit against Katz, forcing him to retract his account of the massacre.

  • Israel
  • Israeli war crimes
  • Massacre
  • Mass murder
  • Palestine
  • Israeli occupation forces

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli occupation soldiers search for settlers amid the rubble of buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, central occupied Palestine, on Sunday, June 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran missile strike flattens Bat Yam, displaces 2,000 settlers

Palestinian fighters from the Islamic Jihad militant group riding on a truck with weaponry on display take part in an anti-Israel parade marking the 36th anniversary of the movement's founding, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 (AP)
Politics

Palestinian Resistance attacks Israeli forces in Khan Younis, Jabalia

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stands waiting to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran suspends IAEA cooperation, Araghchi blames Grossi for attacks

The commander of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit, Brigadier General Mohammad Said Izadi (Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail for Al Mayadeen English)
Politics

Who was Mohammad Said Izadi, head of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit?

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS