UN Palestine Commission
Attack on Deir Yassin
9 April 1948
Letter from United Kingdom
20 April 1948
My dear Bunche, May I refer you to paragraph 2 of the Incident
Report for the9th April, in which reference was made to the attack
by Jews on the Arab village at Deir Yassin. The following
supplementary information is now available as regards this
incident:-
(1) The operation is believed to have been a joint National
Military Organization – Stern Group enterprise undertaken with the
knowledge of the Haganah.
(2) The deaths of some 250 Arabs, men, women and children, which
occurred during this attack, took place in circumstances of great
savagery.
(3) Woman and children were stripped, lined up, photographed, and
then slaughtered by automatic firing and survivors have told of
even more incredible best-ialities.
(4) Those who were taken prisoner were treated with degrading
brutality.
(5) Although the Haganah is unable to deny that it gave covering
fire to the terrorists responsible for this outrage, the action as
a whole has been condemned by the Jewish press and denounced by
the Chief Rabbinate.
(6) Owing to other pre-occupations, the Security Forces were not
in a position to act before the 14th April, for which day an
airstrike at Deir Yassin was arranged.
(7) On the 13th April, it became apparent that the Haganah had
taken over the village from the terrorists, and the operation was,
therefore, suspended.
(8) The Government of Palestine reported on the 14th April that it
had not yet been possible to enter Deir Yassin and that a Jewish
Police Officer sent to investigate was not allowed by the Haganah
to proceed beyond Givat Shaul.
(9) A representative of the International Red Cross who visited
Deir Yassin on the 11th April is said to have stated that in one
cave he saw heaped bodies of some 150 Arab men, women and
children, whilst in a stronghold a further 50 bodies were found.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) J. FLETCHER-COOKE
Dr. Ralph J. Bunche,
https://www.un.Org/unispal/document/auto-insert-211346/