The 3rd "Alexandroni" Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת אלכסנדרוני, Hativat Aleksandroni) is an Israel Defense Forces brigade which has fought in many of Israel's wars.[1]
Alexandroni Brigade | |
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חטיבת אלכסנדרוני | |
Active | 1948–present |
Country | Israel |
Allegiance | Israeli Ground Forces |
Branch | Infantry |
Type | Reserves |
Size | 5 battalions |
Part of | 91st Division, Northern Command |
Engagements |
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Commanders | |
Current commander | Colonel Gil Werner |
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, around 40–200 Palestinian Arab villagers from Tantura were killed in a massacre perpetrated by the Alexandroni Brigade, which at the time was one of six field forces of the Haganah.[2] The massacre, which took place on the night of 22–23 May 1948, occurred following the surrender of Tantura, a village of roughly 1,500 people in 1945 located near Haifa. The bodies of the victims were buried in mass graves, one of which was later covered and a carpark constructed above it.[3][4]
After an Israeli researcher Teddy Katz produced a master's degree thesis in the 1990s claiming Israeli units committed a massacre of Palestinians at Tantura, the Alexandroni Brigade's veterans sued him for defamation. However, in 2023, an Israeli documentary was published on the Tantura massacre, which managed to interview and film many veterans who agreed to talk about the massacre.[5]