Irgun and Lehi internment in Africa

From 1944 to 1948, Irgun and Lehi men being held without trial at the Latroun concentration camp were deported by the British Mandate of Palestine authorities to internment camps in Africa, located in Sembel (near Asmara, Eritrea), Carthago, Sudan and Gilgil (north of Nairobi, Kenya). The deportees were returned in July 1948, only after the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

The decision to deport the underground members to Africa was made by the British following the radicalization of their activities and the recommendation of the chief secretary, substitute of the High Commissioner, John Shaw. After several successful escapes from the Latroun camp, the chance of them recurring in Africa seemed smaller. The British also believed the deportation to have a strong deterring element. The proponents of the decision did not believe it to be a substitute for the political solution of dividing the land, but hoped it would weaken the underground forces and allow the moderate Jewish forces to promote a compromising solution.

"Operation Snowball" was executed in one day, October 19, 1944, with speed and surprise. The detainees in Latroun were put on board airplanes. The first wave included 251 detainees and eventually a total of 439 men, approximately half of the underground detainees, were deported. According to estimations, approximately 60 percent of them were Irgun men, 30 percent were Lehi members and the rest neutral.

The undergrounds reacted strongly and denounced the deportation as a Nazi act, and intended to carry out a fight to return the deportees. In fact, the assassination of Lord Moyne by Lehi men brought about "The Hunting Season". The Yishuv institutions' protest was feeble, if existing at all. This raised suspicions among the detainees that the Jewish Agency might be involved in the deportation plans.

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