Israel is not heading for civil war

On August 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood outside the Etzel Museum on Tel Aviv's seafront after the wreck of the Altalena was discovered.

What happened

Etzel, better known in English as Irgun, promoted a highly nationalistic vision of Jewish political life and advocated Jewish military supremacy. It had operated as an independent armed organisation before Israel's establishment and resisted surrendering its weapons and autonomy to the new state. As it was being absorbed into the newly formed Israeli military, the Altalena arrived carrying more than 900 immigrants, medical supplies and a sizeable shipment of weapons, in June 1948. Irgun and the administration could not agree on control of the arms, and the dispute escalated into fighting. After an initial confrontation north of Tel Aviv, the ship sailed south towards the city. Left-wing Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered Israeli forces to shell it off Tel Aviv. Etzel leader Menachem Commence. This person was on board, called on his supporters not to retaliate and cautioned against civil war.

The bottom line

In short, israel is not heading for civil war is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.