Editing Irgun (section)

==Integration with the IDF and the Altalena Affair==
{{Main|Altalena Affair}}

On May 14, 1948 [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|the establishment]] of the [[Israel|State of Israel]] was proclaimed. The declaration of independence was followed by the establishment of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF), and the process of absorbing all military organizations into the IDF started. On June 1, an agreement had been signed between [[Menachem Begin]] and [[Yisrael Galili]] for the absorption of the Irgun into the IDF. One of the clauses stated that the Irgun had to stop smuggling arms. Meanwhile, in France, Irgun representatives purchased a ship, renamed ''[[Altalena]]'' (a pseudonym of [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]]), and weapons. The ship sailed on June 11 and arrived at the Israeli coast on June 20, during the first truce of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. Despite [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 50]] declaring an arms embargo in the region, neither side respected it.<ref>(Benny (2008), "1948: The First Arab-Israeli War", Yale University Press, New Haven, pp. 269–271, {{ISBN|978-0-300-12696-9}}).[[Mordechai Weingarten]]</ref>

When the ship arrived the Israeli government, headed by Ben-Gurion, was adamant in its demand that the Irgun surrender and hand over all of the weapons. Ben-Gurion said: "We must decide whether to hand over power to Begin or to order him to cease his activities. If he does not do so, we will open fire! Otherwise, we must decide to disperse our own army."

[[File:Altalena off Tel-Aviv beach.jpg|thumb|left|''Altalena'' on fire after the Israeli government quelling of the Irgun's attempt to smuggle weapons]]
There were two confrontations between the newly formed IDF and the Irgun: when ''Altalena'' reached [[Kfar Vitkin]] in the late afternoon of Sunday, June 20 many Irgun militants, including Begin, waited on the shore. A clash with the [[Alexandroni Brigade]], commanded by {{ill|Dan Even|he|דן אבן}} (Epstein), occurred. Fighting ensued and there were a number of casualties on both sides. The clash ended in a ceasefire and the transfer of the weapons on shore to the local IDF commander, and with the ship, now reinforced with local Irgun members, including Begin, sailing to Tel Aviv, where the Irgun had more supporters.
Many Irgun members, who joined the IDF earlier that month, left their bases and concentrated on the Tel Aviv beach. A confrontation between them and the IDF units started. In response, Ben-Gurion ordered [[Yigael Yadin]] (acting Chief of Staff) to concentrate large forces on the Tel Aviv beach and to take the ship by force. Heavy guns were transferred to the area and at four in the afternoon, Ben-Gurion ordered the shelling of the ''Altalena''. One of the shells hit the ship, which began to burn.
Sixteen Irgun fighters were killed in the confrontation with the army; six were killed in the Kfar Vitkin area and ten on [[Tel Aviv beach]]. Three IDF soldiers were killed: two at Kfar Vitkin and one in Tel Aviv.

After the shelling of the ''Altalena'', more than 200 Irgun fighters were arrested. Most of them were freed several weeks later. The Irgun militants were then fully integrated with the IDF and not kept in separate units.

The initial agreement for the integration of the Irgun into the IDF did not include [[Jerusalem]], where a small remnant of the Irgun called the ''Jerusalem Battalion'', numbering around 400 fighters, and Lehi, continued to operate independently of the government. Following the assassination of UN Envoy for Peace [[Folke Bernadotte]] by Lehi in September 1948, the Israeli government determined to immediately dismantle the underground organizations. An ultimatum was issued to the Irgun to liquidate as an independent organization and integrate into the IDF or be destroyed, and Israeli troops surrounded the Irgun camp in the Katamon Quarter of Jerusalem. The Irgun accepted the ultimatum on September 22, 1948, and shortly afterward the remaining Irgun fighters in Jerusalem began enlisting in the IDF and turning over their arms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19480923&id=13ssAAAAIBAJ&pg=3395,2171340&hl=en|title=Herald-Journal |website=news.google.com}}</ref><ref>[https://www.jta.org/1948/09/22/archive/irgunists-in-jerusalem-surrender-their-arms-to-govt-dissidents-to-join-army-today Irgunists in Jerusalem Surrender Their Arms to Govt; Dissidents to Join Army Today] 22 September 1948, ''www.jta.org'', accessed 29 September 2019</ref> At Begin's orders, the Irgun in the diaspora formally disbanded on January 12, 1949, with the Irgun's former Paris headquarters becoming the European bureau of the [[Herut]] movement.