Israel Locates Intact 1948 Altalena Shipwreck Off Coast

Israel has located the intact shipwreck of the Altalena off its Mediterranean coast at a depth of 503 meters. Amichai Eliyahu, the Heritage Minister, announced the discovery following a search funded by the Heritage Ministry with a 1 million shekel investment. The operation was conducted by the Survey of Israel and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute using the research vessel Bat Galim.

The Altalena was an Irgun arms ship that became the center of a violent 1948 conflict. To consolidate military authority, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered the Israel Defense Forces to shell the vessel off the coast of Tel Aviv, killing 16 Irgun members and three soldiers before the ship was scuttled at sea.

During a press conference at the Etzel Museum to mark the find, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir characterized the discovery as a reminder that civil war must be avoided. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a separate statement at the event to avoid being photographed with Ben Gvir, using the occasion to call for a broad national government to ensure security. Ben Gvir subsequently criticized Netanyahu for the boycott. Meanwhile, the Ben Gurion Heritage Institute stated that the discovery should serve as a reminder that statism is a condition for the existence of a state.