Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Operation Agatha was a police and military operation conducted by the British authorities in the British Mandate of Palestine.

On Saturday, June 29, 1946, 04:45AM, Operation Agatha was launched by the British, with the occupation of the Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem.
The British objectives included dissuading the Haganah, Palmach, Lehi, and IZL, from lattempting further attacks against British troops and officials.
British soldiers and policemen surrounded Jewish settlements and imposed curfews.
17, 000 Brtish soldiers took part in the search and arrest operation.
The British arrested 2,700 people, among them Zionist leaders and members of the Jewish Agency Executive, David Remez, Moshe (Shertok) Sharett, Yitzhak Gruenbaum, Dov Yosef, Mr. Shenkarsky, David Hacohen, Mr. Halperin, who were held in Latrun, following the operation.
Haganah members were detained at the British Army camp at Rafiah.
Curfews were imposed.,
Low flying planes circled Jerusalem.
Roadblocks were maintained, trains were flagged down, and passengers were evacuated and escorted home.
Special licenses were required for the operations of emergency vehicles.

At kibbutz Yagur קיבוץ יגור, British troops conducted a search which lasted a week.
The kibbutz members resisted passively, but were dispersed by tear gas, and held in enclosures set up by the soldiers.
The routine search changed once the first arms cache was found, and the British soldiers began digging under the floors, and in all possible hiding places
The British apparently had prior information about the arms caches, and found more than 300 rifles, 100 2-inch mortars, 400,000 bullets, 5,000 grenades and 78 revolvers.
The men of kibbutz Yagur קיבוץ יגור were arrested, and the British displayed the arms at a press conference.

During Operation Agatha Black Sabbath, British military forces cordoned off kibbutz Kfar Giladi קיבוץ כפר גלעדי, and when the soldiers broke in, the kibbutz members displayed passive resistance.

On Black Saturday, Pinchas 'Pinny' Ashuah was arrested and interned by the British.

On June 15, 1946, after Haganah הגנה intelligence had learned the details of Operation Agatha, in advance, the information was broadcast on Kol Yisrael קול ישראל.
Israel Galili cited over half the Palmach being detained.
The Head of Haganah הגנה Intelligence cited that no senior Haganah הגנה officers wer caught, while Jewish Agency officials had chosen detention, and had not tried to hide from the British.

Pinchas 'Pinny' Ashua, considered a boy, was released after several weeks, but the others, who were caught with him, were sent to the detention camp at Rafiah רפיח.