Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

During the Ottoman period, Akko fortress served as a military area.
During the British Mandate of Palestine, it functioned as the center of government and gallows.
The prison complex was well fortified, and considered well-protected, due, in part, to the thick walls and moat surrounding it, and the Mediterranean Sea on its western flank.

On August 31, 1868, Bahá'u'lláh, prophet of the Baha'i, was deported by the Ottoman authorities to Palestine, and imprisoned, along with his family, in seven rooms on the top floor of Akko Prison כלא עכו.
In November, 1870, Bahá'u'lláh was released.

During the British Mandate, the British held prisoners from the Jewish Underground, of whom nine were executed there, Muslim prisoners arrested during the Great Arab Revolt, along with common criminal prisoners and detainees, in Akko Prison כלא עכו.

On March 8, 1947, an Royal Air Force plane sighted Ben Hecht בן הכט.
Jeno Berkovitz cites: "On March 8, everything changed. That afternoon, I happened to be stationed on deck, at the steering wheel. I still remember how good it felt – how the air smelled different as we got close to Eretz Yisrael. We were less than 10 miles from the coast of Tel Aviv, when three British destroyers approached and a British patrol plane circled overhead. I grabbed this flag, it had a big Jewish star on it, and hoisted it up the mast to show them that we were proud to be Jews fighting for our land.”
She was intercepted by Royal Navy destroyers, because armed resistance was expected, the British did not use minesweepers for the operation, just ten miles froms from the coast of Tel Aviv תל אביב.
At 12:15PM, HMS Chieftain joined HMS Chevron two hours later,
The British hailed Ben Hecht בן הכט in English and in German.
At 16:15PM, Ben Hecht בן הכט stopped, and sent her passengers below deck, while discussions took place.
At 17:30PM, HMS Chivalrous and frigate HMS St. Bride's Bay joined.
Ben Hecht בן הכט resumed, making 10 knots, towards Tel Aviv תל אביב.
When warned again, Ben Hecht בן הכט increased speed to 13 knots.
HMS Cheiftain came along side, and 32 officers and British soldiers wearing red berets, called ‘Red Devils’ boarded, and pushed Ben Hecht בן הכט round towards the west.
HMS Chevron boarded 30 more, while 20 soldiers from HMS Chivalrous boarded.
Jeno Berkovitz cites: "British soldiers wearing red berets – we called them 'red devils’'– jumped aboard. They shoved me aside and quickly took control of the ship. The crew and the passengers were brought to a detention camp in Cyprus. The DPs would end up staying there for more than a year, until after Israel’s creation in May 1948."
A photographer, from Life Magazine, was kicked while taking pictures of the boarding party coming aboard, and three British were killed and several injured in an effort capture passengers who plunged into the water.
At 05:33AM, Ben Hecht בן הכט was arrested when she reached teritorial waters.
HMS Octavia came along side, secured a line, and towed Ben Hecht בן הכט to Haifa חיפה.
The passengers were taken to a Detention Camp Number 66, in Cyprus Κύπρος, while the crew members were jailed at Akko Prison כלא עכו.
The British took the American crew members to the Akko Prison כלא עכו, where they were jailed alongside members of the ITzL אצ"ל and Lehi לח"י Stern Group, and announced they would deport the crew members to the United States.
Jeno Berkovitz cites: "To London’s dismay, the detention of the Ben Hecht crewmen became a lightning rod for criticism from Members of Congress, the American press and the US Jewish community. After holding the seamen for a month, the British decided they were more trouble than they were worth and put them on a ship bound for New York."
Meanwhile, the United States Attorney General announced he would not bring criminal charges against them.

On April 19, 1947, four ITzL אצ"ל members, Dov Gruner, Yehiel Dresner, Mordechai Alkahi and Eliezer Kashani, captured by the British 6th Airborne Division, were hanged in Akko Prison כלא עכו.

On Sunday, May 4, 1947, ITzL forces broke into Akko Prison כלא עכו, and released 28 incarcerated ITzL and Lehi members.
At 14:00PM, a military engineering unit of ITzL leb by Dov Salomon and Yehuda Apiryon, made its way to the nearby Turkish bath, disguised as telephone technicians and carrying ladders, TNT, ropes and other necessary incursion equipment.
Other ITzL strike and escape teams spread around the prison, disguised as British military convoys.
34 ITzL fighters attacked Akko Prison כלא עכו.
Dov Cohen and two other fighters were killed during the retreat.