Kafr Qasim massacre — 1956 massacre of Arab civilians by the Israeli Border Police
The killing of 49 Arab civilians by Israeli Border Police in 1956 prompted a landmark military trial but resulted in minimal punishment, raising lasting questions about command responsibility.
Key Facts
- Civilians killed
- 49 (19 men, 6 women, 23 children)
- Date of massacre
- 29 October 1956
- Maximum prison sentence imposed
- 17 years years
- All convicted released by
- November 1959
- Brigade commander's fine
- 10 prutot (symbolic)
- Formal apology issued
- December 2007 by President Shimon Peres
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On 29 October 1956, as Israel launched the Sinai War, the army imposed a wartime curfew on Arab villages near the Green Line. Many villagers were away working and returned home unaware that a curfew had been enacted. Israeli Border Police commanders ordered that anyone found violating the curfew be shot, and the order was carried out despite the civilians' evident ignorance of the restriction.
Israeli Border Police stationed at Kafr Qasim opened fire on returning Palestinian villagers who had been unaware of the newly imposed curfew. In the course of the killings, 49 civilians—19 men, 6 women, and 23 children—were shot dead. An Israeli court later ruled the command to kill civilians was 'blatantly illegal,' and several Border Police officers were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to 17 years.
All convicted officers were released by November 1959, with some receiving presidential pardons, and two later received government promotions. The highest-ranking official prosecuted alleged the trial was staged to shield senior political and military figures. Israel's president formally apologized in December 2007, and a 2021 Knesset bill to officially recognize the massacre was rejected, leaving its legal and historical status contested.