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 Dan Even (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 itself and integrate into the IDF or be destroyed. The Irgun accepted the ultimatum, and shortly afterward, it's fighters began enlisting in the IDF and turning over their arms.
[66]