| Surafend massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign | |
 A map of Sarafand al-Amar | |
| Location | Sarafand al-Amar (modern-day Tzrifin, Israel) |
| Coordinates | 31°57′31″N 34°50′20″E / 31.95861°N 34.83889°E |
| Date | 10 December 1918 |
| Target | Male Palestinian villagers |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 40–137 |
| Perpetrators | ANZAC Mounted Division Scottish soldiers[citation needed] |
| Motive | Reprisal for thefts and a soldier's murder |
The Surafend massacre (Arabic: مجزرة صرفند) was a premeditated massacre committed against inhabitants of the village of Sarafand al-Amar (modern-day Tzrifin) and a Bedouin camp in Ottoman Palestine by occupying Australian, New Zealand and Scottish soldiers on 10 December 1918. Occurring at the conclusion of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I, Allied occupational forces in the region, in particular Australian and New Zealand troops, gradually grew frustrated over being subject to petty theft and occasional murders by local Arabs without redress.
On the night of 9 December, a New Zealand soldier was killed by an Arab thief who had stolen his kitbag. In response, troops of the ANZAC Mounted Division, as well as a small number of Scottish soldiers, surrounded Sarafand al-Amar and demanded the village's leaders hand over the thief. When they denied knowledge of the murder, the soldiers deliberated on their course of action before eventually deciding to attack the village, killing approximately 40–137 male villagers, with the only body count being 137 while others who did not count the bodies stated it was as low as 40.[1] The massacre caused a significant rift between the Division and its Commander-in-Chief, Sir Edmund Allenby.[2]
- ^ Daley, Paul (2009). Beersheba (Paperback). Carlton, Victoria, Australia: Melbourne University Press. pp. 252–272, 273–276, 295–297, 300–304. ISBN 9780522855999.
- ^ Elliott, Tim (24 July 2009). "Massacre that stained the Light Horse". The Age. Retrieved 25 July 2020.