Netanyahu Vows to Raise Altalena Shipwreck Found Off Coast

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to raise the Altalena from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, following the announcement that the vessel was found.

Netanyahu called it a tangible symbol of the imperative to never descend into civil war. The Altalena shipwreck was located intact at a depth of 503 meters (1,650 feet), some 20 kilometers off the coast of Tel Aviv, 78 years after its sinking. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Heritage Ministry announced the find on Monday.

Netanyahu visited the Etzel Museum in Tel Aviv and stated, "Today, finally, after 78 years, we have located the ship after it sank into the depths." He echoed Menachem Begin's heartfelt cry of civil war, never again! The Altalena was an Irgun vessel carrying weaponry for soldiers in the War of Independence. The Irgun was a paramilitary organization that fought against British forces to establish an independent Jewish state, while the Haganah was the main Zionist paramilitary organization that later formed the bulk of the newly formed IDF.

An expert in maritime archaeology told Haaretz that the process of raising the Altalena would be extremely expensive, highly complex, and effectively impossible with currently available means in Israel. We're making history, and suggested that with elections approaching, the find serves as a vehicle for right-wing incitement.