ISRAEL. Tel Aviv. June 1948. Crowds gathered along the Tel Aviv beachfront to look at the beached wreckage of the burnt out ALTALENA, a cargo ship. The ship was loaded with weapons by and for a Zionist paramilitary organization, the Irgun (also known as Etzel). It was also carrying 500 Jewish immigrants. Tensions arose because weapons were transferred without consultation with the official army. Fighting broke out with the newly created Israel Defense Forces (official army) and the Irgun (who were in the process of merging to form the IDF). All passengers were offloaded and saved, then the ship was burnt.