Surafend massacre
| 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 |
| 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 an alleged murder by local Arabs without redress.
On the night of 9 December, a New Zealand soldier names Leslie Lowry was killed by a thief who had stolen his kitbag. Lowry died without speaking, but alongside his body the troops found some pieces of evidence, including a piece of Arabic clothing, and (allegedly) a set of footprints leading towards Surafend.