Built in 1930, it housed the headquarters of the British military and civilian command in Palestine after World War II. On 22 July 1946, the southwest corner of the building was destroyed by a bombing committed by the Irgun Tzvai Leumi (Irgun). A total of 91 people were killed in the attack: 41 Arabs, 28 British, 17 Jews, and 5 others. According to the Irgun's leader, Menachem Begin, the bombing was a political act, a demonstration that the Ir-gun could strike at the very heart of the British mandate authority in Palestine. The attack was condemned by the Jewish Agency leadership. Nevertheless, it prompted a crackdown by British security authorities of Zionist activities in Palestine. The King David Hotel was rebuilt in 1948.
See also Great Britain.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..