Even prior to the 1948 war the Haganah had a policy of executing spies and collaborators. In the summer of 1947 Moshe Kelman commanded a Haganah squad which executed a Jew accused of collaborating with the British. The execution took place at Kibbutz Dafna.Kurzman, Don (1970) Genesis 1948. The First Arab-Israeli War. An Nal Book, New York. Library of Congress number 77-96925. pp.479,480 During the siege of Jerusalem, the reports and fears of spies abounded. Lehi alone had executed 4 "spies" in Jerusalem including Vera Ducas, a 36-year-old female Austrian Jew who was shot on 29 March.Eric Dowton, The Scotsman, 29 March 1948 In June, there was a report that "nine Jewish girls are being held by the [Israeli] Army under suspicion of contacts with the enemy."Levin, Harry. "Jerusalem Embattled. A diary of the city under siege." Cassel, 1997. . Page 230. Entry 5 June 1948. One rumoured to be Abdul Kader Husseini's lover. The apparent accuracy of Jordanian shelling of strategic targets led to suspicions that a spy was responsible. Those suspicions were focused on the Jerusalem Electric Corporation.
