 The 1947 UN Partition Plan in late November 1947 designated Haifa as part of the proposed Jewish state . Arab protests over that decision evolved into violence between Jews and Arabs that left several dozen people dead during December . On 30 December 1947 , members of the <unk> , a Jewish underground militia , threw bombs into a crowd of Arabs outside the gates of the Consolidated <unk> in Haifa , killing six and injuring 42 . In response Arab employees of the company killed 39 Jewish employees in what became known as the Haifa Oil <unk> massacre . The Jewish <unk> militia retaliated with a raid on the Arab village of Balad al @-@ <unk> , where many of the Arab refinery workers lived , in what became known as the Balad al @-@ <unk> massacre . Control of Haifa was critical in the ensuing civil war , since it was the major industrial and oil refinery port in British Palestine . 
