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had an explosives expert by the name of Fawzi el-Kutub, who had prepared the previous car bombs which caused dozens of fatalities, many casualties and huge damages in property in February 1948. Now, in the month of March, he prepared a new car bomb. El-Kutub hid no less than a quarter ton of various explosives in the large and fancy American car, including a mixture of mercury, sodium acid and alcohol. "Daud's target was the most guarded Jewish building in Jerusalem, the center of the 'Haganah' and the Zionist Movement," the two wrote. "The large and fancy building was hated by the Arab leaders and commanders even before 1948, and certainly during that year. It was the nerve system of the fighting against the Arabs of the Land of Israel."
According to the description of the book "O Jerusalem!", the building was surrounded by a steel fence three meters tall. The visitors underwent rigorous examination and screening, and were only permitted to enter afterwards. Anton Daud was exempt from all these. He was familiar, since he arrived at the compound many times in the American Consulate car, and was always allowed to enter. Moreover, due to the familiarity and the sense that he was reliable, he was approached to sell weapons to the "Haganah." Daud reported the offer to the Supreme Commander of the Arabs in Jerusalem, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, who ordered him to accept it and provide the Jews with weapons and grenades. His contacts were the guards at the Jewish National Institutions Building.
One day, a window of opportunity presented itself to him. His contacts "stepped things up" and asked him to acquire a Bren machine gun, which he promised to bring. Thus, he arrived at the building again, before noon on March 11, and allegedly brought the machine gun with him. The guards opened the gates to him, and he parked right next to the "Haganah" headquarters in Jerusalem. According to one of the guards, he went to give him money for the machine gun he brought. Daud told the guards that he was "popping out" of the compound for a moment – and disappeared.
This is where the version of Lapierre and Collins ends. Dov Yosef, who was the military governor of Jerusalem during the War of Independence, adds an interesting detail in his memoirs: Anton Daud disappeared as if the earth swallowed him, and was later discovered in Venezuela. In other words: he was quickly extricated from the Land of Israel by his handlers.
And there is also a fifth version, presented by the historian and military researcher Dr. Uri Milstein. According to him, Daud left that morning in the consulate's car, met with his contact Polyakov, and they had agreed that he would bring a machine gun to the courtyard of the National Institutions Building. In the meantime, the Arab explosives expert Fawzi el-Kutub placed a hundred kilograms of explosives in the car. At 09:15, Polyakov entered the courtyard of the National Institutions Building in his cab and asked the guards not to delay Daud, who would soon be arriving with a Bren machine gun. About a quarter of an hour later, Daud arrived in the consulate car, was casually checked at the gate, parked it the Keren Hayesod Wing and removed a package from it. He walked to Polyakov's cab and told him they needed to leave the compound and go to the post office, where he needed to collect several packages. He also promised him his cousin is expecting him in a remote location in the city, with a car loaded with weapons.
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