At the outbreak of World War II the Yishuv was torn between its fight against the British for free Aliyah and a Hebrew state, and the desire to join them against Nazi Germany.

In 1943, as the tide was shifting in favor of the Allies, the Agency decided to assist the British in any possible way, hoping to gain political benefits after the war.

Ben Gurion and the Agency objected and started a public struggle to force the Irgun and Lehi to cease such activities.

We have no such ambitions... we think that Ben-Gurion is the man who can lead our youth into battle today", the Jewish Agency's leadership regarded the issue as an important power struggle, and the Haganah forces started preparing for a possible armed conflict.

Due to the increasing level of violence and number of Irgun actions, and to lesser extent, of Lehi as well, Yehuda Bauer writes (on page 275 in the Hebrew edition of his study, "From Diplomacy to Resistance") that the decision to go forward with an anti-Irgun operation was taken in late September/early October 1944.

Unit squadrons detained Irgun members in hiding places in Kibbutzim (Ein Harod, Mishmar HaEmek and Alonim, among others).

During the Saison, the "department for special tasks" provided the British with information regarding several hundred Irgun members and armories.

Still, the Irgun was severely affected by the Saison and by the end of February 1945, the main aim – a cessation of action against the British – had been achieved.

In late October 1945 the Jewish Resistance Movement was established, joining Haganah, Irgun and Lehi together in a violent struggle against the British Mandate.

The "Little Saison" refers to the actions undertaken by the Haganah in the spring and summer of 1947, meant to sabotage the Irgun and Lehi insurgencies against the British when Palestine was handed to the UN and UNSCOP.

Some regard the Saison as one of the biggest moments of crisis faced by the Yishuv, setting it on the brink of a civil war, together with the Altalena affair.

[12] Meretz MK Avshalom Vilan described in an interview[permanent dead link‍] the situation prior to the disengagement as one in which "Arik Sharon will have to make a Ben-Gurion-like decision.