Later, as Haganah's link to these organizations, Irgun, helped them coordinate several missions with the Haganah, among them the widely condemned attack at Deir Yassin. In 1948, he was the local Haganah district commander when the village was attacked by Irgun and Lehi Jewish fighters despite a non-aggression pact signed between the Zionists and the Mukhtar of the village, the villagers wanting to remain neutral in the war. At first Shaltiel did not agree with attacking Deir Yassin, but after a day he surrendered and wrote a letter to them saying that he had "no objection to your carrying out the operation". Yitzchak Levi, head of the Jerusalem branch of Haganah Intelligence, proposed that the inhabitants should be notified that the truce was over, but Shaltiel then refused to endanger the operation by warning them.