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Latrun
Latrun (, ''Latrun''; , ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the site of fierce fighting during the 1948 war. During the period of 1949–1967, it was occupied by Jordan at the edge of a no man's land between the armistice lines. In the 1967 war, it was occupied by Israel. The hilltop includes the Latrun Abbey, Mini Israel (a park with scale models of historic buildings around Israel), The International Center for the Study of Bird Migration (ICSBM), the Yad La-Shiryon memorial to armored corps soldiers killed in action, and military tank museum. Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace) is a joint Israeli-Palestinian community on a hilltop south of Latrun. Canada Park is nearby to the east. Etymology The name Latrun is derived from the ruins of a medieval Crusader castle. There are two theories regarding the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battles Of Latrun (1948)
The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name from the monastery close to the junction of two major highways: Jerusalem to Jaffa/Tel Aviv and Gaza to Ramallah. During the British Mandate it became a Palestine Police base with a Tegart fort. The United Nations Resolution 181 placed this area within the proposed Arab state. In May 1948, it was under the control of the Arab Legion. It commanded the only road linking the Yishuv-controlled area of Jerusalem to Israel, giving Latrun strategic importance in the battle for Jerusalem. Despite assaulting Latrun on five separate occasions, Israel was ultimately unable to capture Latrun and it remained under Jordanian control until the Six-Day War. The battles were such a decisive Jordanian victory that the Israelis decided to construct a bypa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war became a war of separate states with the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948, the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight, and the entry of a Arab League, military coalition of Arab states into the territory of Mandatory Palestine the following morning. The war formally ended with the 1949 Armistice Agreements which established the Green Line (Israel), Green Line. Since the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 creation of the British Mandate of Palestine, and in the context of Zionism and the Aliyah, mass migration of European Jews to Palestine, there had been Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine, tension and conflict between Arabs, Jews, and the British in Palestine. The conflict escalated into a civil war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latrun Salient
The Latrun salient is an area of the West Bank that protrudes into Israeli territory. It is surrounded by a strip of territory covering , that has the formal status of a no man's land (NML) between Israel and Palestine. Israel considers the NML a part of its state, while Palestinians regard it as part of the West Bank. Background The region consists of hills and an arable plain that historically was owned and cultivated for centuries by Palestinian fellahin. It forms a crucial junction between Jaffa and Jerusalem. Its importance as a strategic transit area was recognized by the military authorities of Mandatory Palestine who built a formidable Tegart fortress on a hilltop site there. The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine assigned the region to a future Arab state. Throughout the ensuing 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jordan's Arab Legion managed to maintain control of the terrain overlooked by the Tegart fort and the Trappist Latrun monastery despite fierce attempts by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Man's Land (Latrun)
No man's land in the Latrun area (NML) was a strip of territory covering , in the area of Latrun. Israel considers the area of the NML to be a part of its state, while Palestinians regard it as a part of the West Bank. Legal status The strips of territory known as no man's land in the Latrun and Jerusalem regions were among the territories occupied by Israel following the 1967 war. Under international law, the territory is not considered to be occupied. Both the United Nations and the European Union consider Israeli localities in the Latrun no man's land area to be illegal settlements. Background The 1949 Armistice Agreements demarcated the NML by two lines reflecting the respective positions of the two armies at the time of the ceasefire, with the land between the lines defined as no man's land, controlled by neither party. In 1967, Israeli forces occupied the Latrun area early on the second day of the Six-Day War. On Israeli maps since then, both the Armistice line and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yad La-Shiryon
Yad La-Shiryon (officially: The Armored Corps Memorial Site and Museum at Latrun; ) is Israel's official memorial site for fallen soldiers from the Israeli Armor Corps, armored corps, as well as one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. The cornerstone for Yad La-Shiryon was laid on . The site was created through the initiative of veteran officers of the armored corps. The outdoor display includes 110 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, both Israeli and captured enemy examples including the Merkava and T-34, T-54, T-55, T-62 tanks, as well as vehicles obtained or purchased from allied nations specifically for diversifying the collection like the German Leopard tank or the only T-72 on display in Israel. Other notable items include: an M4 Sherman tank mounted high atop a former British Water tower, water tower; a collection of mobile bridges constructed by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) which can be carried by tanks and erected while under fire; captured enemy ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada Park
Canada Park (, , also Ayalon Park) is a national park stretching over in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The park is located north of Highway 1 (Tel Aviv-Jerusalem), and is situated near the Ayalon Valley, between the Latrun Interchange and Sha'ar HaGai. It was established following the ethnic cleansing of the ancient Palestinian villages of Yalu, Bayt Nuba and Imwas by Israeli troops during the Six-Day War. Today, the park is full with natural attractions, including man-made forests, Mediterranean woodlands home to many local flowers, and the remains of ancient orchards. The park also has a number of historical interest, including a Hasmonean Jewish fort, burial caves and ritual baths of the Second Temple period and the Bar Kokhba revolt, a Crusader fort, a Roman bathhouse that was turned into a maqam, the remnants of the three depopulated Palestinian villages, and various military memorials. There are also recreation areas, springs, and panoramic several hilltop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayalon Valley
The Ayalon Valley ( or , ''ʾAyyālōn''), also written Aijalon and Ajalon, is a valley in the lowland of the Shephelah in Israel. The Ayalon Valley has been an important route connecting the coastal plain and Jerusalem for generations. Due to its location, several battles were fought in its vicinity. The Hebrew Bible gives the valley its name from Ayalon, a city that the Tribe of Dan possessed before their migration to the north. In the modern period, ancient Ayalon was identified with the former village of Yalo at the base of the Bethoron pass, which preserved the ancient, biblical name. Today, the Ayalon Valley is home to several ''kibbutzim'' and ''moshavim'', including Sha'alvim, Mishmar Ayalon, Nahshon, and Kfar Bin Nun. The valley is also home to Canada Park, a national park, the Yad La-Shiryon (Armored Corps Museum), Mini Israel, the Latrun Monastery and Emmaus Nicopolis, an archeological site commonly identified with Emmaus of the New Testament. History In the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neve Shalom
Neve Shalom (), also known as Wahat as-Salam () is a cooperative village in Israel, jointly founded by Israeli Jews and Arabs in an attempt to show that the two peoples can live side by side peacefully, as well as to conduct educational work for peace, equality and understanding between the two peoples. The village is located on one of the two Latrun hilltops overlooking the Ayalon Valley, and lies midway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Falling under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, in it had a population of . History The name ''Neve Shalom'' is taken from a passage in the Isaiah 32:18: "My people shall dwell in an oasis of peace". The village was the brainchild of Father Bruno Hussar. Born in Egypt the son of non-practicing Jews, he converted to Christianity while studying engineering in France. Witnessing at first hand the vitriolic antisemitism of wartime France sharpened his awareness of his Jewish roots. He joined the Dominican Order, was ordained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Society For The Protection Of Nature In Israel
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (, ''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva''), or SPNI, is an Israeli non-profit environmental organization working to preserve plants, animals, and natural environments that represent bio-diversity, by protecting the lands and waters needed for their survival, and is Israel's oldest and largest conservation organization. History SPNI was founded in 1953 by Azaria Alon and Amotz Zahavi in response to plans to drain the Hula Valley. The Israeli government and the Jewish National Fund, JNF ultimately did drain a majority of the Hula wetlands to prevent the spread of malaria and to create agricultural land. After 40 years of SPNI campaigning, some 10% of the Hula wetlands were re-flooded in the early 1990s. In 1980, SPNI, together with Azaria Alon, Amotz Zahavi and Yoav Sagi, was awarded the Israel Prize for its special contribution to society and the State for the environment. Major divisions Best known to the public for sponsoring hikes (today, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mini Israel
Mini Israel () is a miniature park located near Latrun in Jerusalem within the Ayalon Valley. Opened in November 2002, the site contains miniature replicas of hundreds of buildings and landmarks in Israel. The tourist attraction consists of about 350 miniaturize models of notable buildings. The scale of 1:25 produces skyscrapers which sit at adult height and historic churches around the height of a child. Overview The permanent exhibition shows the main sites and structures in Israel of importance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The sites are of historical, archeological, cultural, religious, and ethnic importance, depicting the sites and the ethnic groups associated with them, such as different Muslim cultural groups, Jews and Christians living in the country, but also Druze, Bedouin and others. The signs are in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. 95% of the visitors are Israeli. The complex covers 60,000 square metres (14.8 acres), with the models displayed over 35,000 sq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trappist Monastery
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. They follow the Rule of Saint Benedict and have communities of both monks and nuns that are known as Trappists and Trappistines, respectively. They are named after La Trappe Abbey, the monastery from which the movement and religious order originated. The movement began with the reforms that Abbot Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé introduced in 1664, later leading to the creation of Trappist congregations, and eventually the formal constitution as a separate religious order in 1892. History The order takes its name from La Trappe Abbey or ''La Grande Trappe'', located in the French province of Normandy, where the reform movement began. Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé, originally the comme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusader Castle
This is a list of castles in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, founded or occupied during the Crusades. For crusader castles in Poland and the Baltic states, see Ordensburg. There were two major phases of the deliberate destruction (slighting) of Crusader castles: in 1187 by Saladin and after 1260 by the Mamluks. The intention was often to prevent the castles being reused by the Crusaders. Of the architecture built by the Crusaders, castles have received more scholarly attention than other forms, such as ecclesiastical architecture. Crusader states Geographic location on today's map *Kingdom of Cyprus: Island of Cyprus (north and south) *County of Edessa: south-east Turkey *Principality of Antioch: north-west Syria, southern Turkey *County of Tripoli: northern Lebanon, north-west Syria *Kingdom of Jerusalem **Lordship of Sidon: central Lebanon **Principality of Galilee: northern Israel, southern Lebanon, southwest Syria **County of Jaffa and Ascalon: southern Israel, e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
