Operation Dekel (), was the largest offensive by
Israeli forces in the north of
Palestine after the first truce of the
1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was carried out by the
7th Armoured Brigade led by Canadian volunteer
Ben Dunkelman (called Benjamin Ben-David in Israel), a battalion from the
Carmeli Brigade, and some elements from the
Golani Brigade between 8–18 July. Its objective was to capture
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
and the
Lower Galilee.
On 15 July Israeli aircraft bombed
Saffuriya village and caused panic among the population; many of the villagers fled northwards toward
Lebanon, others found shelter in Nazareth, leaving about 100 elderly people behind.
On the evening of 16 July, Nazareth surrendered to the Israelis after a light fight which left one Israeli dead and one wounded. The
Arab Liberation Army forces in the village under the command of
Fawzi al-Qawuqji retreated to the mountains in the north. In sharp contrast to the surrounding towns, the inhabitants of Nazareth were never forced to evacuate as Dunkelman refused to obey orders from
Haim Laskov to evacuate them.
[ Said, E.W. & Hitchens, C. (2001) ''Blaming the Victims'' pp. 86–87 ]
Palestinian Arab villages captured in Operation Dekel
See also
*
Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel
*
List of battles and operations in the 1948 Palestine war
*
Killings and massacres during the 1948 Palestine war
References
External links
Operation DekelJewish Virtual Library
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Dekel
July 1948 in Asia
History of Nazareth