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Operation HaHar (, ''The Mountain''), or Operation El HaHar, was an
Israeli Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
campaign against villages southwest of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
launched at the end of October 1948. The operation lasted from 19 to 24 October and was carried out by troops from the Harel and
Etzioni Brigade The Etzioni Brigade (, ''Hativat Etzyoni''), also 6th Brigade and Jerusalem Brigade, is an infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded in late 1947 as the Field Corps unit responsible for the defence of Jerusalem and its surro ...
s. The villages were defended by units from the Egyptian army and local militias. By the end of the campaign over a dozen villages had been captured. It coincided with
Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Eg ...
which attacked Egyptian positions further south.


Background

In mid-October 1948, the Har’el Brigade published a combat ordinance, which read: "The enemy is planning to cut-off the well-springs of immigration and ewishsettlement, to build a nest of war conspiracies against us and against all those who love peace in the world, to cut-off from Israel the
Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
; to inflict harm to the capital, the center of yearnings of the generations of Israel; to subjugate the Hebrew element of Jerusalem; to dismantle Jewish industry; to block-off the sea; to deny the independence of
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
and its port. These schemes will be eradicated on the battlefield."''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 267 (Hebrew) Up until that time, the Brigade had been active in capturing infiltrators who sought to carry out attacks against Jews and their property, as also in securing the public transportation to Jerusalem. The Regimental Operations Department initiated patrols south of the Jerusalem Corridor. They assumed that when fighting resumed, the task of the Brigade would be to expand the corridor southward. Thus, before Operation El Ha-Har (Unto the Mountaintop) was approved, "Raanana" (Eliyahu Sela), the Officer in charge of Regimental Operations, had informed the Fourth and the Fifth battalions about the plan to take military action in the area of
Beit Jimal Beit Jimal (or Beit Jamal; ; ), Beit el Jemâl, meaning "The house of the camel"Palmer, 1881, p286/ref> is a Catholic monastery run by Salesians of Don Bosco, Salesian priests and brothers near Beit Shemesh, Israel. The Christian tradition identi ...
and Dayr al-Hawa, and gave orders unto them to carry out reconnaissance missions with a view of watching enemy movement in that territory and to prepare an operational plan for the conquering of those villages if and when the fighting should be renewed. In a written dispatch, "Raanana" had informed Palmach-Harel headquarters responsible for the central front: "In all these last few days, the enemy has not ceased from his own operations in this sector f the country There has been an exchange of unrelenting gun-fire. The strategic location itself is not easy to hold-on to, since it is much lower than the other positions. Our suggestion would be, 1) consolidating and expanding the position by occupying other positions, with additional operations conducted by small raiding parties; the addition of 120 mm. mortar for this area; 2) In the event that operations should be halted, a call to the United-Nations for a cease-fire." "Raanana" waited impatiently for a prompt answer, but his request to "occupy other positions" was denied him. Nevertheless, in spite of being denied, these positions were still taken by force when operations began, the Har’el Brigade continuously moving and extending the border of Jewish hegemony as far as ''Wādi Surar'' (
Nahal Sorek Naḥal Sorek (; ), also Soreq, is one of the largest, most important drainage basins in the Judean Hills. It is mentioned in the Book of Judges 16:4 of the Bible as the border between the ancient Philistines and the Tribe of Dan of the ancient ...
), where it was also deemed necessary to establish a military outpost beyond its south bank.


Preparations for war

In the meantime, Palmach-Harel headquarters continued to make suggestions to the higher military echelon on ways in which the Jerusalem Corridor could be better secured by extending its control over other vital areas. "Having prevailed upon their officers, the Officer of Special Operations, unto whom was made available a vast quantity of weapons for the prosecution of that war, was given the liberty to make preparations for war and was tasked with drawing-up a series of military plans, which he did in consultation with the brigade commander and the battalion commanders."''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, pp. 267 - 268 (Hebrew) The plan of military action which they devised called out for an integrated unit consisting of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth battalions, the 10th Armored Brigade (), Intelligence unit, logistics officers, transportation, medical services, saboteurs, corps of engineers, artillery officer, quartermaster and personnel administration. "Raanana", at this time, felt confident that he now had everything that he needed to plan and execute military operations that would result in widening Israel's control over the Jerusalem Corridor southward, as far as the Elah Valley, including that road that branched off between the Shaar HaGai -
Bayt Jibrin Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibrin ( lit. 'House of the Powerful') was an Arab village in the Hebron Subdistrict of British Mandatory Palestine, in what is today the State of Israel, which was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was ...
highway, and ascended eastward through the Elah Valley as far as al-Khader (today, regional highway 375).''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 268 (Hebrew) The Brigade was initially supposed to take-up a position on a mountain in the vicinity of the Arab village, Ḥousan, and what was then known as "the Fork" (now, Tzur Hadassa), and to be on stand-by for further movement, if called for, in the direction of Gush-Etzion,
Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
, Bayt Jala and
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
.


Renewed fighting

Hostilities began on 15 October 1948, when Israeli troops assigned to
Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Eg ...
took the offensive to the south, opposite Egyptian army positions in the northern
Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
. The Har’el Brigade, stationed further north, remained inactive for four days, a decision taken by the IDF's General Staff and which, for political reasons, wanted to see first whether or not the Jordanian
Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...
would react. On 19 October, when the "junction" in the south was captured and there was once again an unobstructed land-link with settlements in the Negev, the Brigade was given leave to commence military operations in its sector of the country. Among the considerations for permitting the Brigade to start its offensive was the fact that the Arab Legion had not intervened in Israeli military operations in the northern Negev, while there was also some concern that the United Nations Security Council might call for a cease-fire on 19 October. If that were to happen, the Brigade would have lost its opportunity to expand the Jerusalem Corridor by ridding it of hostile elements.


Fall of Dayr Aban

The Jordanian
Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...
had decided to concentrate its forces in
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
and in
Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
in order to save that district for its Arab inhabitants, and to prevent territorial gains for Israel. With the war raging in the south between Israeli soldiers assigned to
Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Eg ...
and Egyptian forces, the Har’el Brigade set out in its mission with two objectives in mind, namely, extension of Jewish control over the Jerusalem Corridor by cutting-off pockets of resistance, viz. Egyptian forces that were operating in the immediate region, while simultaneously making an effort not to inadvertently draw the Arab Legion into armed conflict with Israeli forces. On the moon-lit night of 19 October, the troops of the Har'el Brigade commenced operations which were later coined "El Ha-Har", moving to capture
Dayr Aban Dayr Aban (also spelled Deir Aban; ) was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Jerusalem Subdistrict, located on the lower slope of a high ridge that formed the western slope of a mount ...
(to the south of Mahseya) where there was located the 'Joint' military outpost in which, both, Egyptian forces joined by local militias from Dayr Aban lay on the one side, and Israeli troops on the other, had taken-up positions at a distance of sixty metres from each other. Egyptian forces lay to the east, while Israeli forces to the west. The attack was spearheaded by a company of men conscripted from abroad (), accompanied with artillery fire and "
Davidka The Davidka (, ''"Little David"'' or ''"Made by David"'' ) was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during 1947–1949 Palestine war. Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little val ...
" mortars. They also made use of a stratagem whereby, in the night, they played on a
phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...
the sound of rapid machine-gun fire, which blared loudly over the loudspeakers. The sudden onslaught and bombardment, along with the noise, had its desired effect, causing a retreat of all Egyptian forces from the Arab village.''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 269 (Hebrew) During this battle, Israeli forces suffered only one casualty, the deputy battalion commander of operations belonging to the Fifth Battalion, who had stepped momentarily out of his bunker to view the surgical attack.


Fall of Dayr al-Hawa

From there, the Brigade proceeded to climb higher ground until it reached the crest of the mountain range where it received orders to arrange for the military occupation and capture of Dayr al-Hawa (site of the present-day Nes Harim), a village perched at an elevation of some 637 meters above sea-level. This was done with the intent of making it a springboard for further military operations while advancing toward the mountains overlooking al-Khader, Bethlehem and Hebron. The Brigade began sending out armed patrol-parties of two to three men in order to acquaint themselves with the terrain, and to learn about the feasibility of sending out greater forces to infiltrate enemy lines. The plan was to cross-over the railroad line that connected Jerusalem with Hartuv. Scouts succeeded in crossing over the railway without being detected, and reached a position southwest of Dayr al-Hawa. When a second detail was sent out to ascertain whether or not the route could be traversed, they were ambushed by gunfire, which caused the party to retreat. A third detail sent out was also fired upon, which actions taken together gave the Brigade a correct assessment of the enemy's preparedness for battle. Given these circumstances, plans were drawn-up for the attack on Dayr al-Hawa. Two companies attacked Dayr al-Hawa. In addition to the massive firepower from their personal weapons, they were also aided by a 120 mm. mortar battery. When they had come within 200 meters of the village, the firing of auxiliary weapons used to assist them in the initial onslaught was brought to a halt. Another force assaulted the village from a different side. The villagers, being attacked from in front and from behind, soon capitulated. By midnight, units of the Fourth Battalion had taken full command of the village Dayr al-Hawa where they found the villagers had fled with their animals. At this success, they began making preparations for further action. In the process of taking the village, three companies with support weapons, accompanied by armored vehicles, had ascended the mountain. In the coordinated attacks, the Har’el Brigade had captured three military outposts: the 'House' outpost, the 'Cannon' outpost and the 'Joint' military outpost.''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 270 (Hebrew) In each of them, the Brigade initially met-up with some resistance. Tabenkin recalls: "When the 'Joint' outpost and Dayr al-Hawa had been captured, there was created for us the preeminence of decisive force, and we then decided to move also by day... When dawn broke he following morning it was decided that the soldiers of the Fifth Battalion would proceed unto Bayt Nattif with the intent, that after the capture of the village, it would be possible to proceed onward nhinderedover the Bayt Ha-Elah road northward (
sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...
)."


Fall of Allar

The people of the neighboring Arab village, Allar (site of the present-day Moshav Mata), upon hearing the sound of gunfire from the direction of Dayr al-Hawa, were gripped with fear and trepidation. When they were told that some of the residents in Dayr al-Hawa had been killed, out of concern for their own safety, the villagers took flight, taking with them provisions and bedding material for their needs, and the last of that summer's harvest from their fields (wheat and lentils), fleeing by lorry to al-Khader, whence they found temporary shelter in caves around Bayt Jala, before eventually settling in Dheisheh Camp.


Fall of Beit Jimal

Afterwards, on 20 October, a much smaller force from the Fifth Battalion broke-away and travelled with a battle corps of the 10th Armored Brigade on the Bayt Jibrin highway and captured
Beit Jimal Beit Jimal (or Beit Jamal; ; ), Beit el Jemâl, meaning "The house of the camel"Palmer, 1881, p286/ref> is a Catholic monastery run by Salesians of Don Bosco, Salesian priests and brothers near Beit Shemesh, Israel. The Christian tradition identi ...
. Having taken that strategic location and having silenced the Egyptian cannon fire that dominated the Bayt Jibrin highway, this enabled troops from the Givati infantry brigade, known as '' Shu'alei Shimshon '', to proceed unhindered unto
Bayt Jibrin Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibrin ( lit. 'House of the Powerful') was an Arab village in the Hebron Subdistrict of British Mandatory Palestine, in what is today the State of Israel, which was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was ...
.


Fall of Bayt Nattif and Zakariyya

The following day (21 October), Moshe ("Morris") Ben-Dror, the commander of the Fifth Battalion, put together a battle corps consisting of two companies of riflemen, a support company and saboteurs, who were instructed to take Bayt Nattif and to destroy its houses, whose inhabitants had fought against the Convoy of thirty-five fallen soldiers who were sent to aid their beleaguered comrades in
Gush Etzion Gush Etzion (, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 1943� ...
. Many of the town's inhabitants had taken up refuge in nearby ''Umm al-Ra'us'', but were prevented from returning. At night, a unit from the Fifth Battalion raided the village of Zakariyya (site of the present-day Zekharia), which action them opened the Elah Valley road to al-Khader (today, regional highway 375). Many of the villagers in Zakariyya had fled to the hills, but returned to live in their village and were allowed to stay there, until they were eventually resettled in 1950, with compensation, some in Ramlah, while others choosing to move to
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
.


Fall of Jarash and Bayt 'Itab

With war approaching, by the 21st of October, the residents of Jarash had fled their hilltop village. An integrated force of armored vehicles and infantry proceeded on the road (now route 386) in the direction of Bayt 'Itab (near the present site of
Bar Giora Bar Giora () is a moshav in the Judean Mountains in Israel. Located between Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was initially founded by t ...
). Before the break of dawn (22nd of October), it became evident to the fighting force that the town's inhabitants had all deserted the village. The houses of the villages were demolished, and when the
land mines A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...
along the route had been dismantled and cleared for safe passage, the entire force continued to move until it reached the intersection near the Arab village of Ḥousan. There, a firefight broke-out between Jordanian infantry accompanied with armored cars carrying cannons and the advance guard of the Har’el. At length, the Jordanian forces retreated, and by dusk, the Har’el Brigade entered the village Ḥousan. On 22 October, at 15:30 hours, at the request of the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, a cease-fire took effect, in which both sides agreed.Sir
John Bagot Glubb Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha (; and known as Abu Hunaik by the Jordanians), was a British military officer who led and trained Transj ...
, ''A Soldier with the Arabs'', London 1957, p. 200 (although, in his account, the cease fire was to take effect from three o'clock in the afternoon).
One hour later, the Har’el Brigade received instructions to withdraw from the village, which news caught them by surprise, and to return to the intersection, and there to wait for further orders. The troops were then withdrawn and were positioned along the valley of
Wadi Fukin Wadi Fukin () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, eight kilometers southwest of Bethlehem in the Bethlehem Governorate. The village is located on 700 acres of land,David Tepper'The fight to save a village continues in Wadi Fukin,' Mondowei ...
, in accordance with the cease-fire agreement. Even so, the fighters of the Fifth Battalion made themselves ready for continued action. The general feeling among the troops was that they were fully capable of taking the entire area between Bethlehem and Hebron, based on military intelligence of enemy troops in the region. However, by midnight, Prime-Minister
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
had instructed the Har’el Brigade to withdraw all forces, meaning, Israeli forces were to relinquish their grip on Ḥousan. OC Central Command, General Zvi Ayalon, passed these instructions to Joseph Tabenkin, demanding that all hostilities end immediately, and that they return to the "Forked Junction" (today, Tzur Hadassah), 4-6 kilometers from Bayt Jala and from Bethlehem. Tabenkin, the Brigade commander, being startled by the order, went urgently that night to Har’el HQ in Abu-Ghosh and tried to convince his commanders to reexamine their decision and to continue with the prosecution of the war, but to no avail.''Har’el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem'', Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 273 (Hebrew) The result of the campaign to expand the Jerusalem Corridor as far as the western foothills of the
Judean mountains The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills (, or ,) are a mountain range in the West Bank and Israel where Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and several other biblical sites are located. The mountains reach a height of . The Judean Mountains can be div ...
, freeing it from pockets of resistance, helped, in the final analysis, to determine the border of Israel with
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
during the 1949 Armistice Agreement.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ha-Har, Operation Ha-Har 1948 in Israel Palmach Ha-Har Ha-Har October 1948 in Asia