Operation Lot
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Operation Lot () was an Israeli military operation during the
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 becam ...
. It was carried out on November 23–25, 1948, in the eastern
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 ...
desert and the Arava. The objective of Operation Lot was to create a ground corridor to the isolated Israeli
Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
enclave and assert Israeli sovereignty in the area. This became possible after the conquest of Beersheba by the
Israel Defense 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 ...
one month earlier, on October 21. The mission was accomplished without battle or firing a single shot. The operation was carried in difficult terrain, including the Scorpions Pass. It took three days for the main force of the
Negev Brigade The Negev Brigade (, ''Hativat HaNegev''), originally the 12th Brigade is an Israeli Reserve duty (Israel), reserve infantry brigade under the Sinai Division, that originally served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. History Founding and organizatio ...
to reach
Mount Sodom Mount Sodom (, ''Har Sedom'') is a hill along the southwestern part of the Dead Sea in Israel; it is part of the Judaean Desert Nature Reserve. It takes its name from the biblical city of Sodom, whose destruction is the subject of a narrative i ...
, where residents of villages in the Dead Sea region had been evacuated at the beginning of the war. Additional actions were reconnaissance missions in the Arava which helped make the subsequent
Operation Uvda Operation Uvda (, ''Mivtza Uvda'') was an operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, from 5 March to 10 March 1949. It was the last campaign undertaken by the IDF during the war and its objective was to ...
possible, and crossing the international border into
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...
.


Background

In the beginning of the
1948 Palestine War The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...
, Israel held several posts along the
Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
shore, including the villages
Kalya Kalya () is an Israeli settlement organized as a kibbutz in the West Bank. It was originally established in 1929 but was occupied and destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948; it was later rebuilt in 1968 after the Six-Day War. Located on the nort ...
and
Beit HaArava Beit HaArava () is an Israeli settlement and kibbutz in the West Bank. Located near the Dead Sea and Jericho at the eponymous Beit HaArava Junction, the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 90, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megilot Regi ...
in the northernmost part. These were home to important civilian installations, such as
potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.
plants. Israel sought to keep these plants operational during the war and demilitarize the area—important British businessmen had stakes in the potash plants, and Transjordan stood to make a profit by not attacking the villages and the plants. An agreement was forged with
King Abdullah King Abdullah may refer to: *Abdullah II of Jordan (born 1962), king of Jordan since 1999 ** List of things named after King Abdullah II *Abdullah I of Jordan (1882–1951), king of Transjordan *Abdullah Khan II (1533/4–1598), ruler of the Khanat ...
in this regard. However, with the end of the British Mandate and the Arab invasion of Israel, the situation began to deteriorate. In March–April 1948, British forces ceased protecting Jewish convoys traveling from
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 ...
to the Dead Sea. From May 14 to 17—when Israel's Declaration of Independence and the Arab invasion took place—women and children from Kalya and Beit HaArava were evacuated by plane to other parts of the country. Also at that time, on May 16, Transjordanian troop movements were spotted next to
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
nearby. In the meantime, the remaining residents sought to surrender to Transjordan and negotiated terms. After the negotiations concluded on May 18, delegations from the two villages left for Jerusalem and Mount Sodom to present the terms, but Sodom refused to surrender and on May 19 the Jewish Dead Sea residents decided to remain and fight. However, for military reasons they thought best to concentrate all forces at Mount Sodom. On the same day the potash installations were sabotaged and 11.5 tons of explosives destroyed. On May 20, all residents of Kalya and Beit HaArava sailed to Sodom on boats.


Prelude

At that time, Israeli forces had no control over the Negev desert except an enclave west of
Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...
. On May 19, fresh water supplies that had come from Safi in Transjordan ceased, and the Transjordanian
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 ...
fired cannons at Sodom during the war, but never attacked. The base was thus supplied from the air through a makeshift airfield. The fighters tried to capture Safi to get fresh water, but failed. Sodom also had its own potash factory, which was maintained by the fighters so that it could become operational again on short order. For months, large Egyptian forces held the entire Auja–Beersheba–
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 ...
corridor and heavy fighting took place for control of the western enclave, so Israel could not think of linking up with the Dead Sea forces. However, this changed in
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 ...
in October 1948, when Beersheba and its immediate surroundings were captured by the Israel Defense Forces. This split the Egyptian lines and left no serious Egyptian or Transjordanian presence between the Israelis and the Dead Sea. Israel's prime minister and defense 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 ...
was keen on capturing Kurnub and Ein Husub because he believed that those areas were fit for settlement because of a large
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
. He also saw historical value in Ein Husub, which was not far from where
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
's mines were said to have been. In addition, the area was part of the Jewish State in the 1947 Partition Plan. Throughout October and early November, small scouting parties were sent to the southern Negev, from the Large Makhtesh to the Dead Sea. Although these parties discovered no enemy presence, Israeli intelligence discovered that following the capture of Beersheba, the Arab Legion took up positions in the Arava and Hebron. It was feared that they would continue from either place to the Dead Sea area, which factored into the decision for taking and holding the area.


Operation

Ben-Gurion personally gave the order to capture and hold the police stations of
Mamshit Mampsis (Medieval Greek: Μάμψις) or Memphis (Ancient Greek: Μέμφις), today Mamshit (), Kurnub (Arabic: كرنب), is a former Nabataean caravan stop and Byzantine city. In the Nabataean period, Mampsis was an important station on the ...
(Kurnub) and Ein Husub. The operation was named Lot for the biblical character who had lived in ancient Sodom. On the tactical level, the operational order was given by the
Negev Brigade The Negev Brigade (, ''Hativat HaNegev''), originally the 12th Brigade is an Israeli Reserve duty (Israel), reserve infantry brigade under the Sinai Division, that originally served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. History Founding and organizatio ...
's new operations officer,
Uzi Narkis Uzi Narkiss (; January 6, 1925 – December 17, 1997) was an Israeli general. Narkiss was commander of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units in the Central Region during the 1967 Six-Day War. Narkiss appears in the famous photograph of Defense Mi ...
. The action was to begin on November 22, and the internal name for the operation was Dabambam, in memory of the Negev Brigade officer Gershon Dabbenbaum who had been killed in action. An additional route to the sea
Nevatim Nevatim () is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert around south-east of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In it had a population of . The nearest settlements are the Bedoui ...
was explored—a northern route through Ras Zuweira near where Arad is today. While a scouting force was able to meet up with Sodom's scouts on the northern path, the bulk of the forces moved south to take Kurnub and Ein Husub. The action was postponed by 24 hours because reinforcements were needed in the
Bir 'Asluj The Battles of Bir 'Asluj refer to a series of military engagements between Israel and Egypt in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, around the localities Bir 'Asluj and the nearby Bir Thamila (also Bir Tamila or Bir Tmileh). Bir 'Asluj was a small Bedou ...
area. The Negev Brigade staff released the following declaration on November 23: At 10:00 on November 23, 1948,
Negev Brigade The Negev Brigade (, ''Hativat HaNegev''), originally the 12th Brigade is an Israeli Reserve duty (Israel), reserve infantry brigade under the Sinai Division, that originally served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. History Founding and organizatio ...
forces left Beersheba and reached Kurnub's police station, which they took at 15:30 without a fight. The 7th Battalion took positions there. A second convoy, from the 9th Battalion, led by
Haim Bar-Lev Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev (; 16 November 1924 – 7 May 1994) was a military officer during Israel's pre-state and early statehood eras and later a government minister. Biography Born Haim Brotzlewsky in Vienna and raised in Zagreb, Bar-Lev made al ...
, left Beersheba at 16:30. This convoy included two platoons of armored vehicles, an artillery piece, three jeep platoons, two additional infantry platoons, an ambulance, tow trucks and dozens of trucks containing supplies and building materials. In all, two battalions participated in the operation. The main difficulty of the operation was navigating the mountainous terrain where a vehicle could easily fall into an abyss. Many of the Negev Brigade's soldiers were
Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...
veterans who trained in the
Judean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert (, ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that stretches east of the ridge of the Judaean Mountains and in their rain shadow, so east of Jerusalem, and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, ...
before the war and had experience moving in similar conditions.
Military policemen Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
were active at the front of the convoy by putting up warning signs and guiding the vehicles. In the section leading up to Kurnub, only one truck veered off the road, when the forces spotted an airplane and took cover (it was in fact an Israeli airplane), but after many hours the truck was towed back. Upon rendezvousing with 7th Battalion forces near Kurnub and handing over the trucks meant for that position, the convoy started moving toward Ein Husub. This narrow road, today Road 227, including the treacherous Scorpion Pass, was created by the British in 1927 when they were searching the area for natural resources. Going down the Scorpion Pass was done at night and by dawn on November 24, the entire convoy had descended from the pass. In this section, where falling off the road would be fatal, numerous drivers refused to carry out their mission out of fear. At 05:30 early reconnaissance jeeps reached Ein Husub, which still lay abandoned, and the entire convoy was there by 08:30. The forces spent the day of November 24 converting the five buildings of the Ein Husub police station into a military base, by building fences and deploying artillery, digging trenches and setting up a radio station. Meanwhile, scouting units moved toward Sodom and together with Sodom's soldiers they cleared the mine fields that the same troops had laid in the preceding months in fear of a Transjordanian attack. On November 25 the Israelis moved north and linked up with Sodom. Future Chief of Staff
Mordechai Gur Mordechai "Motta" Gur (; May 6, 1930 – July 16, 1995) was an Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. During the Six-Day War (1967), he commanded the brigade that penetrated the Old City of Jerusalem and b ...
was among the Negev Brigade soldiers and had a chance of meeting his brother Shmuel, who was among those blockaded in Sodom during the war. After accomplishing the main objectives, on November 26 the Israeli forces regrouped in order to reconnoiter the area and look for enemy forces, but not engage them. Scouting parties left for Safi in Jordan and crossed the border near Ein Husub as well. The southernmost scouts moved past the abandoned police station at Ein Weibeh to Ein Ghamr and reached as far as Bir Maliha, about halfway to Umm Rashrash and the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
. The scouts were detected by Arab Legionnaires in multiple instances, and retreated as ordered in those situations. When a scouting party was returning from Transjordan in the Dead Sea area, the Israeli platoon commander Rafi Meir stepped on an Israeli mine. He was eventually airlifted to
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
, where he died of his wounds in the Dajani Hospital.


Aftermath

The capture of the Dead Sea area strengthened Israel's hold on the Negev desert and effectively moved the new country's borders about 100 km to the south. It also solidified Israel's claim to the Dead Sea. In the month following the operation, Negev Brigade scouts conducted overt maneuvers in a wide area around Ein Husub to show major Israeli presence to United Nations observers who toured the area. After a month, most Negev forces were redeployed in Beersheba to participate in
Operation Horev Operation Horev was a large-scale offensive against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev towards the end of the Arab–Israeli War in 1948 and 1949. Its objective was to entrap the Egyptian Army in the Gaza Strip. The operation took place from ...
. Additionally, it enabled Israel's entire conquest in Operations Uvda and Itzuv. After the area was taken,
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations The permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations is the de facto Israel ambassador to the United Nations, with the rank and status of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. The permanent mission of Israel to the United Nations ...
Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was a History of the Jews in South Africa, South African-born Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. D ...
encouraged immediate settlement of the area to strengthen Israel's hold.
Ein Hatzeva Ein Hatzeva (, ''lit.'' Hatzeva Spring) is a moshav in the central Arabah, Arava valley in Israel. Located south of the Dead Sea, it falls under the jurisdiction of Tamar Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 50. Name Moshav Ein Hatze ...
, where the Ein Husub police station stood, was only founded in 1960 however, against the recommendation of experts. The paths that the Negev Brigade used in the operation turned into roads when the IDF's Engineering Corps carried out Operation Arava in 1949–1950.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * ** Tal, David. ''Military Result of Political Wrestling: The Israeli–Egyptian War 1948–1949'' * * * * {{coord missing, Israel Battles and operations of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War November 1948 in Asia