Ayalon Valley
During the War of Independence, Latrun, situated
on the road to Jerusalem, dominated the entire Ayalon valley and
guarded access to the Sha'ar Hagai pass, four kilometers to the
east. Without that pass, the Jerusalem road could not be controlled,
and Ben-Gurion insisted on saving Jerusalem by taking Latrun.
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Three separate operations were executed in order to capture Latrun:
Operation Ben Nun I, Operation Ben Nun II and Operation
Yoram. None of these attempts resulted in the conquest of Latrun.
But, the three battles had limited strategic success, since they contained
the Arab Legion and allowed the opening of a bypass road, which lifted
the siege of Jerusalem. |
