Operation "Yiftah"
The name Yiftah was given to the operation which freed the eastern part of the Upper Galilee and conquered Safad (25.4- 26.5.48), in honor of Yigal Feikovitch, Tel Hai.
When the British began to evacuate their forces from the Galilee, they handed the Arabs a number of key security standpoints: the police stronghold in Halisa and Nabi Yusha and the army camp of Malkiyya. In Safad they handed it over to the police stronghold of Har Kena'an and the town police.
When the British began to evacuate their forces from the Galilee, they handed the Arabs a number of key security standpoints: the police stronghold in Halisa and Nabi Yusha and the army camp of Malkiyya. In Safad they handed it over to the police stronghold of Har Kena'an and the town police.
The name Yiftah was given to the operation which freed the eastern part of the Upper Galilee and conquered Safad (25.4- 26.5.48), in honour of Yigal Feikovitch, Tel Hai.
When the British began to evacuate their forces from the Galilee, they handed the Arabs a number of key security standpoints: the police stronghold in Halisa and Nabi Yusha and the army camp of Malkiyya. In Safad they handed it over to the police stronghold of Har Kena'an and the town police.
The Galilee area was inhabited by a large Arab population, cramped, hostile and mostly armed. Some of the Jewish settlements were cut off, and transportation from the centre through the Tiberias-Rosh Pina road – and also between the settlements themselves – was at high risk. There was particular difficulty in keeping close ties with the settlements in the Neftali mountain range and on Kibbutz Manara.
The Hagana command initiated a special operation to protect the Galilee and to cleanse it of the enemy forces, however, they were forced to hide their preparations and to postpone any executions, as long as the British were in the Galilee. When it was brought to their attention at the end of April '48, that the British were about to evacuate the area, they decided to put together a swift operation to conquer the key standpoints.
When the British began to evacuate their forces from the Galilee, they handed the Arabs a number of key security standpoints: the police stronghold in Halisa and Nabi Yusha and the army camp of Malkiyya. In Safad they handed it over to the police stronghold of Har Kena'an and the town police.
The Galilee area was inhabited by a large Arab population, cramped, hostile and mostly armed. Some of the Jewish settlements were cut off, and transportation from the centre through the Tiberias-Rosh Pina road – and also between the settlements themselves – was at high risk. There was particular difficulty in keeping close ties with the settlements in the Neftali mountain range and on Kibbutz Manara.
The Hagana command initiated a special operation to protect the Galilee and to cleanse it of the enemy forces, however, they were forced to hide their preparations and to postpone any executions, as long as the British were in the Galilee. When it was brought to their attention at the end of April '48, that the British were about to evacuate the area, they decided to put together a swift operation to conquer the key standpoints.