The battle: The Death of the thirty-five Palmach Members
The battle lasted for some long hours, 35 men with not enough food or water and with not enough ammunition, fought against many Arab from the surroundings villages. It ended when all our fighters were dead.
Danny Mass had three choices: to try and break through quickly to Gush Ezion ; to turn back; to dig in and to fight.
He chose the last. The platoon reached an extension of Qurant-el-Gurun (point 573 of Mount Sansan, which later came to be called “Battlefield Hill”) and divided into two groups. They were completely surrounded by a huge mob of armed Arabs.
The battle last for some many hours. The 35 men with not enough food or water and with not enough ammunition, fought untill their last bullet. It ended when all our fighters were dead. Duggan, the British Officer in command at Hebron Police Station, learned of the battle when he saw cars bringing Arab wounded back to Hebron. They spoke of fierce fighting with the Jews. He went to the spot, arriving after the battle had ended. Most of the bodies were at the top of the hill, inside a defensive perimeter, at the center of which the wounded had been placed (some of the bodies were bandaged). A few bodies were found at the foot of the hill, apparently those of fighters who had tried to get away.
Duggan ordered the Mukhtar (head man) of Jaba to arrange for the collection of the bodies. While this was being done, British vehicles arrived on the scene. Word immediately spread that the Jews were coming to take vengeance. At this point, apparently, the Arab attackers mutilated the bodies of the dead. British personnel brought the bodies to Gush Ezion, where they were given burial.
On Friday, 16.1, after word had come from Gush Ezion that the reinforcements had not arrived, a plane was dispatched to look for them. During the day, the Intelligence service’s Arab sources brought reports of the platoon’s encounter with the men of the village Tsurif. A large rescue force was assembled, which was to march on foot along the route taken by the 35, but they were attacked and suffered losses as they approached the area. Only on Saturday night did the fate of the platoon become known. The entire Jewish population of the country was stricken with shock and grief: never before had an entire platoon been wiped out in a single engagement.
When the area fell into Israel hands in 1967, the settlers of Gush Ezion, led by Yehoshua Cohen, decided to try and solve those questions about the hill which still remained unanswered. The men of Jaba were not cooperative. The mukhtar said that he would talk to the Jews only if Duggan were present.
Duggan was located in England, and brought out to Israel. He identified beyond any doubt the hill where the battle had taken place. It turned out that this hill had been in Israel territory all the time, even before 1967.
Two question remain unanswered:
1. Would the platoon have completed their mission had they not been discovered and forced to fight? That is,were seven hours sufficient time to complete the night march, including the difficult climb to Gush Ezion at the end?
2. If the platoon had reached its objective, would this have made a difference to the eventual fate of Gush Ezion?
The names of the Palmach dead:
Israel Aloni; Haim Engel; Binyamin Bugoslavski; Yehudah Bitanski; Oded Ben-Yamin; Benzion Ben-Meir; Ya’aqov Ben-Atar; Yosef Baruch; Eitan Gaon; Sabo Goland; Yitzhak Ginzburg; Yitzhak Halevy; Eliyahu Hershkovitz; Yitzhak Zvuluni; David Tasch; Alexander Cohen; Ya’aqov Cohen; Yechiel Calev; Ya’aqov Caspi; Yonah Levin; Alexander Lustig; Eliyahu Mizrahi; Amnon Michaeli; Danny Mass; Shaul Penueli; Moshe Perlstein; Binyamin Persitz; Baruch Patt; David Tzabari; David Zwabner; Ya’aqov Kotik; Yosef Kopler; Tuviah Kushnir; Daniel Reich; Ya’aqov Shmueli.
He chose the last. The platoon reached an extension of Qurant-el-Gurun (point 573 of Mount Sansan, which later came to be called “Battlefield Hill”) and divided into two groups. They were completely surrounded by a huge mob of armed Arabs.
The battle last for some many hours. The 35 men with not enough food or water and with not enough ammunition, fought untill their last bullet. It ended when all our fighters were dead. Duggan, the British Officer in command at Hebron Police Station, learned of the battle when he saw cars bringing Arab wounded back to Hebron. They spoke of fierce fighting with the Jews. He went to the spot, arriving after the battle had ended. Most of the bodies were at the top of the hill, inside a defensive perimeter, at the center of which the wounded had been placed (some of the bodies were bandaged). A few bodies were found at the foot of the hill, apparently those of fighters who had tried to get away.
Duggan ordered the Mukhtar (head man) of Jaba to arrange for the collection of the bodies. While this was being done, British vehicles arrived on the scene. Word immediately spread that the Jews were coming to take vengeance. At this point, apparently, the Arab attackers mutilated the bodies of the dead. British personnel brought the bodies to Gush Ezion, where they were given burial.
On Friday, 16.1, after word had come from Gush Ezion that the reinforcements had not arrived, a plane was dispatched to look for them. During the day, the Intelligence service’s Arab sources brought reports of the platoon’s encounter with the men of the village Tsurif. A large rescue force was assembled, which was to march on foot along the route taken by the 35, but they were attacked and suffered losses as they approached the area. Only on Saturday night did the fate of the platoon become known. The entire Jewish population of the country was stricken with shock and grief: never before had an entire platoon been wiped out in a single engagement.
When the area fell into Israel hands in 1967, the settlers of Gush Ezion, led by Yehoshua Cohen, decided to try and solve those questions about the hill which still remained unanswered. The men of Jaba were not cooperative. The mukhtar said that he would talk to the Jews only if Duggan were present.
Duggan was located in England, and brought out to Israel. He identified beyond any doubt the hill where the battle had taken place. It turned out that this hill had been in Israel territory all the time, even before 1967.
Two question remain unanswered:
1. Would the platoon have completed their mission had they not been discovered and forced to fight? That is,were seven hours sufficient time to complete the night march, including the difficult climb to Gush Ezion at the end?
2. If the platoon had reached its objective, would this have made a difference to the eventual fate of Gush Ezion?
The names of the Palmach dead:
Israel Aloni; Haim Engel; Binyamin Bugoslavski; Yehudah Bitanski; Oded Ben-Yamin; Benzion Ben-Meir; Ya’aqov Ben-Atar; Yosef Baruch; Eitan Gaon; Sabo Goland; Yitzhak Ginzburg; Yitzhak Halevy; Eliyahu Hershkovitz; Yitzhak Zvuluni; David Tasch; Alexander Cohen; Ya’aqov Cohen; Yechiel Calev; Ya’aqov Caspi; Yonah Levin; Alexander Lustig; Eliyahu Mizrahi; Amnon Michaeli; Danny Mass; Shaul Penueli; Moshe Perlstein; Binyamin Persitz; Baruch Patt; David Tzabari; David Zwabner; Ya’aqov Kotik; Yosef Kopler; Tuviah Kushnir; Daniel Reich; Ya’aqov Shmueli.