The occupation of Lydda
The operation plan was for the 3rd Battalion and the 7th Brigade to capture Lydda in a joint operation. Since the 7th Brigade did not arrive on time it was decided to activate the 89th Battalion from the 8th Brigade (under the command of Moshe Dayan).
The operation plan was for the 3rd Battalion and the 7th Brigade to capture Lydda in a joint operation. Since the 7th Brigade did not arrive on time it was decided to activate the 89th Battalion from the 8th Brigade (under the command of Moshe Dayan).
On 11 July the Battalion vehicles broke through to Lydda, went on to Ramleh and then returned to Ben-Shemen. The breakthrough surprised the enemy but during the Battalion’s skirmishes with enemy forces in their positions nine were killed, there were seventeen wounded and many of the vehicles were damaged. The Battalion was unable to take the town and keep it, but its breakthrough into the town caused temporary panic amongst the Arab soldiers in the southern section of Lydda.
When the 89th Battalion left the town the 3rd Battalion was ordered to enter the town of Lydda to take advantage of the consternation and confusion caused amongst the Arabs in the town by the above raid. The Battalion entered the town, with the help of a Company from the 1st Battalion, took control of the centre of the town, and established themselves there. Yishayahu (Shaikeh) Gavish marked out a quarter consisting of four large streets, surrounding them with guard posts to prevent armoured vehicles entering the town. The troops entrenched in the defended quarter were ordered to shoot any locals moving about the roads or appearing in the adjacent houses, whether in vehicles or on foot.
Later the area of control was extended: the town was combed and the men were assembled in churches and mosques. At 21:00 hours a night curfew was imposed.
The men of the 3rd Battalion were aware that they did not have the arms to break into the police station in the south of the town, therefore it was decided not to attack it but to cut it off on three sides.
Leaflets were distributed to the Arabs of the two towns saying:
Our army has occupied all the villages around the towns. All the roads are blockaded and you are surrounded. Our army has beaten the Arab armies in the other sectors and you have no chance of receiving support.
Our plan is to occupy the towns for security reasons. We have no intention of injuring people or destroying property. Anyone trying to resist will be put to death. Those choosing life should surrender and they, and their families, will be rewarded with safety.
Our commanders are ready to receive your surrender delegations. The delegation from Ramleh should come during daylight, on foot, to El-Bariah, carrying a white flag. The delegation from Lydda should come to Jimzu on the same terms. If you do not surrender war will be waged against you and your leaders will bear the responsibility for shedding your blood and the wreckage of your property.
The Commander of the Israel Defence Forces in the Lydda-Ramleh Sector.
The town leaders expressed their wish to surrender in an orderly fashion and most of the Legion soldiers positioned there left clandestinely, going east and crossing the lines.
On 11 July at 10:00 hours Ramleh surrendered. The members of ‘Kiriati’ began to assemble the men in gaols before sending them to Prisoner of War camps. At the same time searches were carried out for weapons which were confiscated.
On the morning of 12 July the deployment of the 3rd Battalion in Lydda was completed, a town which had been inhabited by 35,000 citizens:
A Company – in the north west of the town, in the area of the market; B Company – by the road to Ben-Shemen; C Company – at the west of the police station where resistance was continued by about seventy Legion soldiers; the Company from the 1st Battalion – north of the police station.
While there was still fighting in the police station the town had not surrendered completely. Suddenly, at 11:30 hours three of the Legion’s armoured cars broke into the town and for thirty minutes they fired, while on the move, on the Palmach men. The breakthrough provoked a rebellion among the citizens who started to use arms from within the houses and in the streets. Others tried to escape from the gaols. The uprising was put down with a heavy hand causing the death of 250 Arabs (according to Arab sources about 400). On the night of 13 July the commander of the police station surreptitiously pulled his men out with no casualties, mainly because the force laying siege to the police station had left an opening in one direction through which the Arabs were able to retreat.
On the night of 13 July the Arab civic leaders requested permission to leave the town of Lydda and move east, to the area under Jordanian control. Detailed instructions were received from the Operation H.Q. regarding the Arab population: to permit them to leave, but not to force them; to carry out searches without vandalism and to prevent looting. There were misgivings – that there would be additional outbreaks of resistance, that it would be impossible to control the crowds, that the Legion would start a counter-attack and that the citizens of the towns would be drawn into acting with them. A mass exodus started from Lydda and Ramleh. Those leaving were provided with lorries which transferred them to the area controlled by the Legion and from there to Ramallah.
The issue of deportation and looting left its mark among the commanders and the troops and educational activities and disciplinary investigations were needed in the light of the breakdown of self-discipline.
In the operation to capture Lydda and the surroundings the following soldiers were killed: Ya’akov Dressler; Tzvi Weiss; Michael Cohen, Mordechai Mendel; Eliahu Nasbasky; David Etzioni; Uri Fried; Ehud Karon.
On 11 July the Battalion vehicles broke through to Lydda, went on to Ramleh and then returned to Ben-Shemen. The breakthrough surprised the enemy but during the Battalion’s skirmishes with enemy forces in their positions nine were killed, there were seventeen wounded and many of the vehicles were damaged. The Battalion was unable to take the town and keep it, but its breakthrough into the town caused temporary panic amongst the Arab soldiers in the southern section of Lydda.
When the 89th Battalion left the town the 3rd Battalion was ordered to enter the town of Lydda to take advantage of the consternation and confusion caused amongst the Arabs in the town by the above raid. The Battalion entered the town, with the help of a Company from the 1st Battalion, took control of the centre of the town, and established themselves there. Yishayahu (Shaikeh) Gavish marked out a quarter consisting of four large streets, surrounding them with guard posts to prevent armoured vehicles entering the town. The troops entrenched in the defended quarter were ordered to shoot any locals moving about the roads or appearing in the adjacent houses, whether in vehicles or on foot.
Later the area of control was extended: the town was combed and the men were assembled in churches and mosques. At 21:00 hours a night curfew was imposed.
The men of the 3rd Battalion were aware that they did not have the arms to break into the police station in the south of the town, therefore it was decided not to attack it but to cut it off on three sides.
Leaflets were distributed to the Arabs of the two towns saying:
Our army has occupied all the villages around the towns. All the roads are blockaded and you are surrounded. Our army has beaten the Arab armies in the other sectors and you have no chance of receiving support.
Our plan is to occupy the towns for security reasons. We have no intention of injuring people or destroying property. Anyone trying to resist will be put to death. Those choosing life should surrender and they, and their families, will be rewarded with safety.
Our commanders are ready to receive your surrender delegations. The delegation from Ramleh should come during daylight, on foot, to El-Bariah, carrying a white flag. The delegation from Lydda should come to Jimzu on the same terms. If you do not surrender war will be waged against you and your leaders will bear the responsibility for shedding your blood and the wreckage of your property.
The Commander of the Israel Defence Forces in the Lydda-Ramleh Sector.
The town leaders expressed their wish to surrender in an orderly fashion and most of the Legion soldiers positioned there left clandestinely, going east and crossing the lines.
On 11 July at 10:00 hours Ramleh surrendered. The members of ‘Kiriati’ began to assemble the men in gaols before sending them to Prisoner of War camps. At the same time searches were carried out for weapons which were confiscated.
On the morning of 12 July the deployment of the 3rd Battalion in Lydda was completed, a town which had been inhabited by 35,000 citizens:
A Company – in the north west of the town, in the area of the market; B Company – by the road to Ben-Shemen; C Company – at the west of the police station where resistance was continued by about seventy Legion soldiers; the Company from the 1st Battalion – north of the police station.
While there was still fighting in the police station the town had not surrendered completely. Suddenly, at 11:30 hours three of the Legion’s armoured cars broke into the town and for thirty minutes they fired, while on the move, on the Palmach men. The breakthrough provoked a rebellion among the citizens who started to use arms from within the houses and in the streets. Others tried to escape from the gaols. The uprising was put down with a heavy hand causing the death of 250 Arabs (according to Arab sources about 400). On the night of 13 July the commander of the police station surreptitiously pulled his men out with no casualties, mainly because the force laying siege to the police station had left an opening in one direction through which the Arabs were able to retreat.
On the night of 13 July the Arab civic leaders requested permission to leave the town of Lydda and move east, to the area under Jordanian control. Detailed instructions were received from the Operation H.Q. regarding the Arab population: to permit them to leave, but not to force them; to carry out searches without vandalism and to prevent looting. There were misgivings – that there would be additional outbreaks of resistance, that it would be impossible to control the crowds, that the Legion would start a counter-attack and that the citizens of the towns would be drawn into acting with them. A mass exodus started from Lydda and Ramleh. Those leaving were provided with lorries which transferred them to the area controlled by the Legion and from there to Ramallah.
The issue of deportation and looting left its mark among the commanders and the troops and educational activities and disciplinary investigations were needed in the light of the breakdown of self-discipline.
In the operation to capture Lydda and the surroundings the following soldiers were killed: Ya’akov Dressler; Tzvi Weiss; Michael Cohen, Mordechai Mendel; Eliahu Nasbasky; David Etzioni; Uri Fried; Ehud Karon.