Operation Yevusi
Encyclopedia
Operation Yevusi was a Palmach
military operation carried out during the 1948 Arab Israeli War to assert Jewish control over Jerusalem. The operation, commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh
, lasted two weeks, from 22 April 1948 to 3 May 1948. Not all objectives were achieved before the British enforced a cease-fire.
. The operation had four objectives: Control of Nabi Samuel
, an Arab village northwest of Jerusalem and the highest point in the area; Sheikh Jarrah
, an Arab residential quarter north of the city wall controlling the road to Mount Scopus
; Katamon, a middle class, mainly Christian Arab suburb of southwest Jerusalem; and Augusta Victoria east of the Old City.
arrived in Jerusalem on Wednesday 21st April. Their convoy had taken eight hours under fire to reach the city. The following day they started attacking the ridge of Nabi Samuel, but on the 23rd a company from Harel was ambushed and forced to retreat, losing 30-40 men. On the night of 24/25 April, Sadeh occupied Sheikh Jarrah, where 40 Arabs were killed and 20 homes were blown up. General Macmillan, commander of the British forces in Palestine, called on the Jewish forces to retreat because British forces used this road to reach the north of the country. MacMillan promised to prevent the return of the Arabs. After the British Army opened fire, the Palmach withdrew. The British declared Sheikh Jarrah a demilitarized zone which armed troops from either side could not enter.
, which was held by local Arab fighters with a contingent of volunteers from Iraq
. There was also a unit from the Arab Legion
guarding the empty Iraqi Consulate. Glubb Pasha ordered them to withdraw after the surrounding buildings had been taken. The attack began with a mortar and machine gun barrage, before members of Harel's 4th and 5th Battalions, aided by Etzion's 4th Battalion and totalling 120 men, struck south and eastwards from Neve Shaanan
. The battle for the monastery lasted all day, with the number of Jewish fighters killed given by one source as forty, though other estimates are much lower. Another source states eighty Arabs were killed. During the evening of 30 April the area was shaken by two large explosions. By the following day, 1 May, the Jews had complete control of the area. Once again the British intervened and demanded a ceasefire. But this time the Jews remained in control of the area taken. While the attack on Katamon was taking place Arabs in the Old City fired on Jewish positions in Yemin Moshe
and only stopped after action by the British Army.
, the military governor of Jerusalem, ordered teams of men into Katamon to requisition all food they could find to alleviate the severe food shortages caused by the Arab blockade which led to draconian rationing in March 1948. The district was then looted. By the end of the war Israel had control of 12 of Jerusalem's 15 Arab residential quarters. An estimated minimum of 30,000 people had become refugees. About 750 non-Jews remained in the occupied Arab neighbourhoods; many of them Greeks living in the Greek Colony
.
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
military operation carried out during the 1948 Arab Israeli War to assert Jewish control over Jerusalem. The operation, commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh
Yitzhak Sadeh , was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.-Biography:...
, lasted two weeks, from 22 April 1948 to 3 May 1948. Not all objectives were achieved before the British enforced a cease-fire.
History
Operation Yevusi was mounted in the wake of the siege of JerusalemSiege of Jerusalem (1948)
The Battle for Jerusalem occurred from 30 November 1947 to 11 June 1948 when Jewish and Arab population of Mandatory Palestine and later Israeli and Jordanian armies fought for the control of the city....
. The operation had four objectives: Control of Nabi Samuel
Nabi Samwil
An-Nabi Samwil also al-Nabi Samuil is a Palestinian village of nearly 220 inhabitants in the West Bank, within the Jerusalem Governorate, located four kilometers north of Jerusalem...
, an Arab village northwest of Jerusalem and the highest point in the area; Sheikh Jarrah
Sheikh Jarrah
Sheikh Jarrah is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem on the road to Mount Scopus.-History:Sheikh Jarrah was established on the slopes of Mount Scopus, taking its name from the tomb of Sheikh Jarrah. The tomb, dated to 1201, is the burial place of Husam al-Din al-Jarrahi, an...
, an Arab residential quarter north of the city wall controlling the road to Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
; Katamon, a middle class, mainly Christian Arab suburb of southwest Jerusalem; and Augusta Victoria east of the Old City.
Nabi Samuel and Sheikh Jarrah
The Harel BrigadeHarel Brigade
Harel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...
arrived in Jerusalem on Wednesday 21st April. Their convoy had taken eight hours under fire to reach the city. The following day they started attacking the ridge of Nabi Samuel, but on the 23rd a company from Harel was ambushed and forced to retreat, losing 30-40 men. On the night of 24/25 April, Sadeh occupied Sheikh Jarrah, where 40 Arabs were killed and 20 homes were blown up. General Macmillan, commander of the British forces in Palestine, called on the Jewish forces to retreat because British forces used this road to reach the north of the country. MacMillan promised to prevent the return of the Arabs. After the British Army opened fire, the Palmach withdrew. The British declared Sheikh Jarrah a demilitarized zone which armed troops from either side could not enter.
Katamon
On 29 April, one week after the start of the operation, Sadeh switched the attack to Katamon. The main target was the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St SimeonGivat Oranim
Givat Oranim is a neighborhood in southwestern Jerusalem, Israel, bordered by Katamon, Rassco, San Simon and Kiryat Shmuel.Givat Oranim was established after 1948. The area played an important part in the battle for the San Simon monastery during Israel's War of Independence. It is populated by a...
, which was held by local Arab fighters with a contingent of volunteers from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. There was also a unit from the Arab Legion
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
guarding the empty Iraqi Consulate. Glubb Pasha ordered them to withdraw after the surrounding buildings had been taken. The attack began with a mortar and machine gun barrage, before members of Harel's 4th and 5th Battalions, aided by Etzion's 4th Battalion and totalling 120 men, struck south and eastwards from Neve Shaanan
Neve Sha'anan, Jerusalem
Neve Sha'anan is a small neighborhood in central Jerusalem, Israel. It is located between the Israel Museum and the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, bordering Nayot.-History:...
. The battle for the monastery lasted all day, with the number of Jewish fighters killed given by one source as forty, though other estimates are much lower. Another source states eighty Arabs were killed. During the evening of 30 April the area was shaken by two large explosions. By the following day, 1 May, the Jews had complete control of the area. Once again the British intervened and demanded a ceasefire. But this time the Jews remained in control of the area taken. While the attack on Katamon was taking place Arabs in the Old City fired on Jewish positions in Yemin Moshe
Yemin Moshe
Yemin Moshe " or "Moses' Memorial") is an old neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel, overlooking the Old City.-History:Yemin Moshe was established in 1891 by Moses Montefiore outside Jerusalem's Old City as a solution to the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions inside the walls, and eventually named...
and only stopped after action by the British Army.
Aftermath
With the operation only partially successful, Sadeh left Jerusalem. Dov JosephDov Yosef
Dov Yosef was an Israeli politician and statesman. Yosef served in a variety of ministerial positions during the first two Knessets and was the country's second Minister of Justice, serving twice .-Background:...
, the military governor of Jerusalem, ordered teams of men into Katamon to requisition all food they could find to alleviate the severe food shortages caused by the Arab blockade which led to draconian rationing in March 1948. The district was then looted. By the end of the war Israel had control of 12 of Jerusalem's 15 Arab residential quarters. An estimated minimum of 30,000 people had become refugees. About 750 non-Jews remained in the occupied Arab neighbourhoods; many of them Greeks living in the Greek Colony
Greek Colony, Jerusalem
The Greek Colony is a neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel, bordering the German Colony and Katamon.-History:The lands of the Greek Colony were purchased by wealthy members of the Greek Orthodox community in the early 20th century...
.