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Latrun
Village
Trappist Monastery
Etymology: from Latronis
Latrun
Coordinates: 31°49′55″N 34°58′53″E / 31.83194°N 34.98139°E / 31.83194; 34.98139
Palestine grid	148/137
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Ramle

Latrun (Hebrew: לטרון, Latrun; Arabic: اللطرون, al-Latrun) is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the site of fierce fighting during the 1948 war. During the period of 1949–1967, it was occupied by Jordan at the edge of a no man's land between the armistice lines. In the 1967 war, it was occupied by Israel.

The hilltop includes the Latrun Abbey, Mini Israel (a park with scale models of historic buildings around Israel), The International Center for the Study of Bird Migration (ICSBM), the Yad La-Shiryon memorial to armored corps soldiers killed in action, and military tank museum. Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace) is a joint Israeli-Palestinian community on a hilltop south of Latrun. Canada Park is nearby to the east.

Etymology

The name Latrun is derived from the ruins of a medieval Crusader castle. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name. One is that it is a corruption of the Old French La toron des chevaliers, or of the Castilian La torón de los caballeros (The Castle of the Knights), so named by the Knights Templar, or by its Castilian founder, Rodrigo Gonzales de Lara (see below). The other is that it is from the Latin, Domus boni Latronis (The House of the Good Thief), a name given by 14th-century Christian pilgrims after the penitent thief who was crucified by the Romans alongside Jesus (Luke 23:40–43).

History

In the Hebrew Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, the Ayalon Valley was the site of a battle in which the Israelites, led by Joshua, defeated the Amorites (Joshua 10:1–11).

Hellenistic period

Later, Judah Maccabee established his camp here in preparation for battle with the Seleucid Greeks, who had invaded Judea and were camped at Emmaus; this site is today identified by archaeologists as Hurvat Eked. According to the Book of Maccabees, Judah Maccabee learned that the Greeks were planning to march on his position, and successfully ambushed the invaders. The Jewish victory in what was later called the Battle of Emmaus led to greater Jewish autonomy under Hasmonean rule over the next century.

Crusader period

Little remains of the castle, which was reputedly built in 1130s by a Castilian nobleman Rodrigo González de Lara who later gave it to the Templars. The main tower was later surrounded with a rectangular enclosure with vaulted chambers. This in turn was enclosed by an outer court, of which one tower survives.

Ottoman period

Village

Walid Khalidi in his book All That Remains describes al-Latrun as a small village established in the late 19th century by villagers from nearby Emmaus.

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Latrun as a few adobe huts among the ruins of a medieval fortress.

Trappist monastery

In December 1890, a monastery was established at Latrun by French, German and Flemish monks of the Trappist order, from Sept-Fons Abbey in France, at the request of Monseigneur Poyet of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The monastery(fr) is dedicated to Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. The liturgy is in French. The monks bought the 'Maccabee Hotel', formerly called 'The Howard' from the Batato brothers together with two-hundred hectares of land and started the community in a building which still stands in the monastic domain. The old monastery complex was built between 1891 and 1897. In 1909 it was given the status of a priory and that of an abbey in 1937. The community was expelled by the Ottoman Turks between 1914–1918 and the buildings pillaged, a new monastery being built during the next three decades.

The monks established a vineyard using knowledge gained in France and advice from an expert in the employ of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild from the Carmel-Mizrahi Winery. Today they produce a wide variety of wines that are sold in the Abbey shop and elsewhere.

British Mandate

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Latrun had a population of 59, all Muslims. In addition, Dair Latrun ("The monastery of Latrun") had a population of 37 Christian males. In the 1931 census they were counted together, and Latrun had a population 120; 76 Muslims and 44 Christians, in a total of 16 "houses".

During WWI the monastery sustained significant damage. Latrun and its environs saw heavy fighting during the Sinai and Palestine campaign, an offensive launched in the fall of 1917 by the Entente powers against the Ottoman Empire and its allies. The monastery's interior furnishings, as well as all of its windows and doors, were either looted or destroyed as a result of the conflict. After the war, a new monastery was built at Latrun in 1926, and the crypt was completed in 1933. However the church was again damaged during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, and required further restoration. This work was completed, and the church officially consecrated, on 21 November 1953. The monastery was designed by the community's first abbot, Dom Paul Couvreur, and is an example of Cistercian architecture. Many of the stained-glass windows were produced by a monk of the community.

A Juniorate, a school for young boys, ran from 1931 until 1963 and provided many vocations for the community, especially of Lebanese monks.

Following the 1936–39 Arab revolt, the British authorities built a number of police forts (named Tegart forts after their designer) at various locations; Latrun was chosen due to its strategic significance, particularly its dominant position above the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem road. Many members of the Yishuv who had resisted the British administration were imprisoned in a detention camp at Latrun. Moshe Sharett, later Israel's second Prime Minister, and several other members of the Jewish Agency's Executive Committee, were held at Latrun for several months in 1946.

As of the 1945 statistics, the population of the Latrun village had grown to 190 Christians, with a total of 8,376 dunams of land. Of this, a total of 6,705 dunams were used for cereals, 439 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards, 7 for citrus and bananas, while 4 dunams were classified as built-up public areas.

1948 and 1967 Arab–Israeli Wars

The road from the coastal plain to Jerusalem was blocked after the British withdrew and handed the fort of Latrun over to Jordan's Arab Legion. The Arab Legionnaires used the fort to shell Israeli vehicles traveling on the road below, effectively imposing a military siege on Jerusalem and the Jewish residents there, despite that the United Nations plan was to keep Jerusalem as an international zone with neither Jordan, Israel, nor the Palestinian Arab Higher Committee having sovereignty over it.

On 24 May 1948, ten days after the Israeli Declaration of Independence per the United Nations General Assembly's Resolution 181 and the Arab assaults against Israel which followed, the Jordanian Legion's fort was assaulted by combined forces of Israel's newly created 7th Armored Brigade, and a battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade. Ariel Sharon, then a platoon commander, was wounded at Latrun along with many of his soldiers. The assault, codenamed Operation Bin Nun Alef (24–25 May), was unsuccessful, sustaining heavy casualties. On 31 May 1948, a second attack against the fort, codenamed Operation Bin Nun Bet, also failed, although the outer defenses had been breached.

Many of the Israeli fighters were young Holocaust survivors who had just arrived in the country and had minimal military training. The official casualty figure for both battles was 139.

To circumvent the blocked road, a makeshift camouflaged road through the seemingly impassable mountains towards Jerusalem was constructed under the command of Mickey (David) Marcus. This bypassed the main routes overlooked by Latrun and was named the Burma Road after its emergency supply-line namesake between Kunming (China) and Lashio (Burma), improvised by the Allies in World War II. By 10 June 1948, the road was fully operational, putting an end to the month-old Arab blockade.

On 2 August, the Truce Commission drew the attention of the Security Council to the Arabs' refusal to allow water and food supplies to reach Jewish West Jerusalem. After much negotiation, it was agreed that United Nations convoys would transport supplies, but the convoys often came under sniper fire. Towards the end of August, the situation improved. The destruction of the Latrun pumping station made it impossible for water in adequate quantities to flow to West Jerusalem, but the Israelis built an auxiliary small-capacity water pipeline along the "Burma Road", which provided a minimum amount of water.

After Operation Danny, Israeli forces anticipated a Jordanian counterattack, possibly from Latrun, but King Abdullah remained within the bounds of the tacit agreement made with the Jewish Agency and kept his troops at Latrun.

In the 1949 Armistice Agreements, the fort remained a salient under Jordanian control, which was in turn surrounded by a perimeter of no man's land. Under the cease-fire agreement, Jordan was not to disrupt Israeli travelers using this road; in practice, constant sniper attacks led Israel to build a bypass road around the bulge.

In the Six-Day War of 1967, Latrun was captured by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and the main road to Jerusalem was reopened and made safe for travel.

The village of Latrun, our first objective, was built around the ruins of an old Crusader castle on the crest of a hill overlooking the Jerusalem road. On the southern slopes of the olive groves stretched down the road, while at the bottom of the western slope sat a big Trappist monastery.

Since the Six-Day War

The Latrun monastic community allowed two communities, Neve Shalom/Wahat as-Salam and an affiliate of the Jesus-Bruderschaft [de], to be established on its land. The Tegart fort became the Yad La-Shiryon memorial for the fallen soldiers of the Israeli Armored Corps and a museum was established there.

References

1. Palmer, 1881, p. 322
2. Robinson and Smith, 1841, pp. 30, 66
3. ^ Walter Pinhas Pick (2007). "Latrun". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
4. "Emmaus - Nikopolis - Hasmonean period fortress". www.biblewalks.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
5. ^ Roiter, Nadav (16 September 2011). "Monastic life". The Jerusalem Post. p. 10. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
6. Phillips (2007), 249, accepts the account of the Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris at face value. In the words of the Chronica, I, §48, quoted in Barton (2000), n35: Comes uero Rodericus Gundisalui, postquam osculatus est manum regis et gentibus et amicis suis ualere dixit, peregre profectus est Hierosilimis, ubi et commisit multa bella cum Sarracenis fecitque quoddam castellum ualde fortissimum a facie Ascalonie, quod dicitur Toron, et muniuit eum ualde militibus et peditibus et escis tradens illud militibus Templi translation
7. Pringle, 1997, pp. 64-65
8. Pringle, 1998, pp. 5-9
9. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 135
10. Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, pp. 15-16
11. "Orange". pagesperso-orange.fr. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
12. ^ Latroun, the abbey's official website. Accessed 11 May 2021.
13. ^ Latroun Abbey Archive
14. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramleh, p. 21
15. Mills, 1932, p. 22.
16. Note that the forts commonly called "Taggart" forts in Israel are named after Sir Charles Tegart - a misspelling apparently from transliteration of the name from English to Hebrew and then back to English.
17. Clifton, Daniel (30 June 1946). "Britain Launches Army Drive to End Palestine Terror" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
18. "British to Release 700 Interned Jews". The New York Times. AP. 2 November 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
19. "8 Jewish Leaders Freed by British". The New York Times. 6 November 1946. p. 18. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
20. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 30
21. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 67
22. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 116
23. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 166
24. Schulman, Marc. "1948-Israel War of Independence". History Central. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
25. "A/RES/181(II) - E". undocs.org. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
26. Lessons of the Battles of Latrun MidEastWeb
27. Morris, 2008, pp. 230–231
28. UN Doc A/648 Archived 2007-10-06 at the Wayback Machine of 16 September 1948 Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte on Palestine Submitted to the Secretary-General for Transmission to the Members of the United Nations.
29. Pappé, 2006, p. 166
30. Pappé, 2006b, p. 140
31. Ariel Sharon. page 52 Warrior: An Autobiography
32. Gavron, Daniel (2008). "Living together". Holy Land Mosaic:Stories of Cooperation and Coexistence Between Israelis and Palestinians. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 57–72. ISBN 978-0-742-54013-2.
33. "Jesus Brotherhood Gnadenthal" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
34. "Armored Corps' Memorial Site". Retrieved 12 November 2016.

Bibliography

• Barron, J.B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
• Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
• Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945.
• Guérin, V. (1868). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 1. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale. (pp. 59, 309–313)
• Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center.
• Khalidi, W. (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
• Kennedy, Hugh (2000). Crusader Castles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79913-9.
• Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
• Morris, B. (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
• Morris, B. (2008). 1948 : A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. New Haven : Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300126969.
• Latrun (2002, ISBN 965-7130-10-7) is a novel by Ram Oren describing the two Battles of Latrun and the events surrounding them.
• Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
• Pappé, I (2006). The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. London and New York: Oneworld. ISBN 1-85168-467-0.
• Pappé, I. (2006b). The Making of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1947-1951. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-819-6.
• Phillips, Jonathn (2007). "The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom" (Document). Yale University Press. doi:10.1093/jis/etp064.
• Pringle, D. (1997). Secular buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: an archaeological Gazetter. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521-46010-7.
• Pringle, D. (1998). The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: L-Z (excluding Tyre). Vol. II. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39037-0.
• Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
• Tobler, T. (1854). Dr. Titus Toblers zwei Bücher Topographie von Jerusalem und seinen Umgebungen (in German). Vol. 2. Berlin: G. Reimer. (pp. 753 ff)

External links

• Abbaye de Latroun (Latrun Abbey), official website of the Cistercian (Trappist) monastery, in English
• Welcome To al-Latrun at PalestineRemembered.com
• al-Latrun, Zochrot
• Photo gallery at davidpride.com
• Latrun tanks photo gallery, The gallery of annotated photos of the tanks
• Latrun support armoured vehicles photos
• Latrun monuments, The gallery of annotated photos of the monuments at the Latrun museum dedicated to the fallen soldiers
• Latrun, from the Jewish Agency for Israel
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons
• Latrun Battles {reference only}
• 2 Latrun MIAs Identified 1998 {reference only}
• 8 Latrun MIAS Identified 2005 {reference only}
• Abbey History

v t e Palestinian Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestinian exodus by subdistrict
Acre	Amqa Arab al-Samniyya al-Bassa al-Birwa al-Damun Dayr al-Qassi al-Ghabisiyya Iqrit Iribbin Jiddin al-Kabri Kafr 'Inan Kuwaykat al-Manshiyya al-Mansura Mi'ar al-Nabi Rubin al-Nahr al-Ruways Suhmata al-Sumayriyya Suruh al-Tall Tarbikha Umm al-Faraj az-Zeeb
Beisan	Arab al-'Arida Arab al-Bawati Arab al-Safa al-Ashrafiyya al-Bira Beisan Danna Farwana al-Fatur al-Ghazzawiyya al-Hamidiyya al-Hamra Jabbul Kafra Kawkab al-Hawa al-Khunayzir Masil al-Jizl al-Murassas Qumya al-Sakhina al-Samiriyya Sirin Tall al-Shawk al-Taqa al-Tira Umm 'Ajra Umm Sabuna Yubla Zab'a al-Zawiya
Beersheba	al-Imara al-Jammama al-Khalasa Auja al-Hafir
Gaza	Arab Suqrir Barbara Barqa al-Batani al-Gharbi al-Batani al-Sharqi Bayt 'Affa Bayt Daras Bayt Jirja Bayt Tima Bil'in Burayr Dayr Sunayd Dimra al-Faluja Hamama Hatta Hiribya Huj Hulayqat Ibdis Iraq al-Manshiyya Iraq Suwaydan Isdud al-Jaladiyya al-Jiyya Julis al-Jura Jusayr Karatiyya Kawfakha Kawkaba al-Khisas al-Masmiyya al-Kabira al-Masmiyya al-Saghira al-Muharraqa Najd Ni'ilya Qastina al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya Simsim Summil Tall al-Turmus Yasur
Haifa	Abu Shusha Abu Zurayq Arab al-Fuqara Arab al-Nufay'at Arab Zahrat al-Dumayri 'Atlit Ayn Ghazal Ayn Hawd Balad al-Sheikh Barrat Qisarya Burayka al-Burj al-Butaymat Daliyat al-Rawha' al-Dumun al-Ghubayya al-Fawqa al-Ghubayya al-Tahta Hawsha Ijzim Jaba' al-Jalama Kabara al-Kafrayn Kafr Lam al-Kasayir Khubbayza Lid al-Manara al-Mansi al-Mansura al-Mazar Naghnaghiya Qannir Qira Qisarya Qumbaza al-Rihaniyya Sabbarin al-Sarafand al-Sarkas Sa'sa' al-Sawamir al-Shuna al-Sindiyana al-Tantura al-Tira Umm ash Shauf Umm az-Zinat Wa'arat al-Sarris Wadi Ara Yajur
Hebron	'Ajjur Barqusya Bayt Jibrin Bayt Nattif al-Dawayima Deir al-Dubban Dayr Nakhkhas Kudna Mughallis al-Qubayba Ra'na Tell es-Safi Umm Burj az-Zakariyya Zayta Zikrin
Jaffa	al-'Abbasiyya Abu Kabir Abu Kishk Bayt Dajan Biyar 'Adas Fajja al-Haram Ijlil al-Qibliyya Ijlil al-Shamaliyya al-Jammasin al-Gharbi al-Jammasin al-Sharqi Jarisha Kafr 'Ana al-Khayriyya al-Mas'udiyya al-Mirr al-Muwaylih Rantiya al-Safiriyya Salama Saqiya al-Sawalima al-Shaykh Muwannis Yazur
Jenin	al-Jawfa al-Mazar Ayn al-Mansi Lajjun Nuris Zir'in
Jerusalem	Allar Aqqur Artuf Bayt 'Itab Bayt Mahsir Bayt Naqquba Bayt Thul Bayt Umm al-Mays al-Burayj Dayr Aban Dayr 'Amr Dayr al-Hawa Dayr Rafat Dayr al-Shaykh Deir Yassin Ayn Karim Ishwa Islin Ism Allah Jarash al-Jura Kasla al-Lawz Lifta al-Maliha Nitaf al-Qabu Qalunya al-Qastal Ras Abu 'Ammar Sar'a Saris Sataf Sheikh Badr Suba Sufla al-Tannur al-'Umur al-Walaja
Nazareth	al-Mujaydil Indur Ma'alul Saffuriyya
Ramle	Abu al-Fadl Abu Shusha Ajanjul Aqir Barfiliya al-Barriyya Bashshit Bayt Far Bayt Jiz Bayt Nabala Bayt Shanna Bayt Susin Bir Ma'in Bir Salim al-Burj al-Buwayra Daniyal Dayr Abu Salama Dayr Ayyub Dayr Muhaysin Dayr Tarif al-Duhayriyya al-Haditha Idnibba Innaba Jilya Jimzu Kharruba al-Khayma Khulda al-Kunayyisa al-Latrun Lydda al-Maghar Majdal Yaba al-Mansura al-Mukhayzin al-Muzayri'a al-Na'ani al-Nabi Rubin Qatra Qazaza al-Qubab al-Qubayba Qula Ramla Sajad Salbit Sarafand al-Amar Sarafand al-Kharab Saydun Shahma Shilta al-Tina al-Tira Umm Kalkha Wadi Hunayn Yibna Zakariyya Zarnuqa
Safad	Abil al-Qamh al-'Abisiyya 'Akbara Alma Ammuqa Arab al-Shamalina Arab al-Zubayd Ayn al-Zaytun Baysamun Biriyya al-Butayha al-Buwayziyya Dallata al-Dawwara Dayshum al-Dirbashiyya al-Dirdara Fara al-Farradiyya Fir'im Ghabbatiyya Ghuraba al-Hamra' Harrawi Hunin al-Husayniyya Jahula al-Ja'una Jubb Yusuf Kafr Bir'im al-Khalisa Khan al-Duwayr Karraza al-Khisas Khiyam al-Walid Kirad al-Baqqara Kirad al-Ghannama Lazzaza Madahil Al-Malkiyya Mallaha al-Manshiyya al-Mansura Mansurat al-Khayt Marus Meiron al-Muftakhira Mughr al-Khayt al-Muntar al-Nabi Yusha' al-Na'ima Qabba'a Qadas Qaddita Qaytiyya al-Qudayriyya al-Ras al-Ahmar Sabalan Safsaf Saliha al-Salihiyya al-Sammu'i al-Sanbariyya Sa'sa' al-Shawka al-Tahta al-Shuna Taytaba Tulayl al-'Ulmaniyya al-'Urayfiyya al-Wayziyya Yarda, Safad al-Zahiriyya al-Tahta al-Zanghariyya Zawiya al-Zuq al-Fawqani al-Zuq al-Tahtani
Tiberias	Awlam al-Dalhamiyya Ghuwayr Abu Shusha Hadatha al-Hamma Hittin Kafr Sabt Lubya Ma'dhar al-Majdal al-Manara al-Manshiyya al-Mansura Nasir al-Din Nimrin al-Nuqayb Samakh al-Samakiyya al-Samra al-Shajara al-Tabigha al-'Ubaydiyya Wadi Hamam al-Wa'ra al-Sawda' Yaquq
Tulkarm	Bayt Lid Bayyarat Hannun Fardisya Ghabat Kafr Sur al-Jalama Kafr Saba al-Majdal al-Manshiyya Miska Qaqun Raml Zayta Tabsur Umm Khalid Wadi al-Hawarith Wadi Qabbani al-Zabadida Zalafa

• Six-Day War
• Castles and fortifications of the Knights Templar
• Hebrew Bible places
• Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
• Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
• Tegart forts
• Trappist monasteries
• Roman Catholic monasteries in the State of Palestine
• Christian monasteries in the West Bank