About Metzudat Yoav
As part of their attempts to protect and prevent conflicts between the Jewish and Arab populations, the British established, starting 1936, a series of police fortresses. These fortresses bear the name of Charles Tegart, a British colonial police officer in India who was brought to Palestine for this purpose.
At the beginning of 1940, the police was built on the Majdal-Ashkelon-Kiryat Gat (Iraq-Manshiya) axis and eastward, towards Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem. The building, which was also built by members of Kibbutz Negba, became a fortified strategic site.
Once the British Mandate ended, the British handed over the fortress to the Arabs, despite the protests of Kibbutz Negba members.
The shelling of the kibbutz was not long in coming, and the name of the fortress changed from Iraq-Suidan Police (on behalf of an Arab village nearby), to ‘The Monster on the Hill.
In the middle of May 1948, with the declaration of the state of Israel, the Egyptians placed an elite and well-armed Sudanese unit. The Givati Brigade responded with three successive attacks in the same month to conquer the Fortress, but all failed. On June 10 and July 8, two attacks were carried out by the Negev Brigade, but again, the fortress was not conquered.
On October 19, as part of Operation Yoav, a sixth attack was carried out on the fortress by the Givati Brigade, A seventh attack on October 21 succeeded in breaking through the fences and blowing up a car laden with explosives near the fortress wall, but the fortress was still left in Egyptian hands,
Finally, on November 9, 1948, in the eighth attack that was carried out in the
broad daylight by the 8th armored brigade, with the help of Givati Forces, the fortress was conquered. The name of the fortress was changed to “
Yoav Fortress,” named for Yitzhak Dubno, whose nickname in the Haganah was “Yoav” – the commander of Negba who fell in battle.
Today Yoav Fortress is the home of Givati Brigade.
About Metzudat Yoav
As part of their attempts to protect and prevent conflicts between the Jewish and Arab populations, the British established, starting 1936, a series of police fortresses. These fortresses bear the name of Charles Tegart, a British colonial police officer in India who was brought to Palestine for this purpose.
At the beginning of 1940, the police was built on the Majdal-Ashkelon-Kiryat Gat (Iraq-Manshiya) axis and eastward, towards Beit Guvrin and Jerusalem. The building, which was also built by members of Kibbutz Negba, became a fortified strategic site.
Once the British Mandate ended, the British handed over the fortress to the Arabs, despite the protests of Kibbutz Negba members.
The shelling of the kibbutz was not long in coming, and the name of the fortress changed from Iraq-Suidan Police (on behalf of an Arab village nearby), to ‘The Monster on the Hill.
In the middle of May 1948, with the declaration of the state of Israel, the Egyptians placed an elite and well-armed Sudanese unit. The Givati Brigade responded with three successive attacks in the same month to conquer the Fortress, but all failed. On June 10 and July 8, two attacks were carried out by the Negev Brigade, but again, the fortress was not conquered.
On October 19, as part of Operation Yoav, a sixth attack was carried out on the fortress by the Givati Brigade, A seventh attack on October 21 succeeded in breaking through the fences and blowing up a car laden with explosives near the fortress wall, but the fortress was still left in Egyptian hands,
Finally, on November 9, 1948, in the eighth attack that was carried out in the broad daylight by the 8th armored brigade, with the help of Givati Forces, the fortress was conquered. The name of the fortress was changed to “Yoav Fortress,” named for Yitzhak Dubno, whose nickname in the Haganah was “Yoav” – the commander of Negba who fell in battle.
Today Yoav Fortress is the home of Givati Brigade.