Editing Latrun (section)

==History==
===In the Hebrew Bible===
In the [[Tanakh|Hebrew Bible]], the [[Ayalon Valley]] was the site of a battle in which the [[Israelites]], led by [[Joshua]], defeated the [[Amorites#Biblical Amorites|Amorites]] ({{bibleverse|Joshua|10:1–11}}).<ref name=Etym/>

===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 Nicopolis|Emmaus]]; this site is today identified by archaeologists as Hurvat Eked.<ref>{{cite web |title= Emmaus - Nikopolis - Hasmonean period fortress |website= www.biblewalks.com |url= http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/EmmausFortress.html |access-date= 3 April 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Roiter>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Monastic-Life|last=Roiter|first=Nadav|title=Monastic life|access-date=3 June 2012|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=16 September 2011|page=10}}</ref>

===Crusader period===
[[Image:Latrun-Castle-S-034.jpg|right|thumb|Remains of the Crusader castle at Latrun]]

Little remains of the castle, which was reputedly built in 1130s by a Castilian nobleman [[Rodrigo González de Lara]]<ref>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'' [https://libro.uca.edu/lipskey/chronicle.htm translation]</ref> who later gave it to the [[Knights Templars|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.<ref>Pringle, 1997, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA64 64]-65</ref><ref>Pringle, 1998, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA5 5]-9</ref><ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/135/mode/1up 135]</ref>

===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 Nicopolis|Emmaus]].

In 1883, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s ''[[PEF Survey of Palestine|Survey of Western Palestine]]'' (SWP) described Latrun as a few [[adobe]] huts among the ruins of a medieval fortress.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/15/mode/1up 15]-16</ref>

[[File:Latrun Trappist Monastery Exterior.jpg|thumb|Outside the Latrun Trappist Monastery in Jerusalem]]

====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:Abbaye de Latroun|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pagesperso-orange.fr/augustin.tavardon/ACCUEIL+HISTOIRE.htm|title=Orange|website=pagesperso-orange.fr|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> The old monastery complex was built between 1891 and 1897.<ref name=Latroun>[https://ocso.org/monastery/latroun/ Latroun], the abbey's official website. Accessed 11 May 2021.</ref> In 1909 it was given the status of a [[priory]] and that of an [[abbey]] in 1937.<ref name=LatrounAbbey>Latroun Abbey Archive</ref> 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.<ref name=Latroun/>

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.<ref name=Roiter />

===British Mandate===
In the [[1922 census of Palestine]], conducted by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate authorities]], ''Latrun'' had a population of 59, all [[Muslim]]s. In addition, ''Dair Latrun'' ("The monastery of Latrun") had a population of 37 Christian males.<ref name=Census1922>Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramleh, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n23/mode/1up 21]</ref> In the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] they were counted together, and Latrun had a population 120; 76 Muslims and 44 Christians, in a total of 16 "houses".<ref name=Census1931>Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 22].</ref>

[[Image:Latrun-Police-Building.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Tegart fort|Tegart police fort]]]]

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.<ref name=Latroun/>  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.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

A Juniorate, a school for young boys, ran from 1931 until 1963 and provided many vocations for the community, especially of Lebanese monks.<ref name=LatrounAbbey/>

Following the [[1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine|1936–39 Arab revolt]], the [[United Kingdom|British]] authorities built a number of police forts (named [[Tegart fort]]s after their designer<ref>Note that the forts commonly called "''Taggart''" forts in Israel are named after Sir Charles ''[[Charles Tegart|Tegart]]'' - a [[misspelling]] apparently from [[transliteration]] of the name from [[English language|English]] to [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and then back to English.</ref>) 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clifton|first=Daniel|title=Britain Launches Army Drive to End Palestine Terror|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/06/30/107142654.pdf|access-date=3 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 June 1946|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=British to Release 700 Interned Jews|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/11/02/archives/british-to-release-700-interned-jews-dedicating-new-library-at.html|access-date=3 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 November 1946|agency=AP|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=8 Jewish Leaders Freed by British|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB071FFD3A5C107A93C4A9178AD95F428485F9|access-date=3 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 November 1946|page=18}}</ref>

As of the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 statistics]], the population of the Latrun village had grown to 190 Christians,<ref name=1945p30>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p30.jpg 30]</ref> with a total of 8,376 [[dunam]]s of land.<ref name=Hadawi67>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945''. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/al-Ramla/Page-067.jpg 67]</ref> Of this, a total of 6,705 dunams were used for [[cereal]]s, 439 dunams were irrigated or used for orchards, 7 for citrus and bananas,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/al-Ramla/Page-116.jpg 116]</ref>  while 4 dunams were classified as built-up public areas.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/al-Ramla/Page-166.jpg 166]</ref>
[[File:Latrun.jpg|thumb|Latrun Monastery 1948]]
[[File:Latrun 1942.jpg|thumb|Latrun 1942 1:20,000]]
[[File:Latrun 1945.jpg|thumb|Latrun 1945 1:250,000]]

===1948 and 1967 Arab–Israeli Wars===
{{main|Battles of Latrun (1948)}}
[[File:Gun on roof of Latrun pollice station.jpg|thumb|[[Arab Legion]] gunners on the roof of Latrun police station, 1948]]

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 [[Battle for Jerusalem (1948)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycentral.com/Israel/1948WarofIndependance.html |title=1948-Israel War of Independence|website=History Central|author= Schulman, Marc |access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>

On 24 May 1948, ten days after the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence]] per the [[United Nations General Assembly]]'s Resolution 181<ref>{{cite web|url=https://undocs.org/A/RES/181(II)|title=A/RES/181(II) - E|website=undocs.org|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> 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 (Israel)|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 [[Battles of Latrun (1948)#Operation Bin Nun Alef (24–25 May)|Operation Bin Nun Alef (24–25 May)]], was unsuccessful, sustaining heavy casualties. On 31 May 1948, a second attack against the fort, codenamed [[Battles of Latrun (1948)#Operation Bin Nun Bet|Operation Bin Nun Bet]], also failed, although the outer defenses had been breached.

Many of the Israeli fighters were young [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]] survivors who had just arrived in the country and had minimal military training.<ref>[http://www.mideastweb.org/latrun.htm Lessons of the Battles of Latrun] MidEastWeb</ref> The official casualty figure for both battles was 139.{{citation needed|date=February 2008}}

[[File:Burma Road 1948.jpg|thumb|250px|A bulldozer tows a truck on the "[[Burma Road (Israel)|Burma Road]]" to Jerusalem, June 1948]]
To circumvent the blocked road, a makeshift camouflaged road through the seemingly impassable mountains towards Jerusalem was constructed under the command of [[Mickey Marcus|Mickey (David) Marcus]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} This bypassed the main routes overlooked by Latrun and was named the [[Burma Road (Israel)|Burma Road]] after its [[Burma Road|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.<ref>Morris, 2008, pp. 230–231</ref>

On 2 August, the [[United Nations Conciliation Commission|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.<ref>[http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/ab14d4aafc4e1bb985256204004f55fa!OpenDocument UN Doc A/648] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006021434/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/ab14d4aafc4e1bb985256204004f55fa!OpenDocument |date=2007-10-06 }} 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.</ref>

After [[Operation Danny]], Israeli forces anticipated a Jordanian counterattack,<ref>Pappé, 2006, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yjeXQVmGrwcC&pg=PA166 166]</ref> 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.<ref>Pappé, 2006b, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zAJZCKAwtPMC&pg=PA140 140]</ref>

In the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], the fort remained a [[Salients, re-entrants and pockets|salient]] under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|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. 
[[Image:Latrun-Castle-S-059-Fort.jpg|thumb|Yad La-Shiryon museum.]]

{{blockquote|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.<ref>[[Ariel Sharon]]. page 52 Warrior: An Autobiography</ref>}}

[[File:Sculpture outside outside the Latrun Trappist Monastery in Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Artwork outside the Latrun Trappist Monastery in Jerusalem]]

===Since the Six-Day War===
The Latrun monastic community allowed two communities, [[Neve Shalom|Neve Shalom/Wahat as-Salam]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gavron|first1=Daniel|title=Holy Land Mosaic:Stories of Cooperation and Coexistence Between Israelis and Palestinians|date=2008|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|isbn=978-0-742-54013-2|pages=57–72|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l-rPdMvSxscC&pg=PA57|chapter=Living together}}</ref> and an affiliate of the {{ill|Jesus-Bruderschaft|de}},<ref>{{cite web|title=Jesus Brotherhood Gnadenthal|url=http://www.jesus-bruderschaft.de/fix/doc/JB%20Flyer%20Text%20EN.doc.2.pdf|access-date=12 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328074229/http://www.jesus-bruderschaft.de/fix/doc/JB%20Flyer%20Text%20EN.doc.2.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> to be established on its land.
The [[Tegart Forts|Tegart fort]] became the [[Yad La-Shiryon]] memorial for the fallen soldiers of the [[Israeli Armored Corps]] and a museum was established there.<ref>{{cite web|title=Armored Corps' Memorial Site|url=http://www.yadlashiryon.com|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref>