Battles of Bir 'Asluj

Bir 'Asluj was a small center of the Azzazma Bedouin tribe, with a mosque, market, water well, mill and police station.

The road in question was used by the invading Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War for transport as its eastern wing into Hebron-Jerusalem corridor.

During the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, Bir 'Asluj was used as a base of operations for Bedouin paramilitary forces under Hajj Sa'id, mainly against the nearby Jewish villages of Revivim and Haluza, a few kilometers to the northwest.

[1] The first Israeli attempt to disconnect the eastern wing of the Egyptian army was during the first stage of the war, right before the first ceasefire came into effect.

[1] However, a team of Negev Brigade troops then entered the police station, which was booby trapped, and 10 were instantly killed.

[2] Immediately after the battle, when the first truce came into effect, the Egyptians set up positions on the other side of the road and created a new path that would not be in range of the Israelis.

[1] The third and final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War started on October 15, 1948, when Israel launched Operation Yoav on the southern front.

[4] While the Israelis made significant tactical and strategic gains in Operation Yoav (for example, reconnecting the Negev, that was an enclave for several months), the political situation changed little and Egypt was still dragging its feet on proposed armistice talks.

[6] The main thrust of the operation was planned to be towards the eastern arm, with the final aim of cutting the western wing of the Egyptian army off from the bulk of its forces in Israel.

[9] The bulk of the brigade's strike force, however, was unable to organize in time due to harsh weather conditions and could start the main attack only on December 25, one day later than planned.

[7] The main force managed to sneak in to Bir Thamila unnoticed, reaching the position's southern fence before opening fire.

Three Egyptian positions adjacent to #13 were still manned, and the troops there began a counterattack and slowly ate away at the French Commando forces.

[7][11] The 9th Battalion quickly began moving east to positions 14–15 in order to create chaos and pin down the remaining Egyptian forces.

It was built by Aryeh Lafka, a resident of Revivim and the father of one of the soldiers who went into the booby-trapped police station on June 11, 1948.