Birya Fortress

Birya Fortress is a fortress built by the Jewish Palmach paramilitary during the British Mandate near the Jewish village of Birya and the Arab village of Biriyya.

The fortress was built by the Palmach in 1946 as a base for the defense of Jews in nearby Safed and as a way-station for Jewish immigrants arriving from Syria.

These towers served as a means of communication with the Jewish community in Safed and the Upper Galilee headquarters of the Haganah in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar.

[1] On February 28, 1946, the British raided the site and discovered an arms cache, leading to the arrest of all residents of Birya and a ban on Jewish settlement there.

In 1971 the modern community of Birya was established, about two kilometers to the southwest of the original site.