Tel Hai

The Battle of Tel Hai on 1 March 1920, which gave Tel Hai its fame, was significant, from a Jewish perspective, far beyond the small number of civil combatants on either side – mainly due to its influence on Israeli culture, both inspiring an enduring national myth and profoundly influencing the military of the Yishuv and political strategies over several decades.

Tel Hai, initially named Talha (Arabic: طلحة), was first settled in 1905 as an agricultural courtyard for six workers from a northern colony El Mutallah (Metula).

In 1919, the British relinquished the northern section of Upper Galilee containing Tel Hai, Metulla, Hamrah, and Kfar Giladi to French jurisdiction.

In one notable exchange, on March 1, 1920, Shi'ite Arabs from Jabal Amil in southern Lebanon sought to search Tel Hai, however the Jews called for reinforcements from the kibbutz Kfar Giladi.

The British and the French, at the behest of the Zionists, ultimately agreed this area of Upper Galilee was to be included in Mandatory Palestine.