Premier David Ben Gurion was exposed to gunfire from Arab Legionnaires yesterday when, accompanied by Brigadier Yigal Yadin, Chief of Staff of the Israel Army, he unveiled an obelisque at Kiryat Anavim in memory of members of the Paluach who fell in an attempt to lift the stage of Jerusalem during the Israel liberation war.
Kiryat Anavim is a settlement in the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv corridor, north of Jerusalem. Israel sources charged that the Jordan troops opened fire without provocation, slightly wounding two Israel soldiers, They vigorously denied reports broadcast by the Jordan radio that ten fully-equipped Israeli soldiers had crossed the frontier near Kiryat Anavim. The Arab radio said that “Jordanian forces repulsed the attackers, killing one and wounding two.”
In a brief speech dedicating the memorial, the Premier paid tribute to the heroism of the Paluach youths who had fallen and declared it was “the most precious weapon of Israel.” The memorial was built with funds contributed by families of the fallen troops and the settlers of the Kiryat Anavim area.
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