Abu Ageila

Abu Ageila in December 1948

Abu Ageila is a road junction and dam in the north of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, which, because of its proximity to Egypt's border with the State of Israel, is strategically important. Located approximately 25 kilometres from Auja al-Hafir, and 45 kilometres southeast of El Arish, it was the site of major battles in the 1948, 1956, and 1967 wars between the two states. The adjacent location Umm Katef (Arabic: أم قطف) was another key Egyptian position in the Abu Ageila battles.[1]

In 1930, there were about 10,000 'Azazme Bedouin Egyptians, related to the Tarabin in El Arish,[2] living in the area. By 1948, the number was only 3,500. Land ownership was often disputed between the inhabitants.[3][4]

In his 2013 biography of Ariel Sharon, 'Arik: The Life of Ariel Sharon', David Landau records that, during the Israeli occupation of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Sharon ordered the secret expulsion from Abu Ageila of 3,000 of its inhabitants in late January 1972. Ostensibly, this was to clear the way for a military exercise code-named Oz (meaning "Valour" in Hebrew) in preparation for an attack on the Suez Canal were a further war to break out between Israel and Egypt. The expulsion order was executed by Israeli military personnel over three days during the onset of freezing temperatures in the desert. No warning was given to the inhabitants, and no time was allowed for them to collect their belongings before being removed from their homes. Lt. Gen. David Elazar later ordered that the expelled inhabitants be allowed to return.[5]

  1. ^ Gawrych, G.W. (2014). Key To The Sinai: The Battles For Abu Agelia In The 1956 And 1967 Arab Israeli Wars [Illustrated Edition]. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 9781782895794. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. ^ Chatty, Dawn (2006). Nomadic Societies in the Middle East And North Africa: Entering the 21st Century. Brill. p. 905. ISBN 9789004147928.
  3. ^ Suwaed, Muhammad (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Bedouins. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 30. ISBN 9781442254510. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  4. ^ Lancaster, William; Lancaster, Fidelity (1999). People, Land and Water in the Arab Middle East: Environments and Landscapes in the Bilâd Ash-Shâm. Harwood Academic Publishers. p. 120. ISBN 9789057023224. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  5. ^ Anshel Pfeffer, 'Sharon ordered expulsion of 3,000 Bedouin, new biography reveals ,' Archived 2014-02-13 at the Wayback Machine at Haaretz, 11 February 2014