Biranit (, ''lit.'' small fortress) is a military camp and former

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

on the border with Lebanon."Biranit"
/ref> It is the headquarters of the Galilee Division of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, and is located around a kilometre from the Lebanese border between Sasa and

Netu'a Netu'a ( he, נְטוּעָה, ''lit.'' Planted) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near the Lebanese border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was established ...

History

It is located on the land of the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village of Al-Mansura, which was depopulated in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

. Biranit was planned as the hub of a group of settlements established by the Central Galilee Development Project in the 1960s. In December 1964 a

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

group affiliated with Ha-

Kibbutz HaMeuhad The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement (Israel), settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement a ...

settled there. Its first tasks were land reclamation, afforestation, and restoration of ancient woodlands, planting of fruit orchards, road building, and other development work. Over time the settlement was abandoned, and it became a military camp. In the 1970s a number of

Katyusha rocket The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area ...

s were fired at Biranit from Lebanese territory. On July 14, 2006, the base was hit by Katyusha rockets fired by

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

during the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Notable residents

Andre Spitzer Andre Spitzer ( he, אנדרי שפיצר; 4 July 1945 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli fencing master and coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He was one of 11 athletes and coaches taken hostage and subsequently killed by terrorists ...

(1945–1972), Israeli Olympic fencing coach killed in the

Munich Massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...

''Munich Memoir'' - Dan Alon, Carla Stockton
/ref>

References

{{coord, 33, 03, 29, N, 35, 20, 33, E, region:IL_type:landmark_source:kolossus-cswiki, display=title Military installations of Israel Nahal settlements Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council Buildings and structures in Northern District (Israel)