Abu Ageila is a

road junction A junction is where two or more roads meet. History Roads began as a means of linking locations of interest: towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junctions often led ...

and

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

in the north of the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, 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 ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medite ...

, it was the site of major battles in the 1948,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

, and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

wars between the two states. The adjacent location Umm Katef ( ar, أم قطف) was another key Egyptian position in the Abu Ageila battles. In 1930, there were about 10,000 'Azazme Bedouin Egyptians, related to the Tarabin in El Arish, living in the area. By 1948, the number was only 3,500. Land ownership was often disputed between the inhabitants. 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 David "Dado" Elazar ( he, דוד אלעזר; 27 August 1925 – 15 April 1976) was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kip ...

later ordered that the expelled inhabitants be allowed to return.Anshel Pfeffer
'Sharon ordered expulsion of 3,000 Bedouin, new biography reveals ,'
at Haaretz, 11 February 2014

Gallery

File:Abu 'Ujaylah.jpg, Egyptian water tanks at Abu Ageila. 1948 File:Ruafa Dam.jpg, Ruafa dam, 1948 File:Ruafa dam.jpg, Ruafa dam. 1948

References

{{Authority control Sinai Peninsula