A new monument dedicated to the fighters of the Lamed Heh (convoy of 35) in the hills of Judea was smashed.
Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman responded saying: “I was shocked to see the destruction of the new memorial dedicated to the fighters of the Lamed Heh convoy. This isn’t the first time that the memory of Israel’s fighters, who fought throughout the generations, was desecrated by Arab vandals. The Lamed Heh convoy paved the way for us and outlined the vision and legacy that we are trying to uphold here in Gush Etzion today. We cannot accept a reality in which Arab vandals carry out a “lynch” targeting a memorial of our heroes, and we strongly insist that this incident is treated as a serious nationalistic crime, which requires arrests and severe punishment under the law against these terrorists.”
Ne’eman added,* I have instructed Gush Etzion municipal workers to assist in repairing the monument as quickly as possible. Stones can be broken, but we won’t be.”
The Lamed Heh convoy was a force of 35 Palmach fighters who were sent to reinforce the besieged kibbutzim of Gush Etzion in January 1948. They were spotted by two Arab women who alerted a nearby Arab village. The convoy was then surrounded by hundreds of armed Arab villagers and all 35 were killed in a fierce battle.