Castel National Park 3.41

Castel National Park is an Israeli national park which consists of a fortified summit located at the Judean Mountains, at the site of the former Arab village of Al-Qastal. It is located 8 km west of Jerusalem on the road linking it to Tel Aviv .The site is mostly known as the place of the key battles of Operation Nachshon which were held there in April 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Fierce battles that claimed many lives took place there as Arabs and Jews fought for control of the site, which overlooked the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. The Castel exchanged hands several times in the course of the fighting. The tides turned when the revered Arab commander, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, was killed. Many of the Arabs left their positions to attend al-Husayni's funeral at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, April 9. That same day, the Castel fell to the Israeli forces, virtually unopposed.The national park includes a memorial for the Israeli soldiers who died there, including a monument designed in 1980 by Yitzhak Yamin and a memorial to the convoys that tried to break through the blockade of Jerusalem.HistoryDue to its strategic location, settlement in the area go back to antiquity. The Romans built a fortress there, known as Castellum to ensure their control of the road to Jerusalem. Later on the Crusaders built the castle Castellum Belveern on the ruins of this fortress, which still stands today. After the fall of the Crusaders, the Castel disappeared from the historical sources for centuries. Eventually, an Arab village grew up around this spot. The muhktar's house was built on the hilltop, on the ruins of the Crusader castle.