Construction workers digging in an area near Jerusalem's Ammunition Hill during infrastructure work were startled Sunday when they came upon two Bazooka projectiles, apparently left behind by the Jordanian army during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Jerusalem District police sappers were called to the scene, and carefully removed the two shells, which were manufactured in December 1956, according to the inscription on them.
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One of the two unexploded bazooka rounds discovered at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem
(Photo: Israel Police)
They were apparently used by the Jordanian army during the fierce fighting in the area on June 6, 1967, the second day of the war.
Thirty-six Israeli soldiers and 71 Jordanian soldiers were killed in the Battle of Ammunition Hill — an engagement that has long served as a symbol of Israeli heroism. The Paratroopers’ Brigade still issues red berets there to its combat troops.
“This is a moment when things come full circle,” a police spokesperson said. “The weaponry was found between Ammunition Hill and the then-police academy. Today, 54 years since the brave battle fought by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Israel Police sappers returned to the site to handle the two bombs from that conflict.”
The explosive projectiles were transferred to a designated area where they were destroyed in a controlled detonation.