Bnot Ya'akov Bridge

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Bnot Ya'akov Bridge (Hebrew: גשר בנות יעקב) is a Bailey bridge across the Jordan River on Highway 91 in northern Israel.

The area around the bridge was settled in antiquity, and a river crossing there served as part of the regional route between central Israel and Syria.

The Hebrew name of the bridge translates as "Daughters of Jacob." Crusaders and Muslims have traditions that associate the area with the life of the patriarch Jacob.

The bridge was destroyed in 1918 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I by Turkish forces who were retreating from a British attack, but was rebuilt. On the "night of the bridges" between 16 and 17 June 1946, the bridge was again destroyed by militants in the Haganah. The Syrians captured the bridge on 11 June 1948 during the Israeli War of Independence. During the Six Day War, an Israeli force captured the area, and the Israeli corps of engineers constructed a Bailey bridge.

Until 2007 there were two Bailey bridges, one for traffic from east to west and the other for the opposite direction. Since then a concrete bridge has been built, so one of the Bailey bridges is unused.

[edit] External links (Hebrew)

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