The IDF as part of Israel's 77th Independence Day celebrations, released information on Wednesday recording the historical significance of six operational IDF bases.
"IDF bases are not just military installations, they are pieces of history," the military wrote.
The military cited Dr. Sherry Mark, who wrote her doctoral thesis on British Mandate-era military bases in Israel, as saying, "When the British arrived in 1918, they began building military infrastructure. Initially, the bases were minimal—housing, landing strips, etc.—but after WWII began in 1939, the Royal Army expanded its presence, adding facilities like swimming pools for recreation."
Hatzor Air Force Base
Hatzor Air Force Base was previously known as RAF Qastina when Britain's Royal Air Force operated there.
This was the name mentioned in the Irgun's "Night of the Airplanes" raid in 1946, when the Jewish underground militia raided RAF bases across the Mandate.
This operation targeted RAF fighter aircraft, which the IDF documentation states were tools used to patrol the Mediterranean Sea and block immigrant ships from reaching the shores of the Mandate.
As part of the raid, on the night of February 25-26, 1946, Irgun operatives posed as youth group counselors and transported explosives and weapons by truck amid heavy rainfall.
The IDF records that the Irgun operatives placed explosive charges at the point between the planes' wings and fuselage, near the fuel tanks, with a grenade triggering a chain reaction that destroyed 12 Halifax bombers.
The Haganah seized the base in March 1948 after it was abandoned by the RAF, and the IDF retained its purpose, keeping it as an active air force base until today.
Camp Bilu 'Lipkin'
If you head north on Highway 40 near Rehovot, you can spot a guard post, which marks the entrance to Camp Bilu. This was built by the British during the Mandate era and later abandoned during their withdrawal in 1948, when they took their mobile equipment with them, the IDF notes.
"The more advanced camps were put up for sale. Those that weren’t sold were simply deserted." Mark added.
Between the British withdrawal and the War of Independence, Arabs from nearby villages settled inside the abandoned base.
As part of breaking the siege on Jerusalem, the Givati Brigade's 52nd Battalion was sent to capture the camp on April 2, 1948. The IDF states that this mission was "completed quickly and successfully."
After this, it became a departure point for Israeli convoys heading to Jerusalem via the Hulda Road and Burma Road. It also housed a military hospital, which treated soldiers wounded in battles on the southern front against Egypt, according to the IDF.
Today, Camp Bilu is the headquarters of the IDF's 98th Division, and three Mandate-era buildings still stand, including the mess hall.
Camp Ramle 'Rehavam'
At the entrance to Camp Ramle is a large blue sign which "proudly displays its historical significance," the military writes.
"This was the first fully planned military base in the country, built entirely from stone. It housed the RAF’s headquarters, responsible for security in Palestine between 1936 and 1939,” Mark added.
Since coming under the IDF's control, it has served in various roles for the IDF's Central Command, the Israel Air Force, the IDF's Infantry Corps, and in the early 1990s, became the headquarters of the IDF's Home Front Command, which it remains to this day.
Some facilities from the Mandate era remain, but there is some historical speculation that the base may have originally been constructed by the Ottoman Empire approximately a decade before the British Mandate began, in order to house a German Air Force squadron, the IDF notes.
There is a debate over a structure inside the entrance to the camp, which resembles a control tower. For years, it was assumed to be one, but a retired pilot claimed it was just a guardhouse, according to the military.
Further inside the camp, two old stone buildings resemble medieval fortresses, with slits likely used by guards. One has been preserved, while the other, which was used for storage and an emergency room, has been closed due to its condition.
Camp Tzrifin 'Yadin'
Camp Tzrifin was known as Sarafand during the British Mandate era. The IDF writes that it was a "ready-made asset inherited by the IDF."
This is because British bases were often repurposed by the IDF based on their infrastructure with airfields becoming Israel Air Force bases and tall British antennas being utilized by the IDF's nascent Signal Corps, the military continued.
"Sarafand is a prime example, as during the Mandate era, it served as the British army's central training base, offering courses in communications, driving, and combat," Mark notes.
"Every conscript passed through here. It was massive. Almost the size of modern-day Givatayim, with classrooms, barracks, and family housing," she continued.
Sarafand's central street, known as "the Mall," was lined with bookstores, haberdasheries, and a small cinema, where soldiers would unwind, share stories, and catch up on news, the military notes.
The cinema is no longer operative, but the building where it was housed still stands.
Since it came under IDF control, Camp Tzrifin retained its character as a major training hub. It has hosted basic training, infantry courses, non-commissioned officer schools, and women's officer programs. Historically, it also housed the offices of the IDF's Artillery Corps and Signal Corps Commanding Officers, respectively.
Currently, Camp Tzrifin hosts cyber and communications units, along with a central military clinic.
Camp Gidonim
A bridge spans the highway outside Camp Tzrifin's main entrance. On the other side is Camp Gidonim.
In the 1920s, this base was ringed with antennas and listening equipment as part of a sophisticated British intelligence-gathering operation, and was dubbed "Signal Hill" in order to disguise its true function, the IDF notes.
After the British left, the base became controlled by the IDF, and was renamed "Gidonim" in honor of the Haganah's secret radio unit.
Since then, it has trained communications network soldiers, from mail sorting to cyber defense.
Signs of its past remain across the camp, as the Staff-Sergeant-Major's office and the War Room were both used as British prison cells, and the central square of the camp remains where it did during the "Signal Hill" period.
Two long buildings on either side serve as staff offices and the camp's canteen.
Dotan Training Base 'Camp 80'
Dotan Training Base, better known as "Camp 80," is familiar to many IDF soldiers as their first stop in basic training after their conscription draft.
However, few know that "Camp 80" as a name dates back to the British Mandate era.
The camp was built during World War II as an infantry training base, with reduced infrastructure, mostly made up of tent clusters divided by platoon, the IDF notes.
“Each unit had a few permanent structures,” says Mark. “These included showers, laundry, toilets, a club, kitchen, and dining room—but the recruits themselves slept in tents.”
Today, the tents have been replaced by permanent buildings, but Camp 80's purpose as a basic training base remains to this day.
