Two unexploded bazooka shells left over from the 1967 Six Day War were discovered on Sunday at Yerushalayim’s Ammunition Hill, where a fierce battle was fought between Israeli and Jordanian troops.
The shells, bearing the manufacture date of December 1956, were found during infrastructure work at the site, police said.
Police sappers were called in, and they moved the bazooka shells to a designated area where they were destroyed in a secure manner, police said.
Officials said the rockets were likely used by the Jordanian Army during the fighting 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.
“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 Force soldiers, sappers from Israel Police returned to the site to handle the two bombs from that conflict.”
The battle of Ammunition Hill has been celebrated as a symbol of Israeli heroism, and the Paratroopers’ Brigade still issues red berets there to its combat troops.
All 182 Israeli soldiers killed in the fighting for Yerushalayim are memorialized at the site, which was nearly shut down due to lack of funds several years ago, but was saved at the last moment.