100-year-old British unexploded ordnance found in Binyamin region after rainfall

Yisrael Ganz, who chairs the Yesha Council umbrella group, thanked the Binyamin Regional Council’s security department for its “vigilance and professional handling of the ordnance.”

By JNS

Unexploded British ordnance dating back about a century was recently found in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem after it was exposed by rainfall, the Binyamin Regional Council said on Thursday.

A bomb disposal expert destroyed it in a controlled explosion, the statement read.

The ordnance was found near Route 437, close to Yinon Farm and the “Island of Tranquility,” a rehabilitative resilience farm, located in Nofei Prat near Ma’ale Adumim, which serves as a rehabilitation center for dozens of wounded Israel Defense Forces soldiers and security personnel.

The Island of Tranquility was established by Shivi and Or Cohen Arazi, residents of the community of Alon, northwest of Jerusalem, drawing on their personal experience of struggle and growth, according to the council.

“There is something special about the fact that unexploded ordnance dating back approximately 100 years was discovered right near a farm that provides peace and healing to wounded security personnel,” said Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council.

On the one hand, the find is a remnant of the region’s past, while on the other hand, it was discovered near “a farm where those wounded in today’s wars find a place to grow stronger and regain their strength,” he said.

Ganz, who also serves as the chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of councils across Judea and Samaria, thanked the Binyamin Regional Council’s security department for its “vigilance and professional handling of the ordnance.

“This is the spirit of Benjamin: people who choose to take action, build, and look after one another, even in the face of hardship,” he said.