The bridge over Nahal Ayyun (on the left) was built by the British in 1943-44. On "The Night of the Bridges" (June 17, 1946), Palmah units stormed and blew up 11 bridges in order to deny easy access to enemy soldiers from neighboring countries. Twenty one days later, on the "Black Sabbath", the British command carried out a large scale retaliatory action, in which many yishuv leaders and Palmah members were imprisoned, and many weapons were captured. At the height of the War of Independence, the bridge was blown up once again by the Palmah, and for many years it remained in ruins until its repair in the 1980s.