 On the Israeli side , several leaders of the Jewish city sent emergency telegrams to David Ben @-@ Gurion where they described the situation as desperate and that they could not hold out more than two weeks . Fearing that without a supply the city would collapse , Ben @-@ Gurion ordered the taking of Latrun . This decision seemed strategically necessary but was politically delicate , because Latrun was in the area allocated to the Arab State according to the terms of the Partition Plan and this attack was contrary to the non @-@ aggression agreements , concluded with King Abdullah This decision was also opposed by the Chief of Operations , Yigael Yadin who considered that there were other military priorities at that moment , in particular on the southern front , where the Egyptian army was threatening Tel Aviv if Yad Mordechai fell . But Ben @-@ Gurion set Israeli military policy . This difference in strategy influenced the outcome of the battle , and has been debated in Israel for many years . 
