The fortress in Zemach was used by British military and police forces during the Mandate period, prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. Close to the fortress was the Arab village of Samakh. On April 27, 1948, on the eve of the British departure from Israel, the station was evacuated, abandoned by the British, and secretly handed over to the Arabs of the village. However, that same night, a local Field Corps unit (Haganah) from Degania, along with a Golani force, launched an operation to recapture the station, entering through a hole they had blown in the western wall. On May 18, the police station once again fell into Arab hands after a fierce battle in which Syrian tanks surrounded the station from the south. In this battle, 54 defenders—comprising local settlers and Golani soldiers—lost their lives. Two days later, following their defeat at Degania, the Syrians retreated and abandoned the site.