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Tzrifin () is an area in Gush Dan (Dan Region) in central Israel, located on the eastern side of Rishon LeZion and including parts of Be'er Ya'akov. The area proper is defined as an 'area without jurisdiction' between the two cities.
Nearly the entire area of Tzrifin proper was taken up by the central Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base, Camp Yigael Yadin (a.k.a. Camp Tzrifin, Camp 782), with which it is synonymous, even though the base also spills into Rishon LeZion and Be'er Ya'akov. Camp Yadin contains a multitude of Bahad, as well as Prison Four, the largest Israeli military prison.
In late 2010s it was decided to vacate the area, move its bases to Camp Ariel Sharon in the South and repurpose the land for residential development.
Tzrifin was founded in 1917, during World War I, as a British base named Sarafand or Sarafend, after the nearby Arab village Sarafand al-Amar. Sarafand was a central British base in a strategic location situated nearby the important railway junction at Lydda (Lod) – which was accessible from the base via a spur off of the Jaffa–Lydda–Jerusalem railway. The Transjordan Frontier Force (TJFF) was established at Sarafand on 1 April 1926 with a cadre drawn from the Arab Legion. The TJFF subsequently moved to Zerqa in October 1926. During World War II, the Jewish Brigade was formed in Tzrifin.
Starting in the 1930s, next to the military camp there was a concentration camp for Arab and Jewish Palestinian convicts in administrative detention, and for Aliyah Bet.
On 14 May 1948, the day of the Israeli declaration of independence, British forces vacated Sarafand. False rumours suggested the British sold the base to the Arabs, but only Arab residents of nearby villages, some of whom worked in the base, entered the base for looting.Yoav Gelber, Independence Versus Nakba; Kinneret–Zmora-Bitan–Dvir Publishing, 2004, , p.104 The adjacent Arab village Sarafand al-'Amr was depopulated on 15 May. After a two-day battle, between the 18th and 19 May, the base was captured by the Jewish forces from the Givati Brigade. The place was named Tzrifin after a historical city with that name located in the area and mentioned in the Talmud.
As the years passed, Rishon LeZion expanded to the east, eventually reaching the fence line of Camp Yadin. As a result, the IDF decided to vacate Tzrifin and sell its land to private residential developers due to the high land value. By the early 2020s the IDF is expected to vacate all of its installations from Tzrifin, with most of their functions being relocated to new bases to Camp Ariel Sharon in the Negev desert, Southern Israel. In 2019 the central part of the camp was demolished to give way for 1,100 new apartments for Rishon LeZion. רגע היסטורי! צה"ל מפרסם סרטון של הריסת מרכז בסיס צריפין לטובת בניית 1100 דירות בראשון לציון, July 15, 2019
The Jaffa Gate links a street within the base to Road 44 (Tzrifin Junction). At this location, there are a number of fast food restaurants and a pedestrian bridge which connects the base to the bus terminal on the other side of the road. The Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center is located near the Jaffa Gate.
The Jerusalem Gate links the base to Tzahal Road (Road 4313) in Be'er Ya'akov, which ultimately connects to Road 44 at the Nir Tzvi Junction in the Emek Lod Regional Council. The Rishon LeZion gate is located deep within Rishon LeZion and connects Rishon's Jerusalem Street with the base.
Currently, several non-military installations are located in the Tzrifin area:
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