New Delhi, Jan 15: In a solemn ceremony on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu formally renamed the iconic Teen Murti chowk here after an Israeli city – Haifa.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, the two leaders signed the visitors’ book at the memorial, where PM Netanyahu wrote an entire page to honour the valour of Indian soldiers, who liberated Haifa during the first world war.

The year 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the historic battle in Haifa, where 44 Indians soldiers, part of the British Indian Army, martyred themselves to liberate the city from the combined forces of Ottomans, Germany and Austria-Hungary.

The three bronze statues at the Teen Murti chowk were built to honour the Lancers from Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, which fought in Haifa.

The brigade had succeeded in liberating the garrisoned city on September 13, 1918. With Haifa taken from the Axis Powers, the Allied forces cleared a major supply route as the city is linked to the sea.

Netanyahu, the second Israeli PM to have visited India, embarked upon his six-day tour on Sunday. His visit is expected to boost to the Indo-Israel bilateral relations in the field of defence, cyber-security, innovation, agriculture and water-management.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2018 03:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).