Tag Archives: Israel

ARAB ISRAEL WAR – 1948-1949

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Map of Israel

Above: Map of Israel in 1948 – 1949

{mosimage}Civil war broke out in Palestine following the declaration of Partition by the United Nations. During its course, the Jews consolidated their control on their assigned part of Palestine. During this period some of Arabs of Palestine suddenly became refugees. Many left the Jewish areas of their own accord, some were encouraged to leave by other Arabs and some were coerced to leave by the Jews.

Massacre During The War

Above: picture of Soldier killed during the war

On May 14th all the neighboring Arab states attacked Israel. In the course of the subsequent months Israel managed to repulse those armies but at a great cost. Over 6,000 Israelis were killed during the War of Independence

The declaration of Independence led to the invasion of Israel by the combined armed might of the neighboring Arab states. At that point Israel had 30,000 troops with negligible armor or heavy equipments. Its Air Force consisted of a few Piper Clubs. Later however the picture changed but the Arabs were still held an overwhelming advantage.

The Arabs converged from all sides. Lebanon seized Malkiyah border, Syria attacked the area around the Sea of Galilee and advanced on Kibbutz Degania, from where they had to however retreat. Iraq attacked across River Jordan near Besian town but they too had to withdraw, and take up defensive positions in Samaria.

The real threat was Egypt. One column headed for the Negev Desert hoping to reach Jerusalem via the Hebron Hills. Another column advanced along the coast towards Tel Aviv. For five tensed days the army was held up by the brave defense of Kfar Kordechai. Next they encountered but had to bypass Kibbutz Negba. Nevertheless Egyptian armies marched up to present-day Ashdod and pause. On 29th May counter offensive action by Israel put an end to Egyptian ambitions on Tel Aviv.

Arab Legions

Above: Arab Legions – armed and ready

The Arab Legion of Jordan, consisting of the cream of the Arab army and commanded by experienced British officers, was another invading force. Fortunately for Israel the Legion, with only 4,500 troops was relatively small. It was hoped that secret negotiations between the Jewish agency and the Hashamite King Abdullah would keep the Legion out of the war. But in the end the King had to join so as not to make his position in the Arab world untenable. On the day of declaration of Israel’s Independence, the Legion captured Jewish settlements in the Etzion Block located between Hebron and Bethlehem. The main prize however was Jerusalem. On 28th May the outnumbered and less equipped defenders surrendered the ancient Jewish quarters of the city. Western Jerusalem was defended successfully although under a virtual siege. Hunger, thirst and lack of arms plagued the citizens. The coastal road had been blocked from the start of the war when the Legion had occupied Latrun fortress, having taken it from the British. Strategically situated Latrun overlooked the road to Jerusalem at the point of its ascent into the hills from the plains. Control of Latrun meant control of Jerusalem road. Starting from 25th May repeated Israeli attempts to capture the fort failed. Fortunately an American (member of the Volunteers from Overseas) Colonel David Marcus discovered a narrow path to Jerusalem. Hastily widening it into a crude road the Israelis were just in time to relieve the siege of Jerusalem before effectuation of the first truce.

Mutual exhaustion led to cessation of fighting. It was mediated by Swedish count Bernadette. Under the terms of the truce neither side was to reinforce. But as expected soon both resumed hostilities. During cease-fire a ship full of arms purchased by the Irgun arrived. When Irgun wanted to retain some for its own use, Israel’s Prime Minister Ben Gurion ordered forcible seizure of the ship. Civil war was averted but ultimately the Israel Defense Force (IDF) became the only legitimate arms bearing force in Israel.

Result After The Arab - Israel War in 1948-1949

Above: Israel’s state after the Israel – Arab War in the year 1948 – 1949

Just before expiry of the truce Egyptian attack on Kibbutz Negba was repulsed. Moreover the IDF made some gains in the Negev. Major successes were the capture of Arab cities of Ramla and Lod in the heart of the new nation as well as Nazareth and Galilee areas that hitherto had been in Arab hands. Israel’s policy to wards the Arabs till now was mixed but henceforth they were encouraged to be taken to the Legion lines in trucks.

During the second cease-fire Bernadette proposed the giving of entire Galilee to Israel and Negev desert to the Arabs. Jerusalem was to be internationalized. Both parties rejected the plan. Bernadette was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Jewish extremists on 17th September 1948.

Armies in Sinai

Above: Egyptian Army in Sinai

Equipped with modern aircraft and vehicles Israel quickly captured key Egyptian positions, captured Beersheba in the Negev and soon opened the road to Eilat in the southern tip. A large Egyptian army was surrounded but refused to surrender. Israel marched as far as El Arish in the Sinai. But when Israel shot down five Egyptian planes in a single dogfight Britain threatened to intervene. Israel troops now had to pull back.

GULF WAR

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Allied force battle plans

Above: The Allied battle plan Map

Amidst growing tensions between the two Persian Gulf neighbors, Saddam Hussein concluded that USA and the rest of the world would not interfere to defend Kuwait. On 2nd August 1990 Iraq invaded and came to control Kuwait. Within days USA along with the UN demanded Iraq’s immediate withdrawal. Few weeks later USA and member nations of UN deployed troops in Saudi Arabia. Under the aegis of the UN a worldwide coalition began to form.

An Allied Aircraft deployed for bombing operations

Above: An Allied Aircraft deployed and dropping bombs in Kuwait

By early January 1991 over half million Allied troops made their presence felt in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. Intense diplomacy between USA and Iraq failed to bring about Iraqi withdrawal. Thus from 16th January 1991 Allied forces began ruthlessly bomb Iraqi forces in Kuwait. The target was to damage Iraq’s infrastructure, crumble the morale of the civilians as well so as to cripple her militarily.

Iraq Missiles on display

Above: Picture of Iraq missiles on display

To counter the attack Saddam launched his feared SCUD missiles targeting both Israel and Saudi Arabia. He wanted to provoke Israel into striking back at Iraq. This would split the Arab nations and focus their attention away from Iraq and on hostilities between Israel and the Arab world in general. Israel nearly retaliated but held back after American President George Bush pledged to protect Israeli cities from the SCUDs by using American Patriot Missiles. Allied power however got diverted from hitting the Iraqi army to hunting for elusive mobile missile launchers. Nevertheless allied air and missile attacks against Iraq proved to be deadlier than ever expected.

US Infantry ground attack in Iraq

Above: US Infantry ground attack in Iraq

Iraqi occupation forces, cut off from supply bases and headquarters, were already beaten by intense air attacks, when the Allies started the ground war on 23rd February. They simply gave up without resistance. In few cases elite Iraqi forces like the Republican Guards stood their ground. But Soviet backed Iraq crumbled against superior American, British and French might.

Map of Tigris-Euphrates River

Above: Map of Iraq (Tigris-Euphrates River)

By 26th February US and Allied Arab forces along with underground Kuwait Resistance came to control Kuwait. Allied air forces pounded the retreating Kuwaiti army. In southern Iraq the Allied forces stood at Basra on the Euphrates River as internal rebellions against Saddam broke out sporadically. On 27th February President Bush ordered a cease-fire and the surviving Iraqi troops were allowed to escape into southern Iraq. On 3rd March with the acceptance of the cease-fire by Iraq the fighting ended.

SIX-DAY WAR

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Map of Israel and Neighboring Countries

Above: Map of Israel and neighboring Countries (click map to enlarge)

In 1967 war broke out between Israel and the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The latter group was aided by Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria. Israel came out victorious. The war lasted for 132 hours and 30 minutes – that is a little less than six days. In two of the three fronts the duration was even shorter. Only on the Syrian front did the war last for six days.

Israel Army Advancing

Above: Israeli army advancing to Golan Heights (June 1967)

Although Arab power had not become depleted they were forced to surrender for two main reasons. Population was thin in the two of the lost territories – Sinai (Egypt) and Golan Heights (Syria) and of the remaining, Gaza Strip (Egypt) and the West Bank (Jordan) were already under occupation. Secondly Israel had come within striking distance of the capitals of each of the three countries – 100 km from Cairo and 50 km each from Damascus and Amman.

Israel Troops Advancing

Above: Israel troops advancing toward enemy’s territory in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip

The swift decisive war broke the morale of the Arab world. Of all the battles hitherto fought with Israel this was the most dramatic. It had far reaching consequences both internally on the socio-economic-political field as well as on the international stage where relations with the West became tensed. History is not likely to easily forget the highlighting of Israel superiority over Arab weakness.

Egyptian Airforce Attack

Above: Egyptian Air Force strike Israel troops near Suez Canal

Israel made considerable territorial gains. Sinai and Gaza Strip were taken from Egypt, East Jerusalem and West Bank from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria. The closure of the Suez Canal for eight years affected the world in general especially as this led to rise in freight prices. It had a snowballing effect.

Below: Map showing territorial gain in the whole duration of the Six-day war (click map to enlarge

Six-day War Map

SUEZ WAR

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The UN Security Council, in the middle of 1948 called upon Israel and Arab states to sit down to talks. Israel forced Egypt to agree by driving its army to El Arish in the Sinai. Britain, recalling an Anglo-Egyptian offered to help Egypt but the latter did not want to undergo this humiliation and agreed to talks at Rhodes. Ralph Bunche of the UN organized the conference with the warning that anybody not cooperating would be blamed for the breakdown. Another reason for his success was that he insisted on bilateral talks between Israel and each of the Arab states. For this he won the Nobel Peace prize.

The General Assembly passed a resolution on 11th December 1948 asking the concerned parties to negotiate peace. The PCC or Palestine Conciliation Commission came to be formed. It comprised of USA, France and Turkey. All the Arabs went against it and insisted that Israel accept the 1947 borders as agreed in the Partition Resolution. Refugees were to be repatriated. This new approach they would henceforth use in all following defeats – the doctrine of limited-liability war. It meant that a country could opt for an all out war knowing that even in the face of defeat the status quo would remain!

1949 summer saw armistice agreements between Israel and the others – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Iraq had also been a party to the war but refused to come to terms. Egypt continued to remain hostile – the first step being the closing of the Suez Canal to Israel. The UN Mixed Armistice Commission, on 9th August 1949, upheld Israel’s complaint. Ralph Bunche announced – “There should be free movement for legitimate shipping and no vestiges of the wartime blockade should be allowed to remain, as they are inconsistent with both the letter and the spirit of the armistice agreements.” In 1951 August, Egypt was ordered by the Security Council to open the canal to Israel. Egypt refused. In clear terms the Foreign Minister of Egypt said that his country would not be satisfied until the name of Israel was obliterated from the map of the Middle East!

NOVEL WARFARE:
From 1955 President Nasser of Egypt began to import arms from the Soviet Union. While he slowly began to build up his arsenal he took the psychological approach of whipping up xenophobia. He reminded his countrymen that they were the disciples of the Pharaohs and the children of Islam. He exhorted them to cleanse the land of Palestine. Until then there would be no peace but only the call of vengeance and death for Israel. Arab terrorists were the ‘heroes’ or fedayeen who were trained and equipped to provoke border action, infiltrate into Israel, and commit acts of sabotage and murder. Jordan had to bear the brunt of Israel’s reprisals as the Fedayeen were based there. The attacks were in violation of the armistice agreement but the UN condemned Israel for aggression because of the counter attacks the latter had to undertake.

Trouble escalated with Egypt blocking the Straits of Tiran and nationalizing the Suez Canal in July 1956. Nasser clearly declared on 14th October that Egypt was not alone in its fight against Israel. His mission was to free the Arab world from Israeli designs – designs which originated abroad. With such strong feeling of hate, talking about peace and negotiations was pointless. Within two weeks Egypt concluded a tripartite agreement with Syria and Jordan. Nasser came to command all three armies.

The Suez Canal as well as the Gulf of Aqaba was blocked to Israel. Fedayeen strikes intensified. This coupled with hot statements from the Arabs made Israel, supported by Britain and France, attack Egypt on 29th October 1956. Abba Eban, the Israeli representative in the UN explained the position of his country on 30th October.
Contradicting the Armistice Agreement for the following six years skirmishes and intermittent warfare continued:

1) 1,843 cases of armed robbery and theft.
2) 1,339 cases of clashes with Egypt.
3) 435 cases of incursions from Egyptian territory.
4) 172 cases of sabotage by Fedayeen.
5) 364 Israelis wounded.
6) 101 Israelis killed.

In 1956 alone 28 Israelis were killed and 127 wounded.

The position had become untenable for Israel. She had a relatively small standing army and relied mainly on reserves in the event of a crisis. This meant that by calling frequently upon the reserves the country would become immobilized.

THE ROUTING OF EGYPT BY ISRAEL:
In 1956 Israel decided on war. Within three days 1000,000 soldiers were brought into action. It took 43 hours to make the air force fully operable. Landing in Sinai, paratroopers proceeded swiftly towards the Suez Canal without any resistance. It was only the British and French that made them check the onward march. The Egyptians ignored Anglo-French requests to withdraw to the west bank of the Canal on the plea that they were the ‘victims’ and that Israel was being allowed to camp just 10 miles east of the Suez.
30th October saw the USA sponsoring a Security Council resolution asking for immediate withdrawal of Israel. Britain and France exercised their veto and on the following day stared air attacks on Egyptian airfields near the Suez Canal. Israeli forces (IDF armed corps) routed the Egyptians, sweeping across the desert and taking into control nearly the entire Sinai by 5th November. On that very day British and French paratroopers landed near Port Said and came up to 25 miles of the city of Suez. Suddenly Britain agreed to a cease-fire.

It was Soviet pressure of threatening to use ‘every kind of modern destructive weapon’ that made Britain react. The USA too had her interests – wanted to make a much needed $1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund contingent in the event of cease-fire. The French vainly tried to persuade the British to finish the job they had started – the task of capturing the Canal. But all that could be gained was that Britain took some time before agreeing to the cease-fire.

Although the allies had failed to push the matter to the end, Israel was satisfied with the operation that took only a hundred hours. In the end Israel held the Gaza strip and had reached as far as Sharm-al-Sheikh along the Red Sea. The Israeli death toll was 231 soldiers.

USA ENFORCES WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAEL:
President Eisenhower of USA was far from happy with the secret pact between Israel, Britain and France to evict Egypt from the Suez Canal. USA’s plea for peace had been ignored and moreover she had been kept uninformed. Tensions broke out. America turned to the Soviet Union (just after the latter’s invasion of Hungary) to force Israeli withdrawal. The threat was discontinuance of assistance, UN sanctions and expulsion from the world body. Consequently Israeli had to withdraw from the regions it had conquered without getting any concessions from Egypt. Thus was sown the seeds of the 1967 war.

Another reason for Ben Gurion, the Israeli Premier conceding to the demands of Eisenhower, before finally evacuating strategically placed Sharm-al-Sheikh was that the latter had given the assurance that the Suez Canal would be kept open. That apart, USA sponsored a resolution creating United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to supervise the regions vacated by Israel.

For sometime the Fedayeen were kept in check but they would soon resume their activities by regrouping themselves loosely as a terrorist organization known as the PLO or Palestine Liberation Organization.

YOM KIPPUR WAR

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Injured Israeli Army

Above: Injured Israeli Army on the side of the road during YOM KIPPUR WAR

The most recent full-scale war in the history of the Middle East is the Yom Kippur War or October War, of 1973. It is so called because it started on the holy day of the Jews – the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The two leaders of Israel and Egypt were Golda Meir and Anwar Saddat respectively.

Uncrewed Syrian Tanks

Above: Uncrewed Syrian Tanks left behind at an Israeli anti-tank dike

The war started with the unprovoked surprise attack by the Arabs on Israel on Saturday 6th October 1973. The attack was launched by Egypt and Syria knowing fully well that the Israeli army would be celebrating a religious festival and therefore would be off their guard. The combined forces of the attackers totaled to the same number of men as NATO had in West Europe. 150 Israeli tanks faced 1,400 Syrian ones on the Golan Heights. In the Suez area there were 500 Israeli soldiers facing 80,000 of Egypt. Other Arab nations were also helping the attackers. Few months previous to the operation Iraq had transferred a squadron of Hunter jets to Egypt. Russian MIG fighters belonging to Iraq were deployed along with 18,000 Iraqi soldiers. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait financed the war. Approximately 30,000 troops also fought the battle. Libya gave Egypt French Mirage fighters from 1971 o 1973. Libya helped to update Egypt’s military with the help of $1 billion. Modern weapons were purchased from Russia. Two armored brigades were sent by other Arabic nations like Tunisia, Sudan and Morocco. Jordan dispatched two armored brigades together with three artillery units in support of Syria. But their participation was not spontaneous because King Hussein of Jordan had not been properly informed about the details of Egypt and Syria’s operations.

Map of Suez Canal

Above: Map of Suez Canal

Faced with such odds at such an awkward time Israel was at first confused. Within two days Egypt had crossed the Suez Canal and marched 15 miles inland into Sinai. Syrian troops repeated the performance in the Golan Heights. By 7th October the signs were all against Israel.

Israel’s Counter Attack

Above: Syrian tank destroyed during the counter attack of Israel

From 8th October the tide began to turn. Israel mustered up her courage and spirit and made a counter attack in the Sinai region. They forced back Egypt, crossed the Suez and reached Ismailia. Here they used the Suez Cairo road to push forward towards Cairo, the capital of Egypt. They came to 65 miles of it.

Israel Victorious in Golan Heights

Above: An Israeli troop raising flag after recapturing Golan Heights

At the Golan Heights Israel also met with success. The Syrians were forced to retreat and the land was taken back. Through the main road from Tiberias to Damascus they came to within 35 miles of Syria’s capital.

The UN brokered a cease-fire on 24th October. It sent its own peacekeeping force to the highly sensitive areas. Between January and March 1974 Israel disengaged itself from the Suez region but they kept their hold on the Golan Heights. Here a buffer zone was created so that in no way could the Arabs enter the home territory of the Israelis. More than 1,200 UN troops went there to make effectual this buffer zone between Syria and Israel.

Peace Talk in Camp David

Above: Prime Minister in Israel, Egyptian President Sadat, and US President Carter shake hands during the peace talk in Camp David

USA’s Secretary of State Kissinger negotiated peace talks. An interim agreement was signed in September 1975 in which both sides agreed to amicably settle bones of contention and not resort to war. The 1977 Sadat-Initiative was followed by America sponsoring talks at Camp David.

Assasination of President Sadat

Above: bloody picture of former Egyptian President Sadat after being assassinated

In the beginning Anwar Sadat was regarded as the spiritual successor of Nasser and the savior of the Palestinian cause. But his diplomatic maneuvers came in for sharp criticism. Sadat became very unpopular and was accused by many for betraying the cause of Egypt. Fundamentalists assassinated him in 1981.

Picture of Kurt Waldheim

Above: Picture of Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim presiding a meeting in UN Headquarters

The role of the United Nations in the war came under a cloud. The world body remained a silent spectator to the drama – could not effectively do anything. One of the prime reasons for this was that its Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim got embroiled in accusations regarding war crimes in the Balkans during World War II.

Spy Plane Captured Image

Above: Image captured by the spy plane, SR-71 Blackbird during espionage operation in Yom Kippur War

YOM KIPPUR WAR – RESULTS:
At the start of the war Israeli was caught on the wrong foot but the country soon rallied. Israel proved to the world her military might. Thus the war saw a rise in the morale of the nation. USA had given military aid but more important – Israel had been provided with intelligence and information. The American spy plane, SR-71 Blackbird, documented the whereabouts of Arab military concentration points. This enabled the Israelis to pinpoint their attacks accurately.

Israel Troops and Artilleries

Above: Israel troops firing deadly artilleries against the Arabs

The war taught the Arabs the futility of a military approach and tuned them towards the diplomatic angle. On the other hand there was a section that became more militant and resorted to extreme terrorism. On the one hand while the Camp David talks were in full swing the PLO activities, on the other side became more strident.

The Arabs failed to follow up their initial success mainly because the Israelis benefited from secret information they managed to get. As before the Arabs had not fought as one cohesive and coordinated unit. There were nine nations each on its own, making joint effective action nearly impossible.

Syrian Tanks Harshly Attack

Above: Syrian tanks harshly attacking; image picturing out the severe conflict between Israelis and Arabs

Israel was more committed to the cause because defeat would have meant the total disappearance of the state as such. For its very existence Israel had to fight – and fight to finish. There was no midway course left open – it was either death or glory. This was not so the case with the Arabs.