"Presenting history's best On PBS." "Funding for the 50 years war:" "Israel and the Arabs" "Was provided by:" "and PBS viewers like you." "Palestine-a land divided" "A holy place, a battleground." "A homeland claimed by both Arabs and Jews." "[captioning sponsored by the corporation for public broadcasting and viewers like you]" "By 1947, the lines were drawn." "To the Jews" "Palestine is their traditional and spiritual home- the Promised Land." "But the majority of the inhabitants of Palestine" "Are Arabs." "They, too, regard Palestine as their rightful home." "But with the end of the war into Palestine ports came ship after ship crammed with illegal immigrants- refugees from recent persecution in Germany, Austria, Poland, Belsen and Dachau." "The Arabs, fearful of becoming a minority persuaded the British to limit Jewish immigration." "Jewish extremists attacked British troops wrecked government buildings, blew up trains and ships." "And so Palestine remains a place of martial law, where all go their ways only under watch, where the innocent must suffer with the guilty." "Great Britain had ruled Palestine for three decades." "After years of strenuous but in vain effort" "His majesty's government has reached the conclusion that they are not able to bring about a settlement in Palestine" "based upon the consent of both Arabs and Jews and that the mandate is no longer workable." "A York transport landing at Lyda airport brings delegates to the United Nations special committee on Palestine." "The UN committee considered the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state." "And on the shoulders of these delegates rests a heavy responsibility" "But the Arabs did not want to talk to the committee." "They wanted nothing to do with the Jews." "Sabri Abdeen was an honorable sheikh and an eloquent speaker and he said, "If the Jews want to take Palestine from us, we swear that we will throw them into the sea"." "And he pointed to the Mediterranean which was a few hundred meters from the place where we had gathered." "The Arab leadership believed that if a partition was imposed they could reverse it by force." "Jamal Husseini, the chairman of the Arab higher committee said that only 400 to 500 riflemen can easily take over Tel Aviv." "While the committee was still in Palestine" "A ship called Exodus arrived in Haifa." "Loaded with Jewish holocaust survivors." "But now she had on board some 5,000 Jews who'd hoped to enter Palestine illegally." "When she was boarded at sea by the navy a fierce battle was fought on her decks resulting in many casualties on both sides." "The UN Committee saw firsthand the immigrants' despair when they were forced to return to Europe." "The Jews argued that refugees needed a home and that they would not be welcomed by an Arab state." "The UN Committee agreed." "They recommended that Palestine be partitioned when the British pulled out." "We felt that what had happened to the Palestinians was unjust and that the division of Palestine was not fair." "The Arabs were outraged." "We had a man called Mustafa who managed to penetrate literally into the circle of the security council to read a letter written in the blood of some several thousand Egyptian Muslim brothers denouncing Israel and, uh..." "the support of Israel and so on." "You all know how to vote:" "Those who are in favor will say "Yes"." "Those who are against will say "No"." "No one relied on the calculations made by the President of the assembly." "Each person held his own pencil and piece of paper and calculated whether or not there was two-thirds for the partition or not." "United Kingdom- abstain." "United States- yes." "Paraguay- yes." "Venezuela..." "And towards the end during the last countries" "USA, Venezuela, etc." "We found there was two-thirds." "We jumped from our places with joy." "We wept, we hugged, we kissed." "The resolution... of the duct committee for Palestine was adopted by 33 votes, 13 against, 10 abstentions." "I was glad, I was very glad because for me it was important that the UN, according to the decree of nations was giving, granting the Jews, I'd say the Zionists, an independent country on the land of Israel." "And I thought in my heart, history is turning a huge page." "The news was broadcast at 8:00 p. m." "The Palestinian people listened to it everywhere" "And there was this feeling of frustration and sadness" "A feeling of catastrophe which was about to befall Palestine." "Riots and demonstrations started everywhere." "The Arabs attacked Jews and the Jews hit back." "Cities and neighborhoods were divided along religious lines." "In Jerusalem, an Arab car bomb destroyed the Jewish agency offices." "Seven were killed, more than a hundred wounded." "The 50 years war was underway." "Palestinian forces from towns and villages along the road to Jerusalem were commanded by Abdul Kader el Husseini." "They blocked supplies going from Jewish held Tel-Aviv" "To a besieged Jerusalem." "Keeping the Jews of Jerusalem supplied" "Was the first priority of the Jewish army, the Haganah." "They tried to defend the convoys." "It was very hard to protect the convoys." "We had a huge number ff casualties among the convoy escorts and there was a big waste of product." "When a convoy got through, the whole city knew." "The trucks brought vital supplies, flour." "We really needed matches and cigarettes." "Can you imagine soldiers without cigarettes?" "We were kept alive by the convoys from Tel Aviv." "We started with military operations to make sure that the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem will not be endangered by the big villages or towns that were along the road where from came all the attackers on the convoys." "A special Haganah brigade was formed to open the road to Jerusalem." "The system was to attack the village to give warning to the civilians to destroy the village." "And by the elimination of the villages along and adjacent to the road we were sure that there would be no attacks." "The Jews tried to seize Kastel a village controlling the road to Jerusalem." "It was a Palmach unit, my troops that captured the Kastel and it was here that Abdul Kader el Husseini" "The Palestinian leader, was killed." "Enraged, Husseini's soldiers went to recover the body of their leader." "The Arabs counterattacked." "Our reinforcements were wiped out." "It was a very black day." "Down the road from Kastel there would be another battle that day." "Two Jewish extremist organizations" "Irgun and Lehi, which had fought the British were eager to prove themselves in the new war." "It was such a tragedy." "Deir Yassin was a lovely village." "The events at Deir Yassin would haunt relations between Jews and Arabs for years to come." "Deir Yassin had stayed out of the fighting." "It was not on the Haganah's list of hostile villages." "I ran into a man who had left us for the terrorists." "He told me that the Irgun and Lehi had got permission from our commander to attack the village of Deir Yassin." "He was very proud." "The Irgun and Lehi forces were ordered to take Deir Yassin." "I ran to my commander and asked, "Why did you allow it?"" "He said, "I suggested two other targets." "They turned them down"." "He said, "I can't shoot them, can I?"" "So I decided to spy on them." "Their loudspeakers blared out, "Lay down your arms." "Run for your lives"." "Then I heard our machine gun." "I was kneeling down like this." "When I looked up, I saw the village ablaze." "Their attack lit up the whole village." "The village was not the soft target the Jews had expected." "From the windows of their houses" "Arabs were shooting at our soldiers" "And from a force of 132, we had 42 wounded and six dead." "The commander ordered a house-to-house attack." "So I gave the order" ""Before entering a house, throw a couple of grenades inside"." "They threw a grenade into one house." "28 were killed." "It was impossible to attack the enemy without hurting their families." "It was difficult." "It was painful and I'm sorry we had to do it but we had no choice." "After the battle, they took 14 prisoners." "They lined them up by the quarry and mowed them down." "They threw their bodies in the quarry." "That's what happened." "While this was going on, Jews came from the next village." "Most of them were religious, by the way." "They started yelling, "Bastards, murderers, what are you doing?"" "Some shouted in Hebrew, others in Yiddish." "They stopped the massacre." "110 Arabs died in Deir Yassin." "Some died fighting, others were murdered." "The survivors were taken to Jerusalem." "We gathered in Jerusalem at the Hebron gate." "We checked who was missing and who had survived." "Then the Palestinian leaders arrived, including dr." "Khalidi." "I asked dr." "Khalidi how we should cover the story." "He said, "We must make the most of this"." "So he wrote a press release stating that at Deir Yassin children were murdered, pregnant women were raped all sorts of atrocities." "Arab radio stations passed on the false reports ignoring the protests of the witnesses." "We said, "There was no rape." "He said, "We have to say this so the Arab armies will come to liberate Palestine from the Jews"." "This was our biggest mistake." "We did not realize how our people would react." "As soon as they heard that women had been raped at Deir Yassin" "Palestinians fled in terror." "They ran away from all our villages." "In the next few months, over half the Arab population, three quarters of a million people, fled their homes in Palestine." "Israel never allowed them back." "The British did little to prevent the atrocities committed by both sides." "As they prepared to leave they wash their hands of the whole mess." "At the United Nations, the Jews announced their plans." "Not later than may 16 next a provisional Jewish government will commence to function in cooperation with the representatives of the United Nations then in Palestine." "The Jewish leadership sought political support abroad." "The US State Department argued against it." "Their first response was:" "No country, no state." "Ben Gurion sent his close colleague, Moshe Sharett" "To convince the Americans to recognize the proposed Jewish state." "Sharett tried to persuade" "Secretary of State George Marshall who was totally opposed to the idea." "Marshall:" "... back to peace and prosperity." "Sharett explained that we have no other way than to proceed." "This is a historic juncture." "If we miss that, we may create a tragedy for future generations." "But President Truman surprised everyone with his strong support." "I was told by all these so-called experts that if it was done it'd involve the whole Near East in a war and it would also involve The United States." "Hitler had been murdering Jews right and left." "I saw it, and I dream about it even to this day." "The Jews needed some place where they could go." "It is my attitude that the American government couldn't stand idly by while the victims of Hitler's madness are not allowed to build new lives." "Marshall was worried that war would break out." "We are in the midst of a very critical situation" "We should therefore carefully avoid approaching international problems on an emotional basis." "He wanted to maintain good relations with the Arabs." "I was on the receiving end of Azam Pasha's impressions of his meeting with Marshall, and he was happy." "I mean, he felt much more reassured about the Americans after having talked to Marshall than before." "And we had the Saudis with us." "They were our partners in this business." "Two days before the British left Palestine" "Truman summoned Marshall to the White House." "Clark Clifford was asked to support the case for a Jewish state." "General Marshall started off the President listened attentively and then said, "I would like now to hear from Clark"." "But as I spoke, I saw Marshall's face getting redder and redder and when I finished, he exploded." "Marshall accused Truman of a transparent dodge to win the Jewish vote." "Clark Clifford did not disguise the fact that Marshall was raging mad" ""They don't need a state, they don't deserve a state it isn't theirs, they've stolen that land"." "These were Marshall's words." "He turned to the President and said" ""I'm obliged, Mr. President, to tell you" ""that if you should adopt the policy" ""that is recommended by Clifford" ""I would be unable to vote for you in this coming election in November"." "Well, dead silence in the room." "No one had ever heard anything like it." "I had never heard anybody threaten the President of the United States in that manner." "Before Marshall could go any further" "Truman ended the meeting." "I gathered my papers together, and the President said" ""Well, that was tough as a cob"." "Marshall said to Sharett" ""Well, it's your decision." ""Don't count that we can bail you out." ""But we know that you have reached an historic stage and God protect you"." "Eastward, the Arab legion poised for invasion on the Transjordan border." "A rarely photographed King Abdullah reviewed a brigade of reinforcements from Iraq." "Marshall's prediction of war was about to come true." "Five Arab states mobilized on the border" "Threatening to enter Palestine and crush a Jewish state, if it came into being." "For the Jews of Palestine, this was a critical moment" "Ben Gurion was determined to go ahead with or without international support." "I had to act fast." "I didn't consult anyone." "Today, the British mandate over the land of Israel ends." "We declare a Jewish state in the ancient land of Israel." "It will be called the State of Israel." "At the same time the UN's role in Palestine was supposed to end." "When the hands pointed to 6:00 the Iraqi delegate got up and said..." "Mr. President, there is a very important matter to consider before we proceed." "The time is one minute past 6:00" "The United States delegate when he came to this rostrum declared that if by 6:00 we cannot arrive at any conclusion the whole game is up." "And I hope that you, Mr. President" "To give us your ruling." "The time is past 6:00 now." "That was about the only occasion when the Iraqi delegate and I have ever agreed on anything." "He was full of exuberance because he thought the game is up and now the road is open for the Arab invasion." "I felt that the game is up and that meant that we were free to establish our state without being accused of impinging upon an international decision." "Then the news from Israel arrived." "This government has been informed that a Jewish state has been proclaimed in Palestine and recognition has been requested by the provisional government thereof." "The United States recognizes the provisional government as the de facto authority of the new State of Israel." "Scarcely had the United States pronounced its words of recognition and almost unnoticed by our own delegation which was still celebrating our American victory" "Andrei Gromyko rose and said that the Soviet Union which unlike the western powers which had abandoned the Jewish people to its dark and fearful fate the Soviet Union recognizes the State of Israel." "And therefore I would say that the issue of Israel's recognition was solved almost miraculously." "Within a few hours of our independence declaration" "After 2,000 years of exile the Jewish people had a state of their own." "But even as they danced" "Israel's fate hung in the balance." "The day after Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria invaded." "But the largest Arab army, that of Egypt, had only been tested on the parade ground." "At its head was the playboy King Farouk." "The King hadn't had any experience of war." "Nobody, in fact, had any experience of war including the commander in chief of the Egyptian army, you see." "At the time, euphoria reigned in the Arab ranks." "The boys were very pleased with the war." "They thought it was a good idea." "But they had no idea of the logistics and the problems they were going to face." "Still, the Arab states, with a population of 40 million looked certain to overwhelm Israel's half million Jews." "It seemed that Ben Gurion's new state would last only a few days." "We thought it was going to be a pushover." "That the Jews were going to run away the moment they saw the Arab regular army uniform moving on to them with bayonets and whatever." "Egypt's army, attacking from the south headed towards the main Jewish center, Tel Aviv." "Jordan's Arab legion took the West Bank and the Old City of Jerusalem." "The Syrians moved towards Nazareth while the Lebanese attacked from the north." "The Arab regular armies converged on Palestine superior in numbers and equipment." "Early in the war, they had a number of victories." "Whenever they overran Israeli villages the inhabitants were either expelled or killed." "The Egyptian Army was finally halted only 20 miles from Tel Aviv." "The Israelis were fighting for their survival and after three weeks of fierce resistance they brought the Arabs to a standstill." "We had no aircraft, we had no tanks and we were going into war this way." "We hardly even had guns." "We would try to buy guns as much as we could, anywhere we could." "In this situation we were really saved by Czechoslovakia, that is, Russia." "America didn't give us arms." "When the... the..." "the weapons came in the whole balance of power changed." "And the Israelis would then pass on to the offensive." "We weren't even mentally prepared." "We just weren't ready." "So our officers were confused and panic-stricken." "And so the Egyptian Army was surrounded and then the Jordanian army just kept neutral, didn't interfere in any way." "Finally, our Prime Minister here in Egypt," "Nokrashy Pasha was murdered by the Moslem Brothers and his successor sad "There's no future in this war." "Let's make peace"." "But there was no peace, only a cease-fire agreement." "The Arabs believed a peace treaty would be an acknowledgment of defeat." "Both sides mourned their dead." "Even before the cease-fire agreements were signed" "Israel held its first democratic election." "Ben Gurion and his labor party won." "Israel celebrated the triumph of its armed forces." "But the Arabs refused to recognize" "Israel's right to exist." "For the Arabs, the legacy of the '48 war was the displacement of the Palestinian people." "The Palestinians now faced political extinction." "The West Bank was annexed by Jordan" "And Gaza was ruled by Egypt, which left them with nothing." "Egypt, the most powerful Arab country was shaken by the defeat." "A group of young officers, frustrated by the incompetence of the King and the new Prime Minister plotted a coup." "I went to the Prime Minister and delivered the ultimatum to him." "He was shocked, believe me because up till this moment, he didn't know that we were going to dethrone The King, at all." "He was shocked and received me like this." "I told him yes." "He said, "Are you..." "Are you..." "Are you powerful enough?"" "I told him, "Yes, go and deliver it to the King." "He must leave by 6:00 This evening"." "From Cairo come these first authentic pictures of the bloodless coup by which the army took over control of Egypt." "It was the end of the King's attempt to maintain power." "As we took the King to the ship, he said:" ""You ate me for lunch before I could eat you for dinner"." "Egypt's new leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, pledged radical reform." "There were six principles:" "To put an end to colonialism, to put an end to feudalism to put an end to corrupted of..." "exploitation by capitalism." "I read that Nasser was going to Yugoslavia." "I thought President Tito could help make peace." "I knew a friend of Tito's, I asked him to go to Yugoslavia." "I said, "Get Tito to ask Nasser if he will make peace"." "Tito passed on the message" "Nasser said that if he was seen talking to Israel he would be overthrown, even killed." "Sharett, Ben Gurion's foreign Minister initiated more secret contacts." "Sharett believed the best way to ensure the security of Israel was to understand the Arabs and negotiate peace." "Sharett sent Divon to Paris the UN General assembly's temporary home." "I told a friend I was ordered to Paris to meet Arabs and he said, "Ziamah, I know you like Cervantes" ""but I never saw you as Don Quixote." ""Will you go to the Place de la Concorde and shout:" "'Any Arabs here?" "'"" "I was sitting on the balcony of the UN." "A young man came in and sat next to me." "We began to talk." "I said to him, "My dear sir, I am a Jew"." "I looked in his face." "I saw no sign of embarrassment." "So I asked him, "Who do you represent?"" "When I pressed him, he said, "Sharett"." "I said, "I am an Israeli who dreams of peace with Egypt"." "For Egyptians, talking to Israelis was taboo so Abdel Rahman Sadek was nervous when he was summoned by President Nasser." "I went in and I found Gamal Abdel Nasser standing in the middle of the room." "He said, "I want to tell you that you have my permission to continue talks with the Israeli in Paris"." "The diplomat's reports were to be for Nasser's ears only." "He said, "I want you to see if there is a chance of avoiding bloodshed"." "While we conducted the talks with Abdel Rahman there was once in a while a radical escalation of Egyptian statements about Israel." "An Egyptian leader even said that Israel was the cancer in the midst of the Arab world." "And we asked him to refrain from such inflammatory language." "Nasser's envoy returned to Paris with promises to tone down the anti-Israeli propaganda on Cairo radio and to restrain the guerrilla raids against Israel." "But Nasser would not terminate the war, nor would he establish diplomatic relations or allow Israeli ships through the Suez canal and the straits of Tiran." "Sharett was disappointed." "Sharett's message said that we were sorry, of course that the Egyptian government would not change its official policy which was a clear anti-Israeli policy." "Sharett's repeated offers to start peace negotiations were turned down." "I had realized that the Israelis continuously say that they want peace." "I realized also that the Arabs refused to talk." "Israel desperately needed peace." "Jewish refugees from Europe and Arab countries were streaming in." "Its population doubled during the first two years." "Its economy was in ruins." "New immigrants were often settled along Israel's frontiers." "They lived in fear of frequent Arab raids." "Ben Gurion blamed Nasser for the raids." "He ordered the Israeli Army to retaliate by striking Arab countries harboring infiltrators." "Ben Gurion knew Arab villagers supported these terrorists" "We had to show them that helping terrorists was dangerous to protect our settlements." "I was called to see Moshe Dayan." "A mother had been killed, murdered on a settlement." "The murderers left tracks which led to a village across the border in Jordan." "My orders were to reach the village in Jordan." "We had to blow up as many buildings as possible and cause as many Arab casualties as possible." "The tiny village of Qibya on the Israel-Jordan border is in ruins as dazed survivors relate how troops struck across the frontier at night." "They accuse Israeli forces of leveling buildings with grenades, shellfire and explosives trapping entire families In the rubble." "The attack prompts the United States, England and France to deliver their sharpest rebuke to Israel since its founding and to demand stern action to punish the guilty troops." "After the operation, I was called to see Ben Gurion." "It was the first time I'd met him." "Sharon?" "What I think about him?" "He's a nice boy..." "And a good soldier." "He said one thing to me." "He said, "It doesn't matter what the world says." ""It doesn't matter what they say about Israel anywhere else." ""The only thing that matters is that we can exist here." ""Unless it's clear that there is a price to pay for Jewish lives we will not be able to survive, and that's what counts"." "Ben Gurion was such a believer in the importance of agricultural settlements that he abandoned the Prime Ministership and joined a kibbutz in the desert." "He was succeeded by Moshe Sharett who hoped he could advance Israeli security through diplomacy." "But his Minister of defense, Pinchas Lavon believed in military solutions." "In July 1954 the British announced they were quitting their huge military base on the Suez canal." "We feared we would be exposed to an attack from Egypt." "The fact that the British Army was there served as a buffer." "It reduced the chance of an Egyptian attack." "On his own, Lavon ordered plans for destabilizing Egypt and frightening the British into remaining." "Lavon summoned the director of military intelligence to his home in Tel Aviv." "Lavon would not stop talking about the need for action." "He suggested all sorts of schemes." "We cooked up a plan to hit targets in Egypt." "Lavon said, "Go ahead, activate the unit"." "In Egypt, Israeli military intelligence had recruited young Jews to act as saboteurs." "I was ready to do anything to help Israel." "I was idealistic." "I was naive." "A code word broadcast during Israeli radio's "Housewives' choice"" "was the signal to act." "In Cairo, I went to one cinema my friend went to another." "I put the bomb under an empty seat." "No one was killed, and the saboteurs were all caught." "The news was splashed across Egyptian newspapers" "So I went to Sharett and said" ""Look, this is the communique from Cairo." "What do you know about it?"" "He said, "No, no, no, no, no" ""This is not authentic, It can't be" ""Because how can such a thing happen" "And I, the Prime Minister, doesn't know about it?"" "After he learned of Lavon's role" "Sharett's first priority was to save the lives of the young Jews." "Moshe Sharett called on me he said, "The cabinet is worried about the prisoners in Egypt." "We must prevent death sentences"." "In a bid for mercy, Sharett sent Divon to Paris to reveal the truth to Nasser's envoy." "Divon told me the plot was hatched in the Ministry of Defense." "Sharett had no idea about it." "Nasser's response was not what Sharett had hoped for." "Cairo, two of the saboteurs were executed." "The others went to prison" "Marcelle Ninio and Robert Dassa for 15 years." "Sharett, in his office that night, confided to his diary that he was living through a nightmare:" ""If I do not remove Lavon, I am supporting something rotten" ""that will destroy the Defense Ministry and army command." ""If I do act, it will destroy the Party and cause a scandal." "What should I do?"" "Lavon was dismissed from his post as Defense Minister but the damage was done." "Egypt also was playing with fire." "In Gaza, it recruited and trained Palestinians" "For military action." "They paid four pounds a month." "In those days it was a lot of money." "So it was good." "They were sent to Israel to gather intelligence and commit sabotage." "They would see if an airport was built and come back and report." "Others went on military operations and carried out attacks." "These infiltrators, the fedayn were a tremendous security problem not only for the settlers on the borders but also in the center of the country." "They were attacking places five kilometers from Tel Aviv." "The frequent attacks and the loss of lives were not only a disaster for the victims' families." "They fostered a profound sense of helplessness among Israelis." "The government seemed unable to protect its own people." "Only one man could satisfy the public's demand for action." "Within months, Ben Gurion was back as Prime Minister" "By mid-1955, Nasser turned to the Soviet bloc for economic and military assistance." "The conflict now became part of the cold war and Egypt received a huge arms shipment from Czechoslovakia." "New tanks, artillery, bombers and jet fighters threatened to render the Israeli army and its propeller Air Force obsolete." "General Moshe Dayan wanted to strike at the Egyptian army before it could absorb its new weapons but Ben Gurion felt Israel could not fight alone." "Ben Gurion became more and more convinced that, uh, there is no diplomatic solution for the conflict and because of the accumulation of arms in Egypt we have to forestall war triggered by Egypt." "A few weeks later" "President Nasser nationalized the Suez canal." "Unexpectedly, Ben Gurion found himself with two new allies." "Britain and France had jointly owned the canal and wanted it back." "Ben Gurion sent Shimon Peres to a secret meeting in Paris." "The French defense Minister told me" "Britain and France were planning an operation to take the Suez canal back from Nasser." "And he asked me, "Would Israel join them?"" ""How long would it take Israeli troops to reach the canal?"" "Ben Gurion waited anxiously for the return of his emissary." "Ben Gurion asked me, "Well, what did the French say?"" "So I began to tell him about their plan." "He interrupted and said, "Okay, this changes everything." "We'll go with them"." "Israel invaded Egypt, secretly supported by Britain and France." "Within a week, Israeli troops had captured the Sinai desert." "Britain and France tried to retake the Suez canal until international pressure forced them to withdraw." "But for Israel the war was a triumph." "We achieved our main purpose." "The main purpose was free navigation in the straits of Eilat, which is rather vital, at least they have been until now." "The second objective was secure safety for our settlements near the Gaza strip." "I cannot say we've got it entirely" "But they are more safe than they were before." "The Israeli forces withdrew from Sinai and the positions along the Israeli border and the straits of Tiran were guarded by United Nations forces." "For ten years there was peace along the Israeli-Egyptian border under the UN Flag." "Trouble and death in the Middle East." "The fighting erupted quickly when Syrians allegedly fired on Israeli farmers operating tractors." "Israel used tanks, mortars and aircraft to counterattack." "Israeli premier Levi Eshkol said:" ""Friendly foreign powers will understand the situation"." "In may 1967, the leaders of the Soviet Union took a step that would change the map of the Middle East." "The looser would be their own allies." "It all began with a false report from Soviet intelligence." "Anwar Sadat, speaker of the Egyptian parliament was in Moscow for talks with Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin." "It was a routine trip." "Egypt was now firmly in the soviet camp." "Sadat was seen to his plane by the deputy foreign Minister." "The Minister took Sadat aside." "He said Israeli troops were massing against Syria" "He asked him to report this at once to Nasser." "Egypt's President, Gamal Abdel Nasser was the hero of the Arab world." "If Israel was massing troops on the Syrian border" "Nasser would be expected to act." "He sent for his Chief of Staff and instructed him to find out what the Israelis were up to." "I went to the border between Syria and Israel." "I found nothing unusual, so I asked to see the latest aerial photos of the border area." "They showed me photos from the previous day and the day before that." "I studied them, but I still found nothing." "The Chief of Staff found nothing to back up the soviet report but then the soviet ambassador came back to us." "He said soviet intelligence had reconfirmed their report," "Israeli troops really were massing on the Syrian border and the situation was very dangerous." "Soviet diplomats spread the alarm throughout the region, even in Israel as the Prime Minister and his wife soon found out." "It was 2:30 in the morning a secretary came in looking sleepy." "He said, "The soviet ambassador is down in the lobby." ""He's all dressed up, very formal and he insists on seeing the Prime Minister right now"." "I said to Eshkol, "Let's receive him in our pajamas"." "Our ambassador gave Eshkol a telegram from Kosygin." "Eshkol offered to go to Moscow to discuss the regional situation." "The ambassador was angry:" "He said, "You are massing your troops in the north"." "Eshkol said, "We can go there now." ""We can go together to the Golan border." "You'll see we haven't mobilized anything"." "The soviet ambassador said, "No"." "At that time, Soviet leaders believed that America was on the run in Vietnam." "Some in the Kremlin now sought to weaken America's influence in the Middle East" "Even at the risk of another regional war." "We believed a war could bring us political gains." "Even a stalemate could bring us benefits." "Egypt had our backing, both political and military." "We thought their forces would demonstrate the benefits of soviet support." "So we were confident that the balance of power in the Middle East would be altered by a localized war." "In Cairo, Nasser had put his armed forces on alert the moment he received the soviet report." "If Moscow's plan was to provoke a war, it seemed to be working." "The Russian report escalated everything." "We felt obliged to move troops into the Sinai." "From there, we could retaliate against Israel if Israel attacked Syria." "Abdel Nasser did not want a war with Israel." "Abdel Nasser was thinking of his image in the Arab world." "So he put on a show of strength using the armed forces." "Marshal Amer wanted to attack Israel right away." "The Arab media had been criticizing Nasser." "Some countries had accused Abdel Nasser of hiding behind the United Nations." "Since the Suez war of 1956, United Nations troops had provided a buffer on the border between Egypt and Israel." "Now Nasser ordered them out." "The eyes of the world focused on a small harbor at the edge of the Sinai desert, Sharm el Sheik." "Headquarters wanted to expel the UN Troops from Sharm el Sheik." "I told them, "If we do that" ""Egyptian troops will have to take over at Sharm el Sheik." ""We will then be obliged to close the straits of Tiran." "That will mean war"." "A blockade at the straits of Tiran by Egypt could lead to war because the straits, at the foot of the gulf of Aqaba controlled Israel's only trade route to the eastern half of the world." "Nasser, in the name of Arab solidarity was going on the offensive." "Our armed forces are ready for war." "The gulf of Aqaba belongs to Egypt." "There is no way that we will allow Israeli ships to pass through." "The Jews are threatening war we tell them, "Hello and welcome, we are ready for war"." "But there is no way we will give up our rights to the gulf of Aqaba." "In Israel, the people prepared to defend themselves." "Their Prime Minister, Levi Eshkol summoned his cabinet and military commanders." "I told them: "Until now I was not sure what was going to happen, but after the Egyptians closed the straits" "I'm sure the situation will develop into a war." "The straits are a casus belli for us and I told him firmly, that this will be their end, this will be their grave." "We commanders told him:" ""We have no choice, we have to mobilize." ""We have to launch an attack within 72 hours." ""If we give the Egyptians more time they will pack the Sinai with more and more divisions"." "The generals saw Israel becoming increasingly vulnerable." "The Chief of Staff, General Rabin, was very worried." "He smoked a great number of cigarettes and he ate nearly all the..." "the nuts and raisins in the little basket there." "And he was very worried because, not because he doubted the result of the war, but because we were really very unprepared for war." "Rabin asked Abba Eban for a diplomatic solution." "Rabin had said" "We were really not prepared for war and, second, there should still be some attempt to avoid it by exercising warnings and pressures upon the Egyptians" "And then Mr. Eshkol sent me a note saying, "What are you doing here?"" "Prime Minister Eshkol dispatched Abba Eban to seek the help of Israel's key allies." "He wanted an international fleet to keep the straits open to prevent war." "I've been asked by my government to explore, uh... what these governments intend to do in order to reopen this international waterway to a situation of law." "What do you want the US to do?" "Well, I've come here really to find out what the United States intends to do." "President Johnson made it clear that he didn't want Israel to attack first." "The President had said to Dean Rusk and me, and I'm going to speak rather crudely" ""Get Eban in here", into the family quarters of the White House" ""So we can work him over"." "Because we had heard that the Israelis were about to preempt, they were about to attack the Egyptians." "Eban spoke talked at great length and eloquently." "He always spoke eloquently" "And he always spoke at great length." "But what he had to say was very simple." "This was a mortal crisis for Israel and he wanted to know what the United States was prepared to do." "The President, he simply expressed skepticism" "About the idea that Israel was in danger." "He said, "You are not in danger." ""You are in a very difficult situation but you are not in peril"." "He said to Eban, "We do not believe that Egypt" ""is about to attack Israel." "Moreover, if it does, you'll lick them"." "To make the point" "President Johnson asked for the Defense Department's assessment of the likely outcome of a Middle East war." "We had concluded that if Israel preempted, they could win..." "Clearly in a period of about seven days, as I remember." "We had also estimated that if they did not preempt and Egypt attacked first that it would take somewhat longer, perhaps ten to 14 days." "Then the President took out a piece of paper and started reading from it as though this was some kind of a sacred text." "And what this document said was" "Israel will not be alone unless it decides to be alone." "If you go alone, you'll stand alone." "That was a very cold-blooded statement." "We will not come to your defense if you preempt." "We can not come to your defense if you preempt." "As Israel received its warning in the White House an Egyptian delegation was heading towards the Kremlin." "We didn't even see Moscow." "We were driven in cars with curtains straight into the Kremlin." "The Egyptians were self-assured." "Shams Badran exuded confidence." "He said that if war came the Egyptian military could handle it." "In fact, he described the army like a wild horse raring to go." "But the Soviets warned the Egyptians not to be seen as the aggressors." "Prime Minister Kosygin said" ""Tell Nasser if he strikes first," ""he will escalate the conflict, he will provoke the superpowers." "America will not stand aside"." "I said, "We understand but closing the straits isn't an attack on America"." "The Soviets made it clear they meant what they said." "We asked about the arms contracts we have with them." "We asked if they would hurry things up especially some spare parts we needed for our planes." "We could have taken them with us in a bag." "They were always asking for arms." "Every high-level delegation would ask for arms including Badran." "They did not refuse to supply the arms." "They just claimed they had none." "I was really shocked." "I thought, "How can our soviet friends treat us like this?"" "War was at our doorstep." "Nasser got the message:" "The Soviets would back him only if he did not appear to be the aggressor." "His commanders were instructed to stay on the defensive ready to absorb an Israeli attack." "The Air Force chief jumped up." "He said, "It will be crippling"." "He said, "Mr. President, the first strike will be crippling!"" "He said it in English." "He meant that a first strike by Israel would cripple our Air Force." "The commander in chief told him" ""If you let them strike first, you will fight only Israel" ""But if you strike first you will have to fight Israel and America"." "Nasser!" "Nasser!" "Nasser!" "Nasser!" "But the war fever in Cairo had become unstoppable." "Popular hatred of Israel which Nasser did nothing to discourage now swept him forward and drove other Arab rulers to his side." "Even King Hussein of Jordan, for years at odds with Nasser decided he could no longer stand aloof." "In the morning, I got into my aircraft and flew it to Cairo." "And I was met by the President." "I was in military fatigues with my gun on." "And he said, "Well I see you are carrying a gun"." "I said, "I've been like that for the last few days with my troops"." "And then he made a strange remark:" ""What would happen if we suddenly took you prisoner and denied all knowledge of your arriving in this country?"" "Soon after" "King Hussein sign a mutual defense treaty with Nasser and agreed to put his army under Egyptian command." "We were on the verge of a..." "of a war" "Therefore any reservations I had in the past to any troops coming into Jordan were removed, as far as I'm concerned." "So Israel faced the prospect of war on three fronts:" "From Jordan in the east, from Syria in the north and from Egypt in the south." "That was the time when Auschwitz came up." "It never happened before." "When people spoke they said there was a feeling we are surrounded." "We are surrounded, no one will help us, no one is helping us and God forbid if the Arabs armies invade us." "They'll kill us all." "By this point Israel had been mobilized for more than two weeks." "All males aged 18 to 55 were called to serve." "Most vehicles were requisitioned most factories closed." "Israel could not stay fully mobilized for long." "But still, Prime Minister Eshkol waited for the international community to do something." "He came to military headquarters to remind his generals of America's warning:" "Israel must not go it alone." "He told us that they were making diplomatic efforts in the US And Europe." "They were trying to reach a deal with Nasser." "It made no sense to us." "Flanked by Rabin, Eshkol found himself surrounded by generals insisting on a preemptive strike." "General Peled was usually pretty quiet." "Now he was shouting." "He was actually shrieking." ""Why do you hesitate?"" ""Why are you afraid?"" "I said, "Eshkol, you have the best army since King David." ""If you don't attack, you will never be forgiven, if you do, you'll be the conquering hero"." "To regain the confidence of his generals" "Prime Minister Eshkol appointed a new Minister of Defense," "Moshe Dayan, hero of the 1956 Suez war." "Of course, the number of their forces is bigger than ours." "But still I hope that we can make it, but much depends" "Very much depends, upon where the battle is." "The generals also asked for another envoy to be sent to Washington." "The Prime Minister agreed." "He said, "Listen, Meir, you go to Washington" ""and find out what's going on there." ""Are the Americans organizing a naval task force?" ""Is anybody going to do anything?" "When?"" "Amit's mission was to see if the Americans planned to open the straits of Tiran or if Israel would have to act alone." "The Pentagon had quite enough trouble in Vietnam and didn't want another war." "The director of the CIA made it perfectly clear." "There is no international naval force." "There are no American plans for action." "There is no task force." "So the head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency called on the Secretary of Defense." "I said to him, "You know our situation." "I am here on the instruction of my Prime Minister"." "He was doing most of the talking." "I did ask one or two questions." "At the meeting, I realized that America, because of Vietnam was unwilling to act alone, and they did not succeed in organizing the international naval force." "Also, Eisenhower made a commitment to Israel about the straits in 1956." "So America would no longer oppose Israel acting on its own." "I was friendly during my discussion and friendly as he left." "But he didn't ask for answers, he got no answers." "Amit raced back to Israel to report to the Prime Minister and the cabinet not to expect international help." "I gave a detailed account of my trip to Washington, and I said" ""I recommend we launch the war as soon as possible"." "Not one of the Ministers disagreed." "We went for our usual walk." "Suddenly Eshkol starts humming." "He was completely tone deaf." "He had this Hassidic song he liked to sing." "He sang it over and over again." ""The rabbi has told us to enjoy ourselves, because hard times are coming"." "So I asked him, "What's happening, dearest?"" "And he told me, "Tomorrow the war will start" ""There will be widows." ""There will be orphans." ""There will be bereaved parents." "Who knows what tomorrow will bring"." "The generals chose the morning of June 5 for the attack." "The Chief of Staff and I took a decision." "On the night of June 4, we would sleep at home." "The tom-toms in Israel work like in the jungle." "If the Chief of Staff and Air Force chief both come home word gets around that tomorrow is going to be quiet." "That was the commanders' bedtime message." "Leaving behind only 12 fighters to defend Israel 180 aircraft took off for Egypt." "Their target was 45 minutes away." "We observed total radio silence." "We flew at the height of the waves for about 15 minutes." "We flew low over the sand dunes." "We crossed the Suez canal at Kantara and entered the delta." "As we flew over the delta, farmers waved to us." "They probably thought we were Egyptian." "Most of the Israeli squadron flew out to sea far to the west." "They had extra fuel tanks to enable them to approach Egypt's air bases from an unexpected direction" "That was the longest 45 minutes in my life." "The hands on my watch didn't seem to move." "They went very slowly." "As the Israeli bombers approached their targets the Egyptians received a coded message from Jordan." "They spotted Israeli planes heading towards us so they sent us a signal from their radar base to warn us." "The signal was in code." "Our codes had changed the day before and we had real trouble decoding it." "The Ministry of Defense asked the air defense people" "What they had done with the signal they had received" "It had the code word "Grape." "They replied, "What signal?"" "At exactly 0745, we pulled up to 6,000 feet" "I looked down and saw the Migs glinting on the edges of the runway" "The pilots were sitting inside the cockpits." "I knew we had caught them by surprise." "The Israelis began their attack by destroying the runways to prevent the Egyptian aircraft from taking off." "The few that did get off the ground" "Were no match for e Israeli fighters." "I got a call from one of the Air Force chiefs." "He said, "Noufal, Noufal"." "I said, "Yes, sir?"" "He said, "Our airfields are being attacked"." "I said, "What the hell are you talking about?"" "He said, "Our airfields are being attacked"." "I said, "Our airfields?"" "He said, "The airfields in the Sinai are being attacked"." "I said, "All the Sinai airfields?" "Tell me it's not true"." "And he said, "Believe me all the airfields are being attacked"." "I hung up, the phone rang again." "It was another commander." "He said, "We're being attacked"." "So I said to myself, well, something must be going on but I was all alone." "He was alone because the Head of the Egyptian Armed Forces" "Marshal Amer, had left with the Minister of War and his top brass to inspect their positions in the Sinai" "Ten minutes after takeoff, we heard about the Israeli attack." "We turned around and flew back." "Our cars had gone." "We had to hail a taxi to get back to headquarters." "By the time marshal Amer's taxi got him back to headquarters" "Egypt's Air Force was destroyed." "Marshal Amer was panicking he told the Air Force chief to implement the counterattack plan." "The Air Force chief replied" ""How can I?" "I have no aircraft"." "In the Sinai, Egypt had three times as many tanks as Israel but with no air cover, their situation was dire." "Marshal Amer told me" ""Draw up a plan of retreat bring the troops back across the canal"." "Marshal Amer had been a close friend of President Nasser for more than 20 years." "They had fought together as young officers." "Together they had planned the coup which brought down the Egyptian monarchy." "Now the defeated President phoned his defeated army commander." "I was the only other person there." "Amer was in tears." "He was calling Nasser by his first name." "He said, "Let me bring our boys back safely, Gamal"." "When he put the phone down I asked, "Why are you crying?"" "He told me Nasser had said, "Forgive me, Hakim." ""I caused this catastrophe forgive me, Hakim"." "Abdel Nasser had been crying, too." "Marshal Amer didn't wait for his Chief of Staff to plan a retreat." "He simply pick up the phone and gave the order himself." "The order was withdraw back across the canal." "Leave the artillery behind." "Marshal Amer's order was a disaster." "With no plan his retreating units could not protect each other." "The Israelis gave chase." "Our tanks had Egyptian tanks in front and behind them." "We attacked them from the ground and from the air." "Thousands were destroyed." "They were all burning." "It was a terrible sight." "338 Israelis were killed but the Egyptians dead numbered 15,000." "Days earlier when the war had begun the Israelis had contacted the King of Jordan." "We did not plan to take Jerusalem or the West Bank." "We did not plan to take the Golan." "On the fifth, we sent a telegram through the Americans to King Hussein telling him that the war was between us and the Egyptians." "If Jordan stayed out, nothing would happen." "But at about 10:30, he started shelling Jerusalem." "Teddy Kolleck, the Mayor of Jerusalem" "Asked me at the command post what should he do with the children in the kindergartens and schools." "In the command post, we looked at each other." "We said, "This is not nice we'll take on Hussein"." "The Deputy Chief of Staff called me." "He said, "Uzi, you are authorized" ""to enter the Old City." "You have to be quick and use your head"." "It took the Israelis ten hours of bitter street fighting to defeat the Jordan Legion soldiers defending the Old City." "Once the troops had broken through to the Wailing Wall keeping the city united under Israel's rule became the basic goal of the government." "When the battle ended" "Jordan had lost not only the Old City but all the land on the West Bank of the Jordan river." "I went out to the front and I could see people crossing over in small groups, very tired." "You know, all the years that I had spent since 1953 trying to build that country and build that army, all the pride, all the hopes, I saw it just destroyed." "I never received a more crushing blow than that." "Mr. Prime Minister, does Israel wish any territory beyond the territory she now holds?" "No, sir..." "No, sir." "We don't need any additional territory." "We want only to develop this territory that we have." "There is so much to put in, energy and money and, and brains that we have a little, little..." "Uh, but we don't want any additional territory." "With Jordan and Egypt defeated, Israel turned its might on the Golan heights, the site of frequent attacks from Syria." "Dayan said, "We're going to take the Golan now"." "I remember that some Ministers from the religious parties were opposed to this." "Dayan was adamant." "He said, "We're not going to lose time." ""I've delayed it this long because we wanted to finish with the Egyptians and Jordanians"." "We threw everything we had at the Golan heights." "In 12 hours, we dropped more bombs on the Golan than we had on all the Egyptian airfields." "Rockets, bombs, napalm, everything we had." "The whole war had been sparked by a false soviet report of a threat to Syria." "Now that Israel was actually attacking Syria the Soviets were forced to react." "Word came through, the hotline was up and I didn't know what it was about because I..." "I thought that the war was pretty well over" "Nevertheless, I went back immediately to the White House." "The usual suspects were there, McNamara and the rest." "And we had a rather hairy message from the Russians." "The Soviets made very clear." "They would intervene militarily." "And very likely they would not only turn Israel back from its attack on Syria, but they would join Syria in an effort to deal a mortal blow to Israel." "It was a very, very dangerous situation." "The Soviets did not seem to be bluffing." "Strategic bomber command in the Ukraine had received orders" "To prepare four squadrons to fly to the battle zone." "It was all arranged in a great hurry." "We were given strict instructions not to suffer any casualties." "The loss of even one Soviet aircraft would betray our involvement." "But we saw this was unrealistic so we had to find another way." "The pilots were then ordered to leave behind all identification." "Their planes were to be repainted in Egyptian colors" "Our red stars are only one color- red." "But it turned out that now we needed four different colors" "I remember green and black and something else, maybe red but we didn't have the right colors so that caused a lot of fuss." "In the White House situation room" "President Johnson and his staff worked out their response to the Soviet ultimatum." "The President sent a message over the hotline telling the Kremlin that he was using "every means"" "to get the Israelis to stop the war." "This was not strictly true." "Although he could have phoned the Israeli Prime Minister directly he phoned the Israeli ambassador to the UN instead." "United States ambassador Goldberg asked me to come out into the lobby and to send, to say to me you must immediately, immediately announce that the fighting is over." "This was not within the Israeli ambassador's power so he asked his boss, Abba Eban, to phone the Prime Minister." "But Eshkol was with his generals on the Golan heights." "Suddenly Abba Eban calls and says" ""Tell Eshkol to stop the war" "We're under terrible pressure here at the United Nations"." "Then Eshkol calls me, and he says" ""Ah, this Golan is absolutely fantastic." "The view is wonderful"." "He waxes lyrical about it." "And I tell him "Eshkol listen, Eban wants you to stop the war, he can't take the pressure"." "He said, "I can't hear you"." ""What do you mean you can't hear me?" "I'm telling you in Eban's exact words"." "He says, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you." ""It's a bad line, it's a bad line." "I'll come home and then we'll talk"." "And then I understood." "They wanted time to conquer some more kilometers." "The Israelis pressed on into the Golan." "And encountered no soviet forces because President Johnson had raised the stakes." "He asked McNamara what distance from the Syrian coast the fleet, American fleet was at the time." "And he said 100 miles." "It was steaming toward..." "towards Gibraltar on a training exercise." "We turned it around." "And the President said, "Move them to within 50 miles"" "Knowing that the fleet was shadowed by soviet electronic ships, and they would know directly." "That was also part of the message." "So our secret invasion by the back door never happened." "Thank God for that." "The Israeli government waited until their forces had achieved their objective before giving the order to halt." "A colleague of mine from the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem" "Called me to give me the text of an agreed statement on cease-fire." "Israel accepts any proposal made by general Bull for the implementation of the security council cease-fire resolution" "and the arrangements for the supervision of the cease-fire." "I read this statement slowly translating it from Hebrew into English and that was the end of the war." "In six days, the armed forces had quadrupled the territory Israel controlled." "From Syria, they had taken the Golan heights." "From Jordan, the West Bank and the Old City of Jerusalem." "From Egypt, Gaza and the Sinai." "With so much land to trade" "Israel had its best chance ever for peace." "Israelis flocked to the Old City." "To them, the victory was a deliverance from destruction" "The Israeli cabinet was determined to hold on to Jerusalem and for the time being, the West Bank." "They were willing to give back the Golan heights to Syria and the Sinai desert to Egypt." "The Foreign Minister told the Americans of Israel's offer." "When I presented these in a meeting headed by Dean Rusk, and Goldberg and Sisco in general, they were astonished by the fact that we were clearly not in the mood of annexation." "That was..." "We believed then a rather remarkable initiative on the part of the Israelis because we were operating on the assumption." "Eban had told us some days before" ""We are not interested in territory"." "That week, President Johnson was hosting a summit for Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin." "Eager to appear as peacemakers at the UN, the two leaders had a peace resolution drafted." "In Cairo, it was scrutinized by the foreign ministry." "This was another turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict." "We concluded that this proposal was the best we were likely to get." "We advised the Foreign Minister to accept it." "The Minister looked at it differently." "When the resolution was proposed" "Israel was ready to accept it, but Egypt's foreign Minister was utterly against the resolution" "Because it indirectly implied Israel's right to exist and he wouldn't have that at all." "Israel, of course, did not want any resolution that only said "Pull back your forces"" "but didn't recognize Israel's existence." "So this was the problem." "But recognizing Israel was not on Nasser's agenda." "Following Egypt's defeat, he had more immediate problems at home." "Abdel Nasser said, "We've lost." ""There is no point in staying on." "I shall resign"." "I have decided to resign totally and finally from all official positions." "I shall return to private life." "I shall perform my duties like any other citizen." "After his broadcast crowds surrounded the Presidential palace and begged Nasser to stay." "Most of the demonstrations were genuine." "People really were upset." "But something else happened, too." "The party boss told members to gather and listen to the speech." "After the speech, they took to the streets and chanted" ""We want Nasser, no leader but Nasser"." "Nasser stayed on as President." "His old friend Marshal Amer became the scapegoat." "He refused to resign, so Nasser had him arrested." "He died in custody." "It was said in Cairo he was "suicided"." "Shortly after, Nasser rejected the Soviet-American peace plan." "Nasser could not bring himself to accept the peace plan." "He was a hero to the Arabs" "He couldn't be seen negotiating with the Israelis." "Three months later, Arab leaders met to formulate a unified policy towards Israel." "Nasser, still the idol of the Arab world, was subdued." "I found him... different man" "I noticed from the outset that he felt a great sense of guilt." "The Arabs agreed to reject any compromise with Israel." "The decision by the Arab counties not to negotiate with Israel, not to make peace with Israel and not to recognize Israel." "With no recognition, no negotiation and no peace it was only a matter of time before war would break out again." "At the Suez canal, now the border between Egypt and Israel the Egyptians launched a war of attrition and the Israelis fought back." "With growing casualties political attitudes in both countries hardened." "There was renewed conflict in the Jordan valley as well." "Israeli soldiers were in constant pursuit of Palestinians who crossed into the West Bank to attack Israeli targets." "There was no talk of peace." "Inside Jordan the Palestinians were busy building up their forces." "Their charter called for the replacement of Israel by a Palestinian state and the expulsion of all Jews who arrived after 1948." "In 1967, a small band of Palestinian guerrillas set up a camp in Karameh in the Jordan river valley" "From the bank of the Jordan, they could see the Israeli soldiers patrolling the West Bank." "We waited until the Israeli patrol vehicle had passed by." "Then we started to cross the river." "The first to cross was Abu Ammar." "Abu Ammar, or Yasser Arafat, was an engineer who became one of the founders of a resistance group called Fatah." "This was their first crossing of the river Jordan." "Launching their campaign to establish a Palestinian state." "We know that is not easy..." "But..." "We are ready to pay the price." "On me, the water of the river Jordan came up to here." "On taller people, of course, it wouldn't come so far up." "Now, Arafat is short, and the water came up to his shoulder." "He had his clothes on top of his head" "And he waded slowly, slowly." "If he slipped, he would fall and everything would get wet, especially his gun." "Beyond the river, in the occupied West Bank the Fatah guerrillas set about recruiting and training small resistance groups to strike at Israel." "The best targets were the ones we could take by surprise." "For example, moving vehicles." "You open fire, a group of three or four of you." "Then if you throw one or two grenades, that settles it." "You're safe and they're dead" "The guerrillas had the support of Jordan's regular army." "At first I encouraged them when they went on operations." "We would provide covering fire they crossed the river." "If the Israelis hit back he Kingdom of Jordan would take the blow." "So I asked his majesty to meet them." "I had never seen a photograph of... of Arafat up to that point or a description of him, so I was looking at a sort of a big burly figure that I thought must be Arafat and when he finally came to say good-bye I suddenly realized" "it wasn't the image I had formed of Arafat." "The actions launched from Karameh worried the King but he was unable to stop them." "Karameh had become a huge military base in Jordan." "The terrorists there were sending units into Israel." "The straw that broke the camel's back was an attack on an Israeli bus taking pupils on a school trip south to the Dead Sea." "It hit a Palestinian mine." "Children were killed and injured." "In response, the Israeli Army was ordered to destroy the Palestinian bases in Karameh and south of the Dead Sea." "We were not very careful." "After the 1967 war, we didn't take the enemy seriously." "We didn't bother to hide any of our troop movements." "They came blatantly with their tanks and artillery and troops massed up." "So we realized that something was about to happen." "I think they were overconfident." "Early in the morning, at about 5:00, we were told that the first Israeli elements had crossed one of the bridges." "The Israelis attacked." "Facing them were 300 Palestinian fighters with orders from Arafat to hold their ground." "By midday half of them were dead and most of the rest were rounded up." "Arafat had slipped out of there at 2:00 in the morning." "But the battle wasn't over yet." "Jordanian army tanks arrived in force." "I jumped when I was told the Israeli tanks were coming." "I jumped out of bed." ""Shoot!" I said." "I was jumping with excitement." "I wanted to face the Jews." "I wanted to teach them a lesson." "Yes, by God, I did!" "The Jordanian involvement in the battle was very massive." "We destroyed many of their tanks." "29 Israelis died in the battle." "The Palestinians declared victory." "We faced these huge up-to-date military Israeli forces." "In the beginning we were alone." "After five hours some small battalions from the Jordanian government attended us and fought with us without any central instructions from their headquarters." "But at the end, it was the first victory for the Arab nation after this big defeat of 1967." "They claimed it to be a victory for them." "We wouldn't have disputed that except for the fact that it wasn't true." "But it was a public-relations triumph." "Arafat was chosen to command all the factions in the Palestine Liberation Organization." "Inspired by the stories of a great victory at Karameh volunteers from many countries came to swell the ranks." "But unfortunately, the majority were the worst type of people." "They were untrained and undisciplined." "The PLO grew larger, and our problems grew with it." "It was total anarchy." "We had 52 various guerrilla organizations" "Of all various types." "And they weren't just" "Palestinian guerrilla organizations." "Every international guerrilla organization had a presence in the country." "We were naive people." "We were very enthusiastic, very revolutionary and at the same time we were, and I can assure you, we were very innocent." "We felt that King Hussein as a reactionary leader, leading a reactionary regime is an obstacle." "And that in order to make our revolution succeed, we need to remove this obstacle." "One day, shooting broke out in the capital, Amman and the King drove off to investigate." "And on a crossroad..." "Where there was a military police checkpost we found that one side of the road was closed and the other side also was blocked by an army lorry." "We stopped." "As we came to a stop, suddenly we were under very, very intense heavy machine-gun fire." "The guard car in front of me was hit." "We lost a sergeant of my guard and about four wounded." "Everyone jumped out of my car and yelled at me to do the same." "And we could see the bullets from those heavy machine guns coming down at us, hitting the asphalt the tarmac around us." "It was like raindrops on a parched land just making holes and those rows of holes were getting closer and closer to where we were standing." "I felt very angry and I believe my reaction was to say a bad word but essentially to the effect of "How dare they?"" "The King jumped into a ditch." "Spontaneously and on the spur of the moment" "I had an idea to protect His Majesty physically and the commander of the guards had the same idea at the same time." "They converged from both sides to try to give me body cover and they nearly broke my back in the process." "Their driver turned the car around." "We got into the car, shooting going on." "Engine was revving like mad, but we were still stationary." "So I told the driver, "Just wait a second", and engaged the gear, which in his anxiety he had forgotten to do, and we shot off." "The faction most determined to overthrow the government of Jordan was led by George Habash." "All we wanted to do was to fight against Israel." "But the Jordanian regime saw us as a danger or a threat." "This was their problem, not ours." "Dr. Habash was the leader of a political party and they decided to remove King Hussein." "But from our point of view we don't like to fight against the government because..." "But if they are insisting to clash, we'll fight." "On September 9, 1970, this British airliner with 115 passengers and some of Dr. Habash's armed men aboard appeared over Amman." "I heard about it." "When an aircraft passed overhead my house- west of the city in the suburbs practically knocking the roof off." "In a single spectacular operation" "Habash's men hijacked four western airliners and forced three of them to fly to Jordan, with their hundreds of passengers." "The planes landed on an old World War II airstrip in the desert." "We waited for 20 full years." "Nothing happened." "Our people remained in their camps, in their tents." "They are fed up with this condition." "We thought that the way to attract the world's attention to our cause was to hijack planes." "The Jordanian army surrounded the airstrip and the general in charge went in to negotiate with the hijackers." "We spoke for hours." "It was terribly hot." "I stayed in the shade of the aircraft." "I made a deal with them" "We take the passengers, they keep the planes." "435 passengers and crew were taken off the aircraft but some were kept as hostages." "The humiliation of having aircraft flown into the country and innocent passengers being whisked away and being unable tong about it was something that questioned whether Jordan really existed, although it did it." "The hijackers then drove home their message to the world." "Well, that was the limit, as far as I was concerned." "Something had to be done, and done soon." "Four days later, with control of the Kingdom slipping away" "King Hussein declared war on the PLO." "That day, Jordanian tanks and soldiers" "Moved into position around the capital." "Arab was poised to fight Arab." "I think I tried to get a little bit of sleep that night." "I prayed a lot." "And in the morning, first light there was movement into the city." "On the early hours Of September 17" "I woke up and we heard the artillery bombing our bases." "So what we did immediately is that we went to Arafat office, the joint command." "Arafat was there, most of the leaders of Fatah were there." "Even Habash was there, and they were calling through telephone and through wireless" "Damascus, telling them about the news and asking in an open way for a Syrian intervention." "On the third day of fierce fighting, the Syrians responded." "Our intelligence and our radar informed us that the Syrians were massing tank formations on the Jordanian-Syrian border." "We had been arguing over this Syrian invasion." "Particularly with our Soviet friends at the time." "And whenever raised the problem with the soviet ambassador he would respond, "But these are Palestinian army units and Palestinian army tanks, they are not Syrian"." "And we all knew that the PLO does not have tanks." "But there were tanks, Soviet-built ones streaming in from Syria." "We were just protecting the Palestinians from the army of Jordan." "Our purpose wasn't really to attack the Jordanians." "It was a limited intervention on the smallest possible scale." "All we wanted to do, was support and protect the Palestinian fighters." "In Washington, President Nixon called in his national security advisers to assess the reports from Jordan." "The Soviets were on every platoon leader's tank right up to the border and then jumped off as they crossed the border." "And Syrian officers were in command of what were allegedly PLO volunteer forces." "So we knew it was international superpower crisis." "The President summoned the Soviet ambassador." "We warned the Russians and said, "Stay out of there"." "They, of course, in turn warned us and said, "You stay out and keep Israel out"." "In the meantime, King Hussein's forces had destroyed many of the Syrian tanks, but they could not stop the advance." "The pressure on the King was increasing by the hour." "When the Syrian tanks had reached town of Irbid which is about two-thirds of the way from the Syrian border down to Amman" "They're about at that town, on the edge of it" "That's when he was really starting to panic." "With all the threats from almost every direction and the situation, to all intents and purposes looking almost impossible to cope with." "Army headquarters began to tell me that we needed help from outside and we should ask for it from the Americans and any quarter that would be willing to... to help." "In these circumstances" ""Any quarter" could mean only one thing:" "Israel." "We knew that he had said he would accept help from any quarter, and we thought he'd probably prefer direct American intervention." "He was keenly aware that if he was resurrected and protected as a result of Israeli military intervention that this would have a strongly negative impact not only within Jordan itself but obviously, within the entire Arab world." "This was something that was discussed between Sisco, myself, uh..." "Haig" "And one or two of my staff people." "The advisers knew that President Nixon would have to be informed about the situation right away." "But first I had to find him, and the secret service told me he was the basement of the executive office building across the street from the White House, bowling, and that's where I found him." "I remember Henry coming back into the office." "He said, "Holy mackerel, the guy's bowling with his black dress shoes on!"" "He was there bowling alone and we just started talking." "He wanted to have an American intervention." "And of course, we didn't just have an empty cannon there." "That's why we moved some fleet units over into that part of the Mediterranean." "And that is why we alerted a couple of marine battalions as well." "I told it would have been very difficult to manage." "We didn't have a commander" "We didn't have the right combination of forces." "We didn't know how to end it." ""Mr. President," we said" ""We think the Israelis are in the best position to do this." ""They're close to the scene." "The resources can be employed rapidly"." "Once he understood that, he agreed to back the Israelis." "Hussein was quite aware of and approved of what we were doing in this thing and if he didn't approve, he didn't let us know." "It was America's ambassador in Jordan who broke the news to King Hussein." "And what I was told to say to him is" ""We'll get the Israelis to come in and help you"." "And I think this is a very serious moment for the King." "We asked Rabin what the views of the Israeli government would be in these circumstances." "And Rabin said he would report home and ask." "I got the authorization to send Phantoms to fly over these tanks." "I briefed the leader of the formation myself." "I told him, "Fly over them," ""leave no doubt that they see you and hear you." ""Make mock attacks, so that they understand what we want them to do, which is to turn around and go back"." "So our four aircraft performed maneuvers over these tanks." "On the side I had another two quartets waiting, just in case." "But no one bothered them." "The tanks turned around and went back." "A quartet of Phantoms was enough." "Defense Minister Assad did not want to commit our Air Force." "We were fighting an ally." "The Jordanian army is our friend." "We can't attack them using planes." "Whether it was because of Arab solidarity or the threat of Nixon's sixth fleet and Israel's war planes" "Syria finally withdrew its tanks." "The Jordanian army could now give all its attention to kicking out the Palestinians." "Yasser Arafat, hiding somewhere in the capital sent out an SOS." "I remember that he made broadcasting through the station we had asking the Arab world and the Islamic world to intervene." "The Arab world heard him." "Its leaders gathered in Cairo for an emergency meeting chaired by President Nasser." "Nasser decided that the leaders should send a delegation to Jordan to ask King Hussein to stop killing Palestinians." "At the head of this delegation was the President of Sudan." "We went to King Hussein." "Of course he offered every kind of delicious dish." "They kept telling us that" ""You have to stop things immediately"." "Well, we can't stop." "I mean, we are in the middle of a life-and-death struggle" "Then we stayed for dinner going through all the arguments." "I believe that that experience was one of my worst during that particular period of time." "Because one is concerned, one is worried." "One is trying to deal with problems changing every minute and suddenly to have to entertain a group that is totally out of touch with... with reality or with the needs of the moment." "And we kept on talking and going through all the reasons until daybreak." "The Arab leaders, having failed to convince the King got into an armored car and tuned in the radio." "We started to hear Arafat talking and Arafat calling for help." "The leaders went to Arafat's hideout and provided him with a new identity" "A family man, complete with wife and child." "We passed off the child as Arafat's so that the guards at the airport would not stop us." "And we made Arafat change into Arabian dress." "Thus disguised amid the delegation of Arab leaders" "Arafat made it past King Hussein's soldiers guarding the airport." "And then suddenly I, uh..." "Heard with, uh... utter shock and disbelief that they arrived in Cairo they had Arafat with them." "Arafat had had a close shave in more ways than one." "Back in Cairo, President Numeiry reported on the conflict." "It was unfair to Jordan and to King Hussein." "King Hussein decided that he, too, had better join the meeting in Cairo." "I of course came in still in my... my fatigues and with... with my gun in position." "And he spoke in the conference and responded to the allegations." "He said he was not against the Palestinians at all." "President Nasser imposed a deal which met most of King Hussein's demands." "Arafat gave in." "He agreed all his fighters would leave the capital." "The PLO tried to regroup in the north of Jordan and it took King Hussein another year to drive them out of the country altogether." "The PLO's attempt to take over Jordan had failed." "But we did a very important thing:" "We create a new people and instead of being refugees, to be... to be fighters." "This is very important." "We were refugees, homeless." "We became now fighters, freedom fighters." "And next stage- you will see!" "Arafat and his battered fighters moved to Lebanon..." "Where they regrouped." "Soon Arafat would be strong enough to become a power broker in Lebanon and continue his attacks on Israelis." "The Olympic Games Stand still." "The flags in the stadium at half mast." "The citizens of Munich the thousands of competitors and officials..." "Palestinian guerrillas crowned a year of terrorist attacks by storming the Olympic village." "This hastily conceived memorial ceremony..." "Eleven Israeli athletes were killed as the world watched." "Israel retaliated with a pinpoint operation." "An Israeli commando force landed on a beach near Beirut." "Their targets were PLO leaders." "Particularly those responsible for Munich." "Arafat, who was working late at the PLO's busy headquarters, escaped." "But the guerrillas who planned and carried out the Munich operation, were killed." "At the funerals the Palestinians and their Muslim allies erupted in fury." "To everyone's astonishment this man turned up at the funeral" "Pierre Gemayel, Christian maronite leader suspected by some Palestinians of collaborating with Israel." "Gemayel led a Christian militia, the Phalange." "He warned Arafat to stay out of his conflict with the Lebanese Muslims." "Pierre Gemayel thought hard before attending the funeral." "The security people of the Phalange warned him not to go." "They said Pierre Gemayel would be in danger." "In April 1975, civil war broke out in Lebanon and Arafat became a force to be reckoned with." "He asked for a meeting with Gemayel at the Christian Clan leader's headquarters." "As Arafat drove through Beirut it was clear that the Christians considered him an enemy." "We drove past slogans on the walls saying" ""No to the PLO"" "He laughed and said to me, "We must do something about this or Lebanon will explode"." "The civil war escalated." "Arafat aligned himself with the Muslims while Christians sought the help of Israel." "The Christian leader then gave the PLO an ultimatum." "We are asking the Palestinians to stay quiet" "If they want to remain in Lebanon to stay quiet in Lebanon." "I don't think that we are going to accept in the future that any war can be waged from Lebanon" "Uh... from the Lebanon borders because this, uh... and the past experience has proved it this will prove disastrous for Lebanon." "Arafat ignored the warning" "1974 had seen a succession of Palestinian raids across the border into Israel." "In one attack, 18 Israelis, including eight children, died." "A month later, Palestinian raiders took over a school and killed 22 children." "Israel's main anti-terrorist efforts shifted along with the PLO attacks." "Now the Jordanian border was quiet and there was fighting on the Lebanese border." "I was appointed commander of a brigade on the Lebanese border." "All our efforts were aimed at preventing terrorist infiltration." "Hardly a week passed without two or three attempts to cross the border" "Israel, surrounded by hostile Muslim states badly needed allies." "When Lebanon's Christians were challenged by the Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims they asked for Israel's help." "Defense Minister Shimon Peres sent an Arabic-speaking officer on a secret mission to Beirut." "In my heart, I decided that such a man must volunteer." "His life would certainly be at risk." "And when I told him I was willing, he smiled." "He said, "It's very dangerous"." "I said, "I know"." "I saw Fuad's mission as a trip to a minefield" "A place where there are many traitors." "The Israeli officer set off aboard a missile boat sailing in darkness towards civil-war-torn Beirut." "All Beirut was lit by cannon fire." "A city like hell" "Unbelievable, one big conflagration." "The intelligence officer knew that the Christians were faring badly against the Palestinians." "His Christian hosts sped him towards the battlefront." "Suddenly I saw thousands of people lining the road and clapping." "I said to my host, "What's this?"" "He said, "Let's take a look." "Then I see two trucks coming up." "One truck has men shooting in the air." "The other has ropes tied to it." "At the end of each of these ropes" "Is the body of a PLO terrorist and this truck is dragging them along the ground and the men on the back of the truck are just shooting and shooting at them although they had long been dead." "I was simply shocked." "Lebanese Muslims and Christians and Palestinians fought and murdered each other with ferocity." "Some 40,000 would die on both sides." "A British journalist reported:" ""At its most hideous, this civil war has been simple" ""Muslims have murdered Christians" ""Christians have murdered Muslims" ""Not in battle, but in cold blood." ""These men were innocents, kidnapped in the street" ""Taken to a secret place, tortured, shot" ""And then dumped in the street again for their families to find"." "The Israeli intelligence officer confirmed deep anti-PLO feeling among the Christians." "They desperately needed help." "They asked us for weapons- - everything." "Rifles, Kalashnikovs, Uzis." "They asked for cannons, we gave them." "Mortars and tanks, we gave them." "In 1981, Ariel Sharon became Israel's defense Minister." "Soon after, the Christian leaders came to a Beirut beach to await "A visitor"." "As I landed, Bashir Gemayel came towards me." "He hugged me, shook my hand." "He had his officers with him." "Bashir, the son of Christian leader Pierre Gemayel now controlled the weapons supplied by Israel." "He had ruthlessly eliminated his rivals and united all the Christian forces under his command." "Sharon, at a meeting with the Christian leaders revealed a plan to root out the Palestinians." "He told the Christian leaders:" ""We have taken a decision in Israel to invade Lebanon." "Sharon told the Christians they would have to help." "Israel's troops could not march into an Arab capital." "Expelling the Palestinians from the city would be the task of the Christians." "I said, "Remember, if an invasion happens" ""it's a mission you will have to carry out." "You, and only you, can do this"." "But the Israelis could advance to the outskirts Beirut and encircle the city." "Six months later, the Palestinians provided Israel with a pretext for invasion." "In London, the Israeli ambassador was shot by a Palestinian." "As police gathered evidence" "Prime Minister Begin summoned his cabinet." "He turned to me and asked me to brief my colleagues." "Ariel Sharon said nothing about his plan to encircle Beirut." "He spoke only of pushing the Palestinians back from Israel's northern border." "Then, Mr. Erlich, God rest his soul, asked:" ""What about Beirut?"" "I said "Beirut isn't in the picture." ""The plan is to create a 40- to 45-kilometer area in which there will be no terrorists"." "Israeli forces crossed the border and moved rapidly into Lebanon." "But Prime Minister Begin reassured the Israeli Parliament." "And if achieve the 40 km. line above northern border the job is done." "All fighting will stop." "But within hours Sharon found an excuse for pushing farther." "We got information that units of the first Syrian division were moving south..." "Towards the Bakaa Valley in Lebanon." "Sharon persuaded Begin that Israel's troops should now advance deeper into Lebanon to outflank this Syrian force." "It would mean going beyond 45 kilometers." "Who ever said we would give terrorists immunity, we are on the 45 km. line?" "The government never gave immunity to any terrorist anywhere." "We will not give immunity to any terrorist anywhere." "Within three days of telling the cabinet that Beirut was "Not in the picture"" "Ariel Sharon had moved Israel's troops to the outskirts of the Lebanese capital." "For nine weeks, they laid siege to Beirut exchanging fire with the Palestinians." "We are here, and we will continue to be here and we will defend this city." "The first..." "The first- This is very important" "It is the first Arab capital which the Israeli are blockading." "It is very important." "You have to put in your consideration what this means for the next generation." "What have been done, you will pay its price." "The harder Arafat fought back the more people in Lebanon suffered." "Their capital was being destroyed." "Even Lebanese Muslims demanded that Arafat and his fighters leave Beirut." "I was the one who had to raise the question with Arafat." "He was shocked." "No one had spoken to him like that before." "I said, "Well, we are informing you now"." "The Israelis drove the message home by staying close on the heels of the Palestinian leaders." "The Israeli army seemed to know what we were going to do before we did." "If we spoke about fighting on we were attacked by the Israelis one hour later." "There was a meeting in one of our headquarters and I, uh..." "I tell them, "Please, get out, get out." "Leave it"." "Just now, he said, "You are inviting us for a meeting." "Said, "Please, leave this place directly." "I don't know why." "Believe me, I don't know why." "After 15 minutes from our departure, they bombed." "In a cellar under the rubble the PLO leaders faced a stark choice." "Arafat was convinced that we had to evacuate Beirut." "But he was careful to avoid being the one who ordered Palestinian forces to leave Lebanon." "He wanted a collective decision by all the faction leaders." "The price of further defiance was clear." "So we took a hard decision." "I can say today that everybody accepted it." "All of the leaders of the Palestinian revolution said yes." "In the last days of august 1982 thousands of Palestinian Fighters were forced to evacuate Beirut." "Nearly 15,000 men expelled from Beirut." "This was unprecedented." "An entire terrorist organization expelled from a capital." "Then, in a massive explosion at his party headquarters" "Bashir Gemayel" "Lebanon's President-elect and Israel's ally was assassinated." "The Israeli defense Minister became convinced that Palestinian fighters were still operating in Beirut." "They left behind at least 2,000 armed men." "It was clear that once the city was united it would be necessary to take action against them." "Christian militiamen sought vengeance for the death of Gemayel." "While Israeli troops stood by, providing light from flares the Phalangists entered the Palestinian camps of Sabra and Shatila." "There were no PLO fighters there." "They found only old men, women and children and slaughtered them." "You should be ashamed of yourself!" "I am not here to explain this horrible tragedy." "It belongs to a world of dark motives" "Not our world." "Only those who carried it out can be blamed for this massacre." "I hope they will be punished." "You are an enemy of the people!" "You are worse than evil." "In the largest demonstration in Israel's history 400,000 people protested Israel's role in the massacre." "It is true that we lost our base in Beirut but they lost the war." "Once again, through a combined effort of Arabs and Israelis the PLO Had been driven out of an Arab country." "Yasser Arafat, the great escaper was on his way to yet another base- this time in Tunis, 2,000 miles away." "Funding for the fifty years war:" "Israel and the Arabs" "Was provided by:" "and PBS viewers like you."