Six Days of War

by Michael B. Oren

  53. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 109-11, 128-30. Nasser and ‘Amer exchange in ‘Abd al-Hamid, Al-Mushir wa-Ana, pp. 125, 212-13. Mazhar, I‘triafat Qadat Harb Yunyu, pp. 181-82. Imama, Nasir wa-‘Amer, pp. 143-49. Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa7s;iq, p. 109. Heikal, Al-Infijar, p. 699. Mahmud Murad “Harb Haziran,”al-Majalla al-‘Askariyya 19, no. 1 (Aug. 1968), pp. 45-46. Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askariyya al-Misriyya 2, pp. 14-15. Abu Dhikri, Mahal al-Abriya’, pp. 156-62. USNA, Central Policy files, 1967-1969. POL Arab-ISR, box 7: Alexandria to the Department of State, May 16, 1967.

  54. ‘Abd al-Hamid, Al-Mushirwa-Ana, pp. 212-13. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 115-16. Imam, Naisr wa-‘Amer, pp. 146-48. Gawrych, The Albatross of Decisive Victory, pp. 20-21. ‘Amer quotes from Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa‘iq, pp. 94-95, 98. Amin al-Nafuri, Tawazun al-Quwwa bayna al-‘Arab wa Isra‘il, pp. 212-13.

  55. Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa‘iq, pp. 51, 107. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 92-93, 104, 123-26. Walter Laqueur, The Road to Jerusalem: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pop. 228-93. Al-Shuqayri, Mudhakkirat, 6, pp. 76-77. Oral history interview with General Yeshayahu (Shaike) Gavish, Dec. &, 1999. USNA, ARAB-IS, box 14: Memorandum for the files-Captured UAR Battle Order, June 2, 967. Versions of the War Order also appear in Gilboa, Shesh Shanim, Shisha Yamim, p. 193, and Kimche and Bawly, The Sandstrom, pp. 109-10.

  56. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 112-18. Mustafa, Harb Haziran, pp. 278-79. Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, pp. 121, 127, 140-41. Hammel, Six Days in June, p. 293. Bull, War and Peace in the Middle East, p. 111. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 62-64, 73. Oral history interview with Yusuf Khawwash, Nov. 16, 1999; Mahmud Abu Faris, Nov. 17, 1999. El Edroos, The Hashmite Arab Army, p. 359.

  57. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 112-18, 122. Hussein, My “War” with Israel, pp. 54-59. USNA, Summary of MEDAC, box 13: Middle East Sitrep as of June 4. The orders for Operation Tariq, discovered by Israeli forces during the war, can be found at the IDF Intelligence Library: The Six Day War, file 1, Jordan, Document 59/1/67, Col. ‘Abd al-Rahim Fakhr al-din, May 22, 1967. The orders are also discussed in PRO, PREM 13 1622: Record of Conversation between the Foreign Secretary and the Israeli Ambassador, June 30, 1967. Hussein quote in PRO, PREM 13 1619: The Middle Eat Crisis, Amman to Foreign Office, June 4, 1967.

  58. USNA, Summary of MEDAC, box 13: Middle East Sitrep as of June 1. Tlas quote from PRO, FO 17-671: Syria-Political Affairs, Damascus to Foreign Office, June 3, 1967. Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa‘iq, pp. 52, 104. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p. 112. Al-Shuqayri, Mudhakkirat 5, pp. 215-20. See also Hani al-Shum’s, Ma‘arik Khalida fi Ta‘rikh al-Jaysh al-‘Arabi al-Suri (Damascus: Al-Tiba‘a al-Suriyya, 1988).

  59. USNA Central Foreign Policy files, 1967-1969, POL 12 Sy, box 1511: Beirut to the Department of State, June, 3, 1967. ISA, Foreign Ministry files, 4083/3, Contacts with the Soviet Union, Raviv to Shimoni, June 7, 1967, Mustafa, Harb Haziran, pp. 169-73. Segev, Sadin Adom, p. 223. Gilboa, Sadin Adom, p. 223. Gilboa, Shesh Shanim, Shisha Yamim, pp. 230-32. Hame‘iri, Mi-Shnei Evrei ha-rama, pp. 55-57. Mayzel, Ha-Ma‘arakha al ha-Golan, pp. 133-41. For documents on Operation Victory, see IDF Intelligence Library, The Six Day War, file 1: Syria, Defense Ministry Document No. 26/123 Southwest Area Command, Operations Branch to 8th Brigade Commander, June 3, 1967. See also Hame‘iri, Mi-Shnei Evrei ha-Rama, pp. 55-57, and O‘Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, p. 229.

  60. USNA, USUN, box 5: CINSTRIKE to AIG, May 24, 1967. Oral history interview with Fayiz Fahed Jaber, Nov, 17, 1999. Mustafa Khalil, Suqut al-Julan (Amman: Dar al-Yaquin lil-Tiba’s wal-bnashr, n.d.), pp. 25-26, 174, 248-49, 254. IDF Intelligence Library, Internal Syrian Army Papers: The Southwestern Front, June 9, 1967. Mayzel, Ha-Ma‘arakha al ha-Golan, p. 130. Oral history interviews with Ibrahim Isma‘il Khahya and Muhammad ‘Ammar, Jan. 10, 2001; with Marwan Hamdan al-Khuli, Jan 11,2001. Sisser, “Bein Yisrael le-Suria,” pp. 224-25. Tlas quote from Parker, The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East, p. 162; also cited in Gilboa, Shesh Shanim, Shisha Yamim, p. 191.

  61. LBJ, National Security file, NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 17: Beirut to the Secretary of State, June 2, 1967; box 18: Sanaa to the Secretary of State, May 23, 1967. Heikal, Al-Infijar, pp. 694-95. PRO, FO 17/489, Israel-Political Affaris: Cairo to Foreign Office, June 3, 1967 (Nasser threat to close the Suez Canal). USNA, POL ARAB-ISR, box 1789: Amman to the Department of State, May 27, 1967 (Jum‘a quote). Mansoor, Arab World. entries for June 2, 3, 4 (Boumedienne quote). Arab military figures, from Rabin, Memoirs, p. 100. ‘Aref quote from BBC, Daily Report, Middle East, Africa, and Western Europe, No. 1.

  62. USNA, Middle East Crisis files, Maritime Declaration, box 13: Memorandum for Middle East Control Group, May 31, 1967; Intelligence Notes, box 11: Hughes to the Secretary of State, June 5, 1967. PRO, FO17/497: Israel-Political Affairs: Draft Paper for Cabinet-Middle East Crisis—Conversation between the Prime Minister and the President at the White House, June 2, 1967; PREM 13 1619, The Middle East Crisis: Prime Minister to the Foreign Secretary, June 3, 1967. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Conflict, box 20: United States Policy and Diplomacy in the Middle East Crisis, May 15-June 10, 1967, pp. 95-96; NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 21: Arab_Israeli Situation Report, May 31, 1967. ISA, Foreign Ministry files, 4083/3, Contacts with the Soviet Union: Ankara to Tekoah-Soviet Ships in the Mediterranean, June 1, 1967. The passage of Soviet ships through the Darndanelles was widely reported in the Middle East; see Mansoor, The Arab World, entries for June 2, 3, 4, 1967.

  63. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Conflict, box 20: United States Policy and Diplomacy int he Middle East Crisis, May 15-June 10, 1967, pp. 86-89, 103-5; NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box21: Arab-Israeli Situation Report, May 31, 1967; box 18: Saunders to Walt Rostow, May 31, 1967 (“parade of horribles”); Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense, June 2, 1967; box 17: USUN to the Scere-tary of State, May 29, 1967. USNA, Arab-Israel Crisis, Miscellaneous Reports, box 15: Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense, May 25, 1967. PRO FCO/39/261, UAR - Relations with the United States: Washington to the Foreign Office, June 4, 1967; PREM 13 1619, The Middle East Crisis: Washington to The Foreign Office, June 4, 1967. ISA, 7919/1, Levi Eshkol files, Diplomatic Telegrams: U.S.A.: Evron to Eshkol, May 31, 1967. Oral history interview with Walt Rostow, July 27, 1999; with Eugene Rostow, Aug. 5, 1999.

  64. LBJ, National Security files, NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 17: Reflections Pre-Eban (Saunders), May 25, 1967; box 18: Arab-Israel: Where We Are and Where We’re Going (Saunders), May 31, 1967. USNA, Middle East Crisis files, 1967, box 17: Ninth Control Group Meeting, June 4, 1967; Arab-Israeli Crisis, Intelligence Notes, box 11: Denny to Rusk, June 2, 1967; Battle to the Secretary of State, June 2, 1967. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Conflict, box 18: Walt Rostow to the President, June 4, 1967; Saunders to Walt Rostow, May 31, 1967. Rusk quote from Parker, The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East, pp. 121-22, and from Rusk, As I Saw It, p. 385. Feinberg quote from Quandt, Peace Process, p. 48.

  65. USNA, Middle East Crisis files, 1967, box 13: Circular to All American Diplomatic Posts (Rusk), June 4, 1967. Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa’iq, pp. 110-15. Imam, Nasir wa-‘Amer, pp. 156-57 (Dugheidi quote). Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 132-34. Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askariyya al-Misriyya 5, pp. 24-25. ‘Imad Al-‘Ilmi, Harb ‘Am 1967 (Acre: Al-Aswar lil-Thaqafa, 1990), p. 114. USNA, Central Policy files, 1967-1969, POL 2 UAR, box 2553: Jidda to the Department of State, Aug. 29, 1967. Bar-Zohar, Embassies in Crisis, p. 176. Murtagi communiqué in Lall, The UN and the Middle East Crisis, p. 48, and in Rikhye, Sinai Blunder, pp. 95-97.

  66. Rikhye, Sinai Blunder, pp. 96-100. Donovan, Six Days in June, p. 78.

  67. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p. 122. El Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p. 373. Hussein, My “
War” with Israel, p. 59.

  68. ISA, Foreign Ministry files, 4083/3, Contacts with the Soviet Union: Katz to Foreign Ministry, June 4, 1967; 7920/2, Levi Eshkol Papers, Diplomatic Telegrams, USSR: Katz to Foreign Ministry, May 24, 1967; Katz to Levavi, June 4, 1967. Dagan, Moscow and Jerusalem, p. 224.

  69. Baron, Hotam Ishi, pp. 47-48. BGA, Diary, Entry for June 4, 1967. YAD, Remarks by Yitzhak Rabin, Feb. 3, 1987. Rabin, Memoirs, pp. 98-100. Slater, Rabin of Israel, p. 133. Nachshon quote in IDF, 1977/1786: The Regular Paratrooper Brigade in the Six-Day War, Commander 35th Brigade, p. 619. Dayan, My Life, pp. 349-50. Haber, Ha-Yom Tifrotz Milhama, pp. 222-24. Mayzel, Ha-Ma’arakha al ha-Golan, pp. 51-52. ISA, Foreign Ministry files, 4089/4, Prime Minister’s Memoranda; Eshkol to Kosygin, June 5, 1967; Eshkol to Johnson, June 5, 1967. Similar letters were sent to Lester Pearson and Charles de Gaulle; see NAC, RG 25, box 10050: Political Affairs - Canada’s Foreign Policy Trends and Relations - Israel: Tel Aviv to Ottawa, June 5, 1967 and ISA, 7920/2, Levi Eshkol Papers, Diplomatic Telegrams, France: Eshkol to de Gaulle, June 5, 1967.

  The War: Day One, June 5

  1. PRO FCO17/576: Israel - Defense: Report of Air Attaché, July 13, 1967. USNA, Middle East Crisis, 1967, Cir/Military files, box 6: CINSTRIKE to AIG 930, May 24, 1967. ‘Isam Darraz, Dubbat Yunyu Yatakallamun: kayfa Shahada Junud Misr Hazimat 67(Cairo: al-Manar al-Jadid lil-Sahafa wal-Nashr, n.d.), pp. 89-94. Ze’ev Schiff, Tzahal be-Hailo: Encyclopedia le-Tzava u-le-Bitahon (Tel Aviv: Revivim, 1981), pp. 98-99 (Hod quote). Ehud Yanay, No Margin for Error: The Making of the Israeli Air Force (New York: Pantheon Books, 1993), pp. 234-36 (including the Harlev quote). “Hail ha-Avir ba-Milhama,”Bit’on Hail ha-Avir. ‘Imad Al-‘Ilmi, Harb ‘Am 1967 (Acre: Al-Aswar lil-Thaqafa, 1990), pp. 90-91. Gawrych, The Albatross of Decisive Victory, pp. 14, 25. Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askaraiyya al-Misriyya 5, p. 20. Shmuel M. Katz, Soldier Spies: Israeli Military Intelligence (Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1992), pp. 150-201. Oral history interview with Motti Hod, March 9, 1999. A profile of Wolfgang Lotz and other Israeli intelligence sources in Egypt appears in http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/Lotz.html.

  2. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 132-35. Heikal, Al-Infijar, pp. 822-27. Al-Hawadith, interview with Shams Badran, Sept. 2, 1977, p. 21. Ramadan, Tahtim al-Aliha, pp. 93-94. Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, p. 24. ‘Abd al-Hamid, Al-Mushir wa-Ana, pp. 217-20. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Series of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967. “Hail ha-Avir ba-Milhama,”Bit’on Hail ha-Avir. Rozner, “Ha-5 be-Yuni 1967 be-Kahir.” Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 242. ‘Awda and Imam, Al-Naksa—Man al-Mas’ul?, p. 87. ‘Afifi quote in Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askaraiyya al-Misriyya 3, pp. 7-8; see also 4, pp. 15-6, and 5, pp. 33-39.

  3. YAD, Remarks by Yitzhak Rabin, Feb. 3, 1987, p. 24. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, p. 67. Weizman quote from Weizman, On Eagles’ Wings, p. 221.

  4. YAD, Conference on the Six-Day War sponsored by the Center for the History of Defensive Force, Feb. 3, 1987, remarks by Motti Hod. P3RO FCO17/576: Israel - Defense: Report of Air Attaché, July 13, 1967. “Hail ha-Avir ba-Milhama,”Bit’on Hail ha-Avir. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 88-89. Al-‘Ilmi, Harb ‘Am 1967, p. 239. Weizman, On Eagles’ Wings, pp. 192, 223-24. Rabin, Memoirs, p. 104. Yanay, No Margin for Error, p. 217. Gawrych, The Albatross of Decisive Victory, p. 14. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 245. O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, pp. 53, 59.

  5. Van Creveld, The Sword and the Olive, p. 162. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 246. PRO FCO17/576: Israel - Defense: Report of Air Attaché, July 13, 1967. Bit’on Hail ha-Avir 20, no. 74/75 (Dec. 1967). Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 167-68. Zaki quote from Darraz, Dubbat Yunyu Yatakallamun, pp. 7-8. Bin-Nun quote from “First Strike,”Jerusalem Post, June 5, 1997.

  6. LBJ, National Security files, NSC Histories, The Middle East Crisis, box 23: Cairo to the Secretary of State, June 5, 1967. Ben Akiva and Guvrin, “Sh’at ha-Mirage—Esrim Shana le-Milhemet Sheshet ha-Yamim.” Dayan, My Life, pp. 351-53. Schiff, Tzahal be-Hailo, pp. 103-4. Haber, Ha-Yom Tifrotz Milhama, pp. 226-67. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 140-41. Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askaraiyya al-Misriyya 5, p. 31. Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, pp. 25-26. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 168-70. Yanay, No Margin for Error, p. 243. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 245-46. O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, pp. 65-67. M. Naor, and Z. Aner, eds., Yemei Yuni - Teurim min ha-Milhama 1967 (Tel Aviv: Ma’arakhot, 1967), p. 77. PRO FCO17/576: Israel - Defense: Report of Air Attaché, July 13, 1967. Rozner, “H-5 be-Yuni 1967 be-Kahir.” Oral history interview with Motti Hod, March 9, 1999; with Sa’id Ahmad Rabi‘, July 4, 1999.

  7. Darraz, Dubbat Yunyu Yatakallamun, pp. 7-12 (Zaki testimony and quote), 25-33 (Hashim Mustafa Hassan testimony). Khouri, Al-Watha’iq al-Filastiniyya, pp. 314-16. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Series of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967. V.A. Zolotarev, main ed., Rossia (SSSR) v’ lokal’nykh voinakh i voennykh konfliktakh vtoroi poliviny XX veka (Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole, 2000), pp. 183-84 (Tarasenko quote). Imam, ‘Abd al-Nasir—Kayfa Hakama Misr, pp. 366-67. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 143-45. Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askaraiyya al-Misriyya 5, pp. 26-27. (Sidqi quote). Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa’iq, p. 127. Mazhar, I’tirafat Qadat Harb Yunyu, pp. 122-23. Ramadan, Tahtim al-Aliha, pp. 97-98. Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, p. 24. Hussein, My “War” with Israel, pp. 60-61. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 267. Joseph Finklestone, Anwar Sadat: Visionary Who Dared (London: Frank Cass, 1996), p. 57. USNA, Central Policy files, 1967-1969, POL 2 UAR, box 2553: Cairo to the Department of State, June 5, 1967. Oral history interview with Eric Rouleau, Dec. 18, 2000.

  8. Heikal, Al-Infijar, pp. 830-33. Al-Jiyyar, “Ayyam al-Naksa fi Bayt ‘Abd al-Nasir,”Ruz al-Yusuf 2482 (January 5, 1976), p. 8. Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, pp. 23-24. El-Sadat, In Search of Identity, p. 175. Cairo Radio quotes from BBC, Daily Report, Middle East, Africa, and Western Europe, B4, B5. Oral history interview with Israel Tal, Aug. 23, 1999; with Yeshayahu Gavish, Dec. 7, 1999.

  9. IDF, 192/74, file 1348: The Battle for the Southern Front, n.d., p. 3; 1977/17: Ugdah 84, Hativa 35, in the Six-Day War, pp. 637-42; 1977/1786: The Regular Paratrooper Brigade in the Six-Day War, Commander 35th Brigade, 605, 625 (Tal quote); IDF, 717/77, file 86: Battle for the Southern Front, p. 353. Rabin, Memoirs, p. 102. Dayan, My Life, pp. 359-60. Segev, Sadin Adom, p. 83.

  10. IDF 1977/17: Ugdah 84, 35th Brigade in the Six-Day War, pp. 646-48; Eytan quote on p. 650; 717/77, file 86: Battle for the Southern Front, p. 367 (description of Jiradi battle). Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 249-52. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 144, 176-79. Churchill and Churchill, The Six Day War, p. 106. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, p. 147. Gawrych, Albatross of Decisive Victory, p. 44. Gonen quote from Shabtai Teveth, The Tanks of Tammuz (London: Sphere Books, 1969), pp. 108-9. Gonen press comment from O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, p. 109. Tal quote from Churchill and Churchill, The Six Day War, pp. 108-9. Peled, Ish Tzava, p. 105. Oral history interview with ‘Izzat ‘Arafa, July 6, 2001.

  11. Sharon, Warrior, pp. 191-92. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 257-61. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 202-14, 228-31. O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, pp. 120-27.

  12. LBJ, National Security files, NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 21: Jerusalem to the Secretary of State, May 23, 1967. USNA, Summary of MEDAC, box 13: Middle East Sitrep as of June 4. The document reports that “Israel did not return the [Jordanian] fire and [we] do not yet attribute much importance to such incidents on that front.” PRO, FO 17/489, Israel - Political Affairs: Jerusalem to the Foreign Office, June 5, 1967. IDF, 901/67/1 Central Command: The Six-Day War, Concluding Discussion 1; pp. 2 (Narkiss quote), 66, 142; 2, p. 3; 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d. Weizman, On Eagles’ Wings, p. 210. O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, pp. 177-78. Ammunition Hill Archive, Mu
seum of the Tourjeman Post: Interview with Yoram Galon, Sept. 27, 1983.

  13. IDF, 901/67/1 Central Command: The Six-Day War, Concluding Discussion 2, p. 2 (Narkiss quote); 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d. Uzi Narkiss, Soldier of Jerusalem, pp. 200-203. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 12-13.

  14. IDF, 901/67/1 Central Command, Six Day War, Concluding Report, Part A, p. 142 (Narkiss quote). Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 284. Hammel, Six Days in June, p. 290.

  15. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Conflict, box 20: United States Policy and Diplomacy in the Middle East Crisis, May 15-June 10, 1967, p. 125. ISA, 6444/6, Foreign Ministry files, North America Telegrams: Foreign Ministry to Embassies, June 5, 1967. Haber, Ha-Yom Tifrotz Milhama, p. 222 (Dayan quote). Bull, War and Peace in the Middle East, pp. 42-43, 113. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 80-83. Rabin, Memoirs, p. 105. Narkiss quote from Schiff, A History of the Israeli Army, p. 132. Eban, Personal Witness, p. 409. Israel cable to Hussein in ISA, 6444/6 North America, telegrams: Foreign Ministry to Embassies, June 5, 1967.