Six Days of War

by Michael B. Oren

  49. Baron, Hotam Ishi, pp. 58-59. Dayan, My Life, pp. 358-59. Dayan quote from Bartov, Dado, p. 97. All other quotes from Haber, Ha-Yom Tifrotz Milhama, pp. 228-31. Benziman, Ir lelo Homa, pp. 14-19. Eban, Personal Witness, p. 412.

  50. Al-Watha’iq al-Urduniyya, pp. 46-47. Mansoor, Arab World, entry for June 5, 1967.

  51. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 143-46, 155-56. Imam, ‘Abd al-Nasir—Kayfa Hakama Misr, pp. 162-63. Murtagi, Al-Fariq Murtagi Yarwi al-Haqa’iq, p. 67. Al-Jiyyar, “Ayyam al-Naksa fi Bayt ‘Abd al-Nasir.” El-Sadat, In Search of Identity, p. 172. Heikal, Al-Infijar, pp. 830-33. Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, p. 26. U Thant, View from the UN, p. 257. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 267. Hammel, Six Days in June, p. 244. El-Sadat, In Search of Identity, p. 175. Rubinstein, Red Star on the Nile, pp. 9-10. Voice of the Arabs quote from BBC, Daily Report, Middle East, Africa, and Western Europe, B3.

  52. PRO, FO 17/490, Israel-Political Affairs: Washington to Foreign Ministry, June 5, 1967; PREM 13 1622: The Second Arab-Israel War, 1967: The Preliminaries (Hadow), July 6, 1967. Schiff, A History of the Israeli Army, p. 131. O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, p. 75. Ayyub quote from oral history interview with Fayiz Fahed Jaber, Nov. 21, 1999. Eshkol quote from Prittie, Eshkol, pp. 109-10.

  53. USNA, Middle East Crisis, box 18: Tel Aviv to the Department of State, Chronology June 4th-7th, June 7, 1967. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Crisis, box 18: W. Rostow to the President, June 5, 1967; Tel Aviv to the Secretary of State, June 5, 1967 (“push all the buttons”).

  Day Two, June 6

  1. IDF, 192/74, file 1348: The Battle for the Southern Front, n.d., p. 3; 717/77, file 32: Summary of the Battle for the Southern Front, p. 29. Dayan, My Life, p. 355. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 146-47. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 254-55, 263-64. Teveth, The Tanks of Tammuz, pp. 195-200. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 214-17. O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, pp. 134-36, 141-42. Shlomo Gazit, Pta’im be-Malkodet, p. 28. Peled, Ish Tzava, p. 107. Shadmi quote from Eran Sorer Derekh ha-Mitla (Ramat Gan: Masada, 1967), p. 35. Oral history interview with Meir Pa‘il, Dec. 6, 2000.

  2. Sorer, Derekh ha-Mitla, pp. 54-58. The testimonies of ‘Adel Mahjub, Hasan Bahgat, and ‘Azzam Shirahi appear in Darraz, Dubbat Yunyu Yatakallamun, pp. 79-86, 89-94, and 97-103, respectively.

  3. IDF, 717/77, file 32: Summary of the Battle for the Southern Front, p. 31. LBJ, National Security file, Middle East Crisis, box 104, 107: Intelligence Cable, June 6, 1967; NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 23: Rabat to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967; Paris to the Secretary of State, June 8, 1967. PRO, FCO 17/492, Israel-Political Affairs, Khartoum to Foreign Ministry, June 5, 1967; 17/492, Israel-Political Affairs, Tunis to Foreign Ministry, June 5, 1967; 17/495, Israel - Political Affairs: Hanoi to Foreign Ministry, June 5, 1967 (Ho Chi Minh cable). ISA, Foreign Ministry files, 4083/3, Contacts with the Soviet Union: Moscow to Foreign Ministry, June 5, 1967 (Soviet statement). Ramadan, Tahtim al-Aliha, pp. 99-100. Mansoor, Arab World, entries for June 5 and 6, 1967.

  4. IDF, 171/77/48: Debriefing on Battles on the Southern Front, p. 135. USNA, Middle East Crisis files, 1967, Chronology, box 12: Tel Aviv to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967. Baron, Hotam Ishi, pp. 61-63. Rabin, Memoirs, p. 107 (Dayan quote). O’Balance, The Third Arab-Israeli War, pp. 73-74. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, p. 183. Dayan, My Life, pp. 364-65.

  5. Al-Hawadith, interview with Shams Badran, Sept. 2, 1977. Heikal, Al-Infijar, p. 822. El-Sadat, In Search of Identity, p. 176. Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 151-52. Mazhar, I‘tirafat Qadat Harb Yunyu, pp. 90-91. Imam, ‘Abd al-Nasir—Kayfa Hakama Misr, p. 167. Al-‘Ilmi, Harb ‘Am 1967, pp. 146-48. For examples of Cairo’s victory broadcasts see Mansoor, Arab World, entry for June 6, 1967.

  6. Mazhar, I‘tirafat Qadat Harb Yunyu, pp. 152-53 (‘Amer order to Sidqi Mahmud), 221-22 (Murtagi quote). Fawzi, Harb al-Thalath Sanawat, pp. 152-53 (‘Amer remark to Fawzi). Moshe Seren, “Tvusat Mitzrayim be-Enei ha-Aravim,”Ma‘arakhot 200 (June 1969). Imam, ‘Abd al-Nasir—Kayfa Hakama Misr, p. 164. Al-Sabbagh, Mudhakkirat Qadat al-‘Askaraiyya al-Misriyya 1, pp. 26-27. Parker, The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East, p. 88. IDF, 717/77, file 32: Summary of the Battle for the Southern Front, p. 33. ‘Amer quote in Ramadan, Tahtim al-Aliha, p. 114. For ‘Uthman Nassar story, see PRO FCO/39/243 UAR-Political Affairs: Egypt Gazette clipping, Feb. 11, 1968. Muhammad Ahmad Khamis’ testimony appears in Darraz, Dubbat Yunyu Yatakallamun, pp. 69-75.

  7. IDF, 171/77/48: Debriefing on Battles on the Southern Front, p. 121. Dayan, My Life, p. 366.

  8. IDF, 171/77/48: Debriefing on Battles on the Southern Front, p. 41; Summary of the Battle for the Southern Front, p. 39. Oral history interview with Yeshayahu Gavish, Dec. 7, 1999; Israel Tal, Aug. 23, 1999. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 248-50. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 271.

  9. Heikal, Al-Infijar, pp. 728-29 (Pojidaev quote). Parker, “The June 1967 War: Some Mysteries Explored,” pp. 183-85. LBJ, National Security files, NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 23: Washington to Amman and London, June 10, 1967. Riad, Mudhakkirat 1, pp. 310-12. Nasser communiqué in USNA, USUN, box 6: Circular: Middle East Sitrep as of June 7; Middle East Crisis files, box 4: London to the Secretary of State, June 8, 1967. PRO, PREM 13 1621: Amman to Foreign Office, June 14, 1967. See also Arye Shalev, “Ha-Milhama ve-Totzoteha be-Eynei ha-Aravim,”Dapei Elazar, no. 10, Esrim Shana le-Milhemet Sheshet ha-Yamim (Tel Aviv: Yad David Elazar, 1988), p. 65.

  10. LBJ, National Security file, Middle East Crisis, box 23: Cairo to the Department of State, June 6, 1967 (Nolte cable); box 104, 107: Cairo to the Department of State, June 6, 1967 (Nolte-Riad discussion); Intelligence Information Cable, June 6, 1967; Jidda to the Department of State, June 6, 1967; LBJ, National Security file, NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 23: Amman to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967. Thompson quote from Life: Special Edition-Israel’s Swift Victory (1967), p. 70. BBC, Daily Report, Middle East, Africa, and Western Europe, B4-5. Radio Damascus report in Hame’iri, Mi-Shnei Evrei ha-Rama, p. 20. Radio Algiers broadcast in Mansoor, Arab World, entry for June 6, 1967. Murad, “Harb Haziran,” pp. 47-48.

  11. USNA, USUN, box 6: Circular: Middle East Sitrep as of June 7. Reports on attacks on U.S. embassies and consulates appear in LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Crisis, box 19: Daily Brief, June 6, 1967; Miscellaneous files, box 16: Oil Exporters Actions During Crisis as of June 23, 1967; Country file, box 104, 107: Middle East Crisis (see reports from Benghazi, Aleppo, Tunis, Algiers, Damascus); The box also contains Nolte’s cable to the State Department. LBJ, National Security file, NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 23: Damascus to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967. PRO, FCO 17/493, Israel-Political Affairs: Damascus to Foreign Office, June 6, 1967. Mahjoub, Democracy on Trial, pp. 118-19. Riad, Mudhakkirat 2, pp. 96 (Nasser quote regarding Jordan and Hussein), 313; Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, pp. 26-27.

  12. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Sequence of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967. El Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p. 397. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 116-17. Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, pp. 215-16, 220-24, 230, 242. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 310. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 366-74. Hussein quote from Hussein, My “War” with Israel, p. 79. Mustafa, Harb Haziran, pp. 99-103. Bar Kokhva quote from Bar Kokhva, Merkavot ha-Plada, pp. 163-64. Shmuel Katz and Aharon Megged, Me-Har Grizim ad Har Hermon: Rishumei Pikud ha-Tzafon be-Milhemet Sheshet ha-Yamim (Tel Aviv: Misrad ha-Bitahon, 1967), pp. 5-56. Interview with ‘Awad Bashir Khalidi, Nov. 17, 1999.

  13. IDF, 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 235-36. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Sequence of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967.

  14. IDF, 901/67/1 Central Command: The Six-Day War, Concluding Report, Part B, Testimony of Gen. Narkiss, p. 76; 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the
Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Sequence of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 163-64.

  15. IDF, 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d; Central Command: The Six Day War, Summary Report, Part B. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 228-59. El Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p. 397. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 116-17. Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, pp. 215-16, 220-24, 242. Gur, Har ha-Bayyit be-Yadeinu! pp. 93-159. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 298-301. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 332-35. Narkiss, Soldier of Jerusalem, p. 208. Mustafa, Harb Haziran, pp. 57-58, 71-74. Oral history interview with ‘Awad Bashir Khalidi, Nov. 17, 1999; with Mahmud Abu Faris, Nov. 17, 1999. Miller quote from Yisrael Harel, Sha‘ar ha-Arayot, p. 101. Kirshan quotes from Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, pp. 154-68.

  16. IDF, 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d; Central Command: The Six Day War, Summary Report, Part B. Gur, Har ha-Bayyit be-Yadeinu!, pp. 161-258; Gur and Narkiss quotes on p. 258. ISA, 7920/1, Levi Eshkol Papers, Diplomatic Telegrams: Herzog to Eban, June 6, 1967. Oral history interview with Mahmud Abu Faris, Nov. 17, 1999; with Ghazi Isma‘il Ruba‘iyya, Nov. 21, 1999; with Shimon Kahaner, Oct. 18, 2000. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 330-31. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 267-91, 298-300. El Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p. 397. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 116-17. Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, pp. 173-75 (Kranshur quote). Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 298-301. Fradkin quote from Harel, Sha‘ar ha-Arayot, p. 214; Eilam quote on pp. 219-20.

  17. IDF, 192/74/1076 The Six Day War, Summary Report, Part B. El Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p. 397. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Sequence of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 316-20, 335-37. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 267-91, 298-300, 335-42. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 116-17, 134. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, p. 299. Yusuf Khawwash, Al-fabha al-Urduniyya, Harb Haziran (Amman: Dar al-Yaqin lil-Tiba’a wal-Nashr, 1980), n.p.

  18. USNA, Middle East Crisis files, 1967, box 1: Chronology of U.S.-Jordanian Consultations on the Middle East, June 6, 1967; box 12: Tel Aviv to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967; (Barbour quote); Amman to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967 (Hussein quote); box 9: Tel Aviv to the Secretary of State, June 7, 1967. PRO, FO 17/490, Israel-Political Affairs: Amman to Foreign Ministry, June 6, 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. 126-29. ISA, 7920/4, Levi Eshkol Papers, Prime Minister’s Speeches, Surveys, and Reports: Bitan to Harman, Evron, Eban: June 6, 1967; 6444/6, Foreign Ministry files, North America Telegrams: Lourie to Foreign Ministry, June 6, 1967. Riyad quote from Hussein, My “War” With Israel, p. 81.

  19. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Crisis, box 21: CIA Intelligence Memorandum, Arab-Israeli Situation Report June 8, 1967. For example of the text of the Hussein-Nasser conversation, see Donovan, Six Days in June, pp. 109-10. See also Hussein, My “War” With Israel, pp. 82-87. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p. 159. Al-Ahram confirmation in Khouri, Al-Watha’iq al-Filastiniyya, pp. 316-17.

  20. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp. 128-29, 138-39, 155. Mustafa, Harb Haziran, pp. 267, 279-80. Al-Shuqayri, Mudhakkirat 5, p. 296. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Jordanian Army Papers: Sequence of Events on the Jordanian Front, June, 1967. Hussein’s cable to Nasser in Hussein, My “War” With Israel, pp. 87-88, and in Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, p. 294. Oral history interview with Munir Zaki Mustafa, July 5, 2001.

  21. IDF, 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d; Central Command: The Six Day War, Summary Report, Part B. Oral history interview with Suliman Marzuq, Nov. 17, 1999. Hammel, Six Days in June, pp. 334-40. Rabinovich, The Battle for Jerusalem, pp. 357-70. El Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p. 397. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p. 134. Kamm, Hussein Poteah be-Milhama, p. 304. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 298-301. Bartov, Dado, p. 97. Hussein and Riad quotes from Hussein, My “War” With Israel, pp. 89-91 and 107, respectively.

  22. IDF, 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d. Gur, Har ha-Bayyit be-Yadeinu!, pp. 387-407. Oral history interview with ‘Ata ‘Ali, Nov. 18, 1999.

  23. ISA, 7920/4, Levi Eshkol Papers, Prime Minister’s Speeches, Surveys, and Reports: Eshkol’s Remarks to the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, June 7, 1967. Bartov, Dado, p. 90. Oral History with Ya’akov Eshkoli, Feb. 7, 2000. Baron, Hotam Ishi, pp. 76, 83. Lior quote from Haber, Ha-Yom Tifrotz Milhama, p. 241. Dayan quotes from YAD, Interviews with Ephraim Reiner, Haim Nadel and Matti Mayzel, June 20, 1996. BGA, Diary, Entry for June 6, 1967.

  24. PRO, FCO 17/493, Israel - Political Affairs: Damascus to Foreign Office, June 6, 1967. Mustafa, Harb Haziran, pp. 188-93 (including al-Assad quote). Aktum quote in Yehezkel Hame’iri, Mi-Shnei Evrei ha-Rama (Tel Aviv: Levin-Epstein, 1970), p. 16. Ha-Merkaz le-Moreshet ha-Modi’in: Report on Syrian artillery barrage, top secret, signed by Col. Muhammad Rafiq Qu’ad. Khouri, Al-Watha’iq al-Filastiniyya, p. 342. Heikal, Al-Infijar, pp. 755-56. YAD, Interview with Haim Nadel, June 20, 1996. Dupuy, Elusive Victory, pp. 317-19. Mayzel, Ha-Ma’arakha al ha-Golan, p. 203. Ezra Sadeh, Amud Ha-Esh: Yoman ha-Milhama shel Yirmi (Tel Aviv: Yosef Shimoni, n.d.), pp. 189-90. Yehuda Harel, El Mul Golan (Givatayim: Masada Press, 1967), pp. 86-98. Meir Hareuveni and Meir Arye, eds., Ha-Hativa Shelanu be-Milhemet Sheshet ha-Yamim (Tel Aviv: Misrad ha-Bitahon, 1968), pp. 56-57. Dayan, Me-Hermon ad Suez, pp. 209-11 (Yossi quote).

  25. Israel Intelligence Library, Internal Syrian Army Papers: The Southwestern Front, June 29, 1967. Khalil, Suqut al-Julan, p. 148. Mayzel, Ha-Ma’arakha al ha-Golan, pp. 140-43. Syrian communiqué in Hame’iri, Mi-Shnei Evrei ha-Rama, pp. 77-78.

  26. Baron, Hotam Ishi, pp. 60-61, 66. Bartov, Dado, p. 99. Mayzel, Ha-Ma’arakha al ha-Golan, pp. 188-91, 204-8. Rabin quote from Memoirs, p. 112.

  27. IDF, 192/74/1076 Round Table Discussion on the Liberation of Jerusalem, n.d LBJ National Security file, box 104, 107. Middle East Crisis: Department of State to Tel Aviv and Amman, June 6, 1967; History of the Middle East Conflict, box 20: United States Policy and Diplomacy in the Middle East Crisis, May 15-June 10, 1967, pp. 126-29. BGA, Diary, Entry for June 6, 1967. Baron, Hotam Ishi, pp. 61-64 (Dayan quotes). Narkiss, Soldier of Jerusalem, p. 209. Benziman, Ir lelo Homa, pp. 19-20. Shragai, Har ha-Meriva, pp. 16-17.

  28. ISA, 7920/4, Levi Eshkol Papers, Prime Minister’s Speeches, Surveys, and Reports: Bitan to Harman, Evron, Eban, Rafael, June 7, 1967; 7920/3, Diplomatic Telegrams, General: Rome to the Foreign Ministry, June 6, 1967. Haber, Ha-Yom Tifrotz Milhama, pp. 231-33. Rabin, Memoirs, p. 107. Begin quote from Ammunition Hill Archive, Begin to Motta Gur, June 15, 1992. BGA, Diary, June 6, 1967. Senior defense official quoted in USNA, Middle East Crisis files, 1967, Miscellaneous Documents, box 14: Houghton to Morehouse, June 6, 1967.

  29. ISA, 4086/4, Foreign Ministry files, Security Council Meetings 2: Eban to Levavi, June 6, 1967; Security Council Meetings: Herzog to Eban, June 6, 1967; 7920/1, Levi Eshkol Papers, Diplomatic Telegrams: Herzog to Eban, June 6, 1967; Tekoah to Rafael, June 6, 1967.

  30. ISA, 7920/1, Levi Eshkol Papers, Diplomatic Telegrams: Rafael to Tekoah, June 5, 1967. Text of Eban speech appears in PRO, FCO 17/492, Israel - Political Affairs: New York to Foreign Ministry, June 6, 1967. Eban, Personal Witness, pp. 413-16. Raviv, Israel at Fifty, pp. 109-10. Rafael, Destination Peace, pp. 158-60 (including Goldberg quote). Donovan, Six Days in June, p. 133.

  31. ISA, 4086/4, Foreign Ministry files, Security Council Meetings 2: Eban to Eshkol, June 6, 1967; 7919/1, Levi Eshkol files, Diplomatic Telegrams: U.S.A.: Bitan to Harman, June 6, 1967; 7920/4, Prime Minister’s Speeches, Surveys, and Reports: Eshkol’s Remarks to the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, June 7, 1967. LBJ National Security files, box 104, 107. Middle East
Crisis: Donnelly to Rusk, Aug. 6, 1967 (analysis of White House mail); History of the Middle East Conflict, box 20: United States Policy and Diplomacy in the Middle East Crisis, May 15-June 10, 1967, p. 129; Country file, box 104, 107: Rostow to the President, June 6, 1967 (Eshkol message); NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 17: The President in the Middle East Crisis, Dec. 19, 1968 (Rusk quote); box 18: Rostow to the President, June 6, 1967. Eban, Personal Witness, pp. 417-18. Johnson, Vantage Point, p. 229. Quandt, Peace Process, p. 522, ft. 20. BGA, Diary, Entry for June 7, 1967.

  32. LBJ, National Security file, History of the Middle East Crisis, box 18: New York to the Department of State, June 6, 1967; Country file, box 104, 107: New York to the Department of State, June 6, 1967; NSC Histories, Middle East Crisis, box 20: The Cease-Fire Negotiations in New York, Nov. 7, 1968; Memorandum of Conversation: The Hotline Exchanges, Nov. 4, 1968; box 23: Kuwait to the Secretary of State, June 6, 1967; Secretary of State to Tel Aviv, June 6, 1967. PRO, FCO 17/492, Israel - Political Affairs: New York to Foreign Office, June 6, 1967; FCO 17/493, Israel - Political Affairs: New York to Foreign Office, June 6, 1967. ISA, 7920/1, Levi Eshkol Papers, Diplomatic Telegrams: Rafael to Levavi, June 6, 1967; 4086/4, Foreign Ministry files, Security Council Meetings 2: Eban to Eshkol, June 6, 1967. Vassiliev, Russian Policy in the Middle East, p. 68. Arthur J. Goldberg Papers, “Behind Goldberg’s UN Victory,” in New York Post, June 7, 1967. Johnson quote in Donovan, Six Days in June, p. 130. Semyonov quote from Shevchenko, Breaking with Moscow, pp. 34-35.