The Secrets of Arab Success

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Here is a brief history. A very generalised history without the details of the wars.

Arab-Israeli Wars

Arab-Israeli Wars, conflicts in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982 between Israel and the Arab states. Tensions between Israel and the Arabs have been complicated and heightened by the political, strategic, and economic interests in the area of the great powers.
Sections in this article:

* Introduction
* The 1948–49 War
* The 1956 War
* The 1967 War (The Six-Day War)
* The 1973–74 War (The Yom Kippur War)


The 1948–49 War

Although Israel's independence on May 14, 1948, triggered the first full-scale war, armed conflicts between Jews and Arabs had been frequent since Great Britain received the League of Nations mandate for Palestine in 1920. From 1945 to 1948 Zionists waged guerrilla war against British troops and against Palestinian Arabs supported by the Arab League, and they had made substantial gains by 1948. The 1948–49 War reflected the opposition of the Arab states to the formation of the Jewish state of Israel in what they considered to be Arab territory.

As independence was declared, Arab forces from Egypt, Syria, Transjordan (later Jordan), Lebanon, and Iraq invaded Israel. The Egyptians gained some territory in the south and the Jordanians took Jerusalem's Old City, but the other Arab forces were soon halted. In June the United Nations succeeded in establishing a four-week truce. This was followed in July by significant Israeli advances before another truce. Fighting erupted again in August and continued sporadically until the end of 1948. An Israeli advance in Jan., 1949, isolated Egyptian forces and led to a cease-fire (Jan. 7, 1949).

Protracted peace talks resulted in armistice agreements between Israel and Egypt, Syria, and Jordan by July, but no formal peace. In addition, about 400,000 Palestinian Arabs had fled from Israel and were settled in refugee camps near Israel's border; their status became a volatile factor in Arab-Israeli relations.

The 1956 War

From 1949 to 1956 the armed truce between Israel and the Arabs, enforced in part by the UN forces, was punctuated by raids and reprisals. Among the world powers, the United States, Great Britain, and France sided with Israel, while the Soviet Union supported Arab demands. Tensions mounted during 1956 as Israel became convinced that the Arabs were preparing for war. The nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt's Gamal Abdal Nasser in July, 1956, resulted in the further alienation of Great Britain and France, which made new agreements with Israel.

On Oct. 29, 1956, Israeli forces, directed by Moshe Dayan, launched a combined air and ground assault into Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Early Israeli successes were reinforced by an Anglo-French invasion along the canal. Although the action against Egypt was severely condemned by the nations of the world, the cease-fire of Nov. 6, which was promoted by the United Nations with U.S. and Soviet support, came only after Israel had captured several key objectives, including the Gaza strip and Sharm el Sheikh, which commanded the approaches to the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel withdrew from these positions in 1957, turning them over to the UN emergency force after access to the Gulf of Aqaba, without which Israel was cut off from the Indian Ocean, had been guaranteed.

The 1967 War (The Six-Day War)

After a period of relative calm, border incidents between Israel and Syria, Egypt, and Jordan increased during the early 1960s, with Palestinian guerrilla groups actively supported by Syria. In May, 1967, President Nasser, his prestige much eroded through his inaction in the face of Israeli raids, requested the withdrawal of UN forces from Egyptian territory, mobilized units in the Sinai, and closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israel. Israel (which had no UN forces stationed on its territory) responded by mobilizing.

The escalation of threats and provocations continued until June 5, 1967, when Israel launched a massive air assault that crippled Arab air capability. With air superiority protecting its ground forces, Israel controlled the Sinai peninsula within three days and then concentrated on the Jordanian frontier, capturing Jerusalem's Old City (subsequently annexed), and on the Syrian border, gaining the strategic Golan Heights. The war, which ended on June 10, is known as the Six-Day War.

The Suez Canal was closed by the war, and Israel declared that it would not give up Jerusalem and that it would hold the other captured territories until significant progress had been made in Arab-Israeli relations. The end of active, conventional fighting was followed by frequent artillery duels along the frontiers and by clashes between Israelis and Palestinian guerrillas.

The 1973–74 War (The Yom Kippur War)

During 1973 the Arab states, believing that their complaints against Israel were going unheeded (despite the mounting use by the Arabs of threats to cut off oil supplies in an attempt to soften the pro-Israel stance of the United States), quietly prepared for war, led by Egypt's President Anwar Sadat. On Oct. 6, 1973, the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, a two-pronged assault on Israel was launched. Egyptian forces struck eastward across the Suez Canal and pushed the Israelis back, while the Syrians advanced from the north. Iraqi forces joined the war and, in addition, Syria received some support from Jordan, Libya, and the smaller Arab states. The attacks caught Israel off guard, and it was several days before the country was fully mobilized; Israel then forced the Syrians and Egyptians back and, in the last hours of the war, established a salient on the west bank of the Suez Canal, but these advances were achieved at a high cost in soldiers and equipment.

Through U.S. and Soviet diplomatic pressures and the efforts of the United Nations, a tenuous cease-fire was implemented by Oct. 25. Israel and Egypt signed a cease-fire agreement in November, but Israeli-Syrian fighting continued until a cease-fire was negotiated in 1974. Largely as a result of the diplomatic efforts of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Israel withdrew back across the Suez Canal and several miles inland from the east bank behind a UN-supervised cease-fire zone. On the Syrian front too, Israeli territorial gains made in the war were given up.

After the war Egyptian and Syrian diplomatic relations with the United States, broken since the 1967 war, were resumed, and clearance of the Suez Canal began. The 1973–74 War brought about a major shift of power in the Middle East and ultimately led to the signing of the Camp David accords.

 

[UnitedPak]

If you have not read military history, then it is too late for me to educate you.

Well, didnt know you were a scholar yourself on this matter.

But you stated:

"Arabs inspite of their overwhelming numbers".

Now if I didnt know any better, I might have thought you implied all Arabs, which means all of North Africa and most of Middle East.
But on second thought, you are clearly incapable of presenting any kinds of historical facts without shoving in amazing amount of bias and general exaggeration to sound more convincing, I really should have known better.

 

[MIG_ACE]

Well, didnt know you were a scholar yourself on this matter.

But you stated:

Now if I didnt know any better, I might have thought you implied all Arabs, which means all of North Africa and most of Middle East.
But on second thought, you are clearly incapable of presenting any kinds of historical facts without shoving in amazing amount of bias and general exaggeration to sound more convincing, I really should have known better.

Did you even read Salim's last post? And where have you presented any historical facts in this thread?

Why are you bringing in North Africa? If Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq(in 1973 war) don't count as "overwhelming numbers" against a small country like Israel I don't know what does!

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Well, didnt know you were a scholar yourself on this matter.

But you stated:

Now if I didnt know any better, I might have thought you implied all Arabs, which means all of North Africa and most of Middle East.
But on second thought, you are clearly incapable of presenting any kinds of historical facts without shoving in amazing amount of bias and general exaggeration to sound more convincing, I really should have known better.

Well, I thought you would have some idea of history and a modicum of interpretative power in the context.

When anyone talks of the Arab Israeli conflict, one does not include Arabs worldwide, since it is expected that people are aware that it is about the Arabs of the Middle East.

It is your defensive mechanism that conjures thought beyond what is known and understood by the informed of the world. Obviously, it is insulting to you as your brothers come out so poorly in war inspite of their brouhaha and hence your ridiculous idea of interpolating the worldwide Arab diaspora. And if that is not so the case and you genuinely thought that I was alluding to the Arab Diaspora, then you should have done your homework before hyperventilating. After all, one should not appear so ignorant in a public forum.

You leave me astounded at your ignorance of facts that are known to even a child, capable of reading the newspaper.

If one states that China has launched an anti Satellite missile that was successful, the educated and the informed is aware that it is by PRC. Those totally ignorant of the world events would conjure an image that it was launched by China, Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Malaysian, Chinese Indians, Chinese Americans and so on. But then, such people, who believe in this weird fashion also exist in the world, I presume.

Amazing ignorance!

 

[indiapakistanfriendship]

What exactly are you trying to say?

Whoosh , I was replying to Dabongs contention that Israel won and Arabs lost due to technology advantage at Israels hand, which is completely BS

 

[UnitedPak]

Well, I thought you would have some idea of history and a modicum of interpretative power in the context.

When anyone talks of the Arab Israeli conflict, one does not include Arabs worldwide, since it is expected that people are aware that it is about the Arabs of the Middle East.

It is your defensive mechanism that conjures thought beyond what is known and understood by the informed of the world. Obviously, it is insulting to you as your brothers come out so poorly in war inspite of their brouhaha and hence your ridiculous idea of interpolating the worldwide Arab diaspora. And if that is not so the case and you genuinely thought that I was alluding to the Arab Diaspora, then you should have done your homework before hyperventilating. After all, one should not appear so ignorant in a public forum.

You leave me astounded at your ignorance of facts that are known to even a child, capable of reading the newspaper.

If one states that China has launched an anti Satellite missile that was successful, the educated and the informed is aware that it is by PRC. Those totally ignorant of the world events would conjure an image that it was launched by China, Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Malaysian, Chinese Indians, Chinese Americans and so on. But then, such people, who believe in this weird fashion also exist in the world, I presume.

Amazing ignorance!

North Africans are considered as Arabs., Maybe you should admit that your attempt to inspire awe by exaggerating Israels might went horribly wrong there. A handful of Arab countries went to war against Israel, I am well aware of that.

Did you even read Salim's last post? And where have you presented any historical facts in this thread?

Why are you bringing in North Africa? If Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq(in 1973 war) don't count as "overwhelming numbers" against a small country like Israel I don't know what does!

I read Salims post (you should try reading mine next time), and he could work for Hollywood as a history narrator. You three obviously consider Israel the best thing since sliced bread, so I will leave this thread as its really starting to give me the creeps.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

North Africans are considered as Arabs., Maybe you should admit that your attempt to inspire awe by exaggerating Israels might went horribly wrong there. A handful of Arab countries went to war against Israel, I am well aware of that.

Look, if indeed you feel that I was implying the Arab Diaspora, I would find it very insulting since you would be bringing me to your level of understanding the world and military history.

Do understand that military history is one of the subjects for our promotion exams.

It is so obvious that you had not the foggiest and it is a pathetic attempt to regain credibility.

If you google "Arab Isreali Wars", even as a novice, you will realise Arab Israeli Wars does not throw up any Wars that equate the Israelis in war with the Arab Diaspora of your imagination. Therefore, either you have a negative intelligence (being polite since it is exasperating exposing the ABCs) or the rest of the world has negative intelligence.

I read Salims post (you should try reading mine next time), and he could work for Hollywood as a history narrator. You three obviously consider Israel the best thing since sliced bread, so I will leave this thread as its really starting to give me the creeps.

Indeed, it would give you the creeps since you wanted to come out all guns blazing without a modicum of knowledge of history and all that spurred you was the Islamic Brotherhood affinity and you were shamed that the Arabs got a drubbing all the time.

Blame the Arabs if they did not come up to your expectations, don't blame me!

 

[Always Neutral]

Why do people find it so hard to accept that Israelis are miles ahead of the Arabs. Just look at the Entebbe operation and it will give you a good insight into their minds.

Regards

 

[UnitedPak]

Why do people find it so hard to accept that Israelis are miles ahead of the Arabs. Just look at the Entebbe operation and it will give you a good insight into their minds.

Regards

What? A hostage rescue mission gives us an insight into Israeli minds while showing Arab countries are the exact opposite?

 

[Always Neutral]

What? A hostage rescue mission gives us an insight into Israeli minds while showing Arab countries are the exact opposite?

My friend they flew over miles hostile territory to free their citizens. That gives you an insight into their courage, planning and tactical expertise.

Regards

 

[dabong1]

Whoosh , I was replying to Dabongs contention that Israel won and Arabs lost due to technology advantage at Israels hand, which is completely BS

My "contention" is that your history is wrong and totally pro jewish.....
Lets start with common held notion that jews where outnumbered in 1948 and that a small number of brave jews fought the hordes off arabs of and won the war......
The israeli military/militia in 1948 numbered 29,677 initially rising to 115,000 by March 1949.
The arab armies combined where about 60/70'000 by the end of the war.....so in simple terms there where nearly outnumbered nearly 2-1.
Plus the jews had been gearing for the war well before the arabs realized the british had gone back on there word.

The one line i hear a lot is that the arabs want to wipe israel off the map....the only country to get wiped off the map is palestine.

 

[indiapakistanfriendship]

My "contention" is that your history is wrong and totally pro jewish.....
Lets start with common held notion that jews where outnumbered in 1948 and that a small number of brave jews fought the hordes off arabs of and won the war......
The israeli military/militia in 1948 numbered 29,677 initially rising to 115,000 by March 1949.
The arab armies combined where about 60/70'000 by the end of the war.....so in simple terms there where nearly outnumbered nearly 2-1.
Plus the jews had been gearing for the war well before the arabs realized the british had gone back on there word.

The one line i hear a lot is that the arabs want to wipe israel off the map....the only country to get wiped off the map is palestine.

And what about the strength of Arabs in the successive war.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

What? A hostage rescue mission gives us an insight into Israeli minds while showing Arab countries are the exact opposite?

Maybe this will help to realise that it was no easy task

Hijack

On June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139, an Airbus A300 (Airbus A300B4-203), registration F-BVGG (cn 019), originating from Lod, Israel, carrying 248 passengers and a crew of 12, took off from Athens, heading for Paris. Soon after the 12:30 p.m. takeoff, the flight was hijacked by two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations (PFLP-EO) and two Germans from the German "Revolutionary Cells (RZ)" (Wilfried Böse and Brigitte Kuhlmann), who commandeered the flight, diverting it to Benghazi, Libya. There it was held on the ground for seven hours for refueling, during which time a female British hostage who pretended she was pregnant and having a miscarriage was released.[2] The plane left Benghazi, and at 3:15 it arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

At Entebbe, the four hijackers were joined by three additional terrorists, supported by the pro-Palestinian forces of Uganda's President, Idi Amin. The hijackers were led by Böse (and not, as occasionally reported, by Carlos the Jackal).[citation needed] They demanded the release of 40 Palestinians held in Israel and 13 other detainees imprisoned in Kenya, France, Switzerland, and West Germany; if these demands were not met, they threatened to begin killing hostages on July 1, 1976.

The hijackers deliberately sorted the hostages into Jew and Gentiles.[3] As they did so a Holocaust survivor showed Böse a camp registration number tattooed on his arm, Böse protested "I'm no Nazi! ... I am an idealist."[3] The hijackers held the passengers hostage for a week in the transit hall of Entebbe Airport (now the old terminal). Some hostages were released, but 105 Israelis and French Jews remained captive.[4] The hijackers threatened to kill them if Israel did not comply with their demands.

Upon the announcement by the hijackers that the airline crew and non-Jewish passengers would be released and put on another Air France plane that had been brought to Entebbe for that purpose, the flight captain Michel Bacos told the hijackers that all passengers, including the remaining ones, were his responsibility, and that he would not leave them behind. Bacos' entire crew followed suit. A French nun also refused to leave, insisting that one of the remaining hostages take her place, but she was forced into the awaiting Air France plane by Ugandan soldiers.[5] A total of 83 Israeli and/or Jewish hostages remained, as well as 20 others, most of whom included the crew of the Air France plane.

The raid

On the July 1 deadline,[6] the Israeli government offered to negotiate with the hijackers in order to extend the deadline to July 4. On July 3, the Israeli cabinet approved a rescue mission,[7] Operation Entebbe, under the command of Major General Yekutiel "Kuti" Adam, Deputy Commander was Matan Vilnai.[8] Brigadier General Dan Shomron was appointed to command the operation on the ground.[9] After days of collecting intelligence and planning by Netanyahu's deputy Moshe "Muki" Betser, four Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew secretly to Entebbe Airport, by cover of night, without aid of ground control.

Their route was over Sharm al-Sheikh, and down the international flight path over the Red Sea. Near the south outlet of the Red Sea the C-130s turned right and passed south of Djibouti. From there they went to a point northeast of Nairobi, Kenya (likely across Somalia and the Ogaden area of Ethiopia), then turned west passing through the African Rift Valley and over Lake Victoria [10]. They were followed by two Boeing 707 jets. The first Boeing contained medical facilities and landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The commander of the operation, General Yekutiel Adam, was on board the second Boeing that circled over Entebbe Airport during the raid.[9]

The Israeli ground task force numbered approximately 100 personnel and comprised the following:

* The Ground Command & Control Element

This small group comprised the overall ground commander, Brig. Gen. Shomron, and the communications and support personnel.

* The Assault or "Takeover" Element

Led by Lt. Col. Netanyahu, this force was composed entirely of commandos from Sayeret Matkal, and were given the primary task of assaulting the old terminal and rescuing the hostages. Major Betser personally led one of the element's assault teams, Matan Vilnai led another.

* The Blocking / Reinforcement or "Engagement" Element

Shaul Mofaz, a future IDF Chief of Staff, was a participant in this force, which was comprised mostly of commandos from Sayeret Tzanchanim and Sayeret Golani. This element was also equiped with light armoured vehicles such as the M-113 and BTR-type armoured personnel carriers and were responsible for:

1. Securing the area, and preventing any hostile ground force from interfering with the C-130 Hercules aircraft and the actual rescue.
2. Destroying the squadron of MiG fighter jets on the ground to prevent any possible interceptions by the Ugandan Air Force.
3. Assisting in the ground refuelling of the air transports.
4. Providing protection for and assisting in the loading of the hostages aboard the transports.

The Israeli forces landed at Entebbe an hour before midnight, with their cargo bay doors already open. A black Mercedes with accompanying Land Rovers was taken along to give the impression that the Israeli troops driving from the landed aircraft to the terminal building were an escort for Idi Amin or another high-ranking official. The Mercedes car was borrowed from an Israeli civilian and apparently spray-painted black for the raid, on the understanding that it would be returned to the owner in its original colour.[citation needed]

The Mercedes and its escort vehicles were quickly driven by the Israeli assault team members to the airport terminal in the same fashion as Amin. However, along the way, two Ugandan sentries, who were aware that Idi Amin had recently purchased a white Mercedes to replace his black one, ordered this procession of vehicles to stop. Both of these sentries were immediately shot dead by the Israeli commandos. Fearing premature alerting of associates to the hijackers, the Israeli assault team was quickly sent into action.

The hostages were in the main hall of the airport building, directly adjacent to the runway. The Israelis sprang from their vehicles and burst into the terminal yelling, "Get down! Get down!"[11] in both Hebrew and English. A 19-year-old French Jew named Jean-Jacques Maimoni (who chose to identify himself as an Israeli Jew to the hijackers even though he had a French passport), stood up, however.[12] He was killed by the Israeli commandos, who mistook him for a hijacker. Another hostage, Pasco Cohen, 52, manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, was also fatally wounded by gunfire, either from the hijackers or accidentally by the Israeli commandos.[13] A third hostage, 56-year-old Ida Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had immigrated to Israel, was also killed in the crossfire.[14] At one point, an Israeli commando called out in Hebrew, "Where are the rest of them?", apparently referring to the hijackers.[15] The hostages pointed to a connecting door of the airport's main hall, into which the Israeli commandos threw several hand grenades. They then entered the room and shot dead the three remaining hijackers, thus completing their assault.

Meanwhile, the other three C-130 Hercules had landed and unloaded armored personnel carriers, which were to be used for defense during the anticipated hour of refueling, for the destruction of grounded Ugandan jet fighters so as to prevent them from pursuing the Israelis after their departure from Entebbe Airport, and for intelligence-gathering.

After the raid, the Israeli assault team returned to their aircraft and began loading the hostages on board. Ugandan soldiers shot at them in the process. Without suffering any fatalities of their own, the Israeli commandos returned fire, finished the loading, and then left Entebbe Airport.

The entire assault lasted less than 30 minutes and all seven hijackers were killed. Yonatan Netanyahu was the only Israeli commando who died during the operation. He was killed near the airport entrance, apparently by a Ugandan sniper who fired at the Israeli commandos from the nearby airport control tower. At least five other Israeli commandos were wounded. Out of the 105 hostages, three were killed and approximately 10 were wounded. A total of 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed during the raid, and about 11 Ugandan Army Air Force MiG-17 fighter planes were destroyed on the ground at Entebbe Airport. The rescued hostages were flown to Israel via Nairobi, Kenya shortly after the fighting.

Dora Bloch, a 75-year-old hostage taken to Mulago Hospital in Kampala, was killed by the Ugandan government, as were some of her doctors and nurses for apparently trying to intervene.[14] In April 1987, Henry Kyemba, Uganda's Attorney General and Minister of Justice at the time, told the Uganda Human Rights Commission that Dora Bloch had been dragged from her hospital bed and murdered by two army officers on Idi Amin's orders. Bloch's remains were recovered near a sugar plantation 20 miles (32 km) east of Kampala in 1979,[16] after the Uganda-Tanzania War led to the end of Amin's rule.

Operation Entebbe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Any other such operations you could tell us where this type of an operation is as easy as pinching a baby's bottom (English phrase).

 

[dabong1]

And what about the strength of Arabs in the successive war.

Okay.....The next war after 1948 was when britian,france and israel attacked egypt in 1956 Suez/Sinai War or another arab israeli war.
The "arabs" totalled 70,000 against 175,000 Israelis,45,000 British and 34,000 French.

 

[never]

what rubbish. the article was rub bish and ofcourse the new honorer whiotes, indians jump at it.
if you read the history of the arabs you would know they ruled the whole of spain and portugal for hundreds and hundreds of years, half of france for tens of decades, scicily and southern italy etc etc. over these hundreds of years most of the jewish nation lived under their wing and if Islam had instructed their destruction then there would be no israel today. if the mo.slims as salim the liar says wanted to wipe out christians from where they ruled than spain, portugal scicily would be muslim today, as muslims cannot do that, we witness today. the same can be said about hindoostan.