Question:
Does this quote sum up the reality of the Six Day War?
?
2010-08-15 23:17:11 UTC
"The thesis that the danger of genocide was hanging over us in June 1967 and that Israel was fighting for its physical existence is only bluff, which was born and developed after the war." Israeli General Matityahu Peled, Ha'aretz, 19 March 1972.
Thirteen answers:
Michael Angelo
2010-08-16 10:01:08 UTC
General Matityahu Peled, one of the architects of the Israeli victory, committed what the Israeli public considered blasphemy when he admitted the true thinking of the Israeli leadership



Israeli Air Force General Ezer Weizmann declared bluntly that "there was never any danger of extermination" Maariv 19 April 1972



Mordechai Bentov, a former Israeli cabinet minister, dismissed the myth of annihilation: All this story about the danger of extermination has been a complete invention and has been blown up a posteriori to justify the annexation of new Arab territories."

Alhamishmar 14 April 1972



One third of Egypt's army was in Yemen and therefore quite unlikely to attack Israel, let alone start a war of annihilation.



The closure of the Straits was a gesture of solidarity with Syria (Israel attempt to evict the Arabs and annex the Syrian-Israeli demilitarized zone) and did not pose any threat on Israeli economy or security so it was not the reason that "forced" Israel into war with Egypt. Only 5% of Israel's trade went through the Straist of Tiran. No Israeli merchant vessel had passed through the Straits during the previous 2 years. (Michael Howard and Robert Hunter, Israel and the Arab World: the Crises of 1967, Adelphi Papers 41, Institute for Strategic Studies, 1967, p 24.) The threat to Israeli security was non-existent. According to the British newspaper "the Observer, Nasser's purpose was clearly to deter Israel rather than provoke it to a fight" New York Times columnist James Reston reported that "Egypt does not want war...certainly is not ready for war"



The Israelis themselves were perfectly aware of this as a result of their sophisticated military intelligence. Later, in the first days of the war, they were so concerned that their plans for attacking Syria would be discovered that they deliberately attacked the USS Liberty, killing 33 American soldiers, in an attempt to prevent it from monitoring war preparations.



A few months after the war Yitzhak Rabin remarked " i do not think Nasser wanted war. The two divisions he sent to the Sinai on May 14 would not have been sufficient to launch an offensive against Israel. he knew it and we knew it." (Le Monde, 29 Feb 1968)



"To pretend that the Egyptian forces massed on our frontiers were in a position to threaten the existence of Israel constitutes and insult not only to the intelligence of anyone capable of analyzing this sort of situation, but above all an insult to the Zahal (Israeli army)"

(Haaretz, 19 Mart 1972)
criaker
2010-08-16 16:17:30 UTC
The exchange of quotes does not change the facts, which are the following.

1. Egypt, Syria concentrated on the borders with Israel approximately 250,000 troops (nearly half in Sinai), more than 2,000 tanks and 700 aircraft. What were they doing there? Or they arrived to greet Israeli soldiers?

2. Egypt closed the Straights of Tyran. By the International Law, this was the declaration of war and after this, Egypt had to expect the strike from Israel at any moment. Egypt miscalcualted the time? It´s Egypt´s problem. You can tell us stories here as much as you wish, but the goal of this act was clear: to strange Israel economically and then end with it with a military strike.

3. Muchardav, please, never talk about wars any more, it´s not your theme and you are saying stupidities that only a blind would not see. Example: you say "Egypt didn't ask the Peacekeepers (many Canadians) because Egypt was going to attack Israel, it was because the anticipated an Israeli invasion". Explain, how did it happen that Egypt "anticipated the israeli invasion"- but this invasion was a total surprise for Egypt?



Israel did the only thing it could do. The cleverness of this decision was prooved later, in 1973, when Israel DID NOT act as it did in 1967 - and got in a very difficult situation.
BMCR
2010-08-16 10:20:30 UTC
I recently finished reading through Six Days of War by Michael Oren.



The book gives far more details than your attempt to "sum it up" by a single quote.



Here is what actually happened.



Israel did not just decide to do a pre-emptive strike just like that.

They debated it for weeks before the war.

They considered ALL options, among them, allowing Egypt to strike first, allowing for a diplomatic solution, allowing for a plan to break through Egypt's embargo of the Suez canal (a plan advocated by the USA but the plan fell through). The Israeli cabinet had numerous meetings debating these issues, some advocating first strike (Menachem Begin amongst them), some advocating a more dovish position, and some advocating a middle ground. In the end, we know what was decided.

Also, about a week or so before the war, Egypt was very close (by a matter of hours) to doing a first strike against Israel. Nasser called it off at the last minute due to a worry about an intelligence leak.
2010-08-17 12:11:20 UTC
THE ZIONIST WAR OF AGGRESSION IN 1967, Admissions by Israeli leaders that 1967 War was War of Aggression by Israel / Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem



In the early hours of June 5, 1967, Israel launched a war of aggression against Egypt, Jordan and Syria and occupied the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. On the admission of many Israeli leaders, this war was the result of a long-planned, calculated aggression. It was undertaken in order to expand Israel's occupation of Arab territories and not (as falsely claimed by Israeli apologists) as a pre-emptive strike to avoid annihilation. The following admissions from Israeli leaders prove their conspiracy and their crime against peace:



1. Menahem Begin, Minister without Portfolio: "In June 1967, we again had a choice. The Egyptian Army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him."(26)



2. General Yitshak Rabin, Chief of Staff, Israeli Defence Forces: "I do not believe that Nasser wanted war. The two divisions which he sent into Sinai on May 14 would not have been enough to unleash an offensive against Israel. He knew it, and we knew it."(27)



3. General Mattitiahu Peled, Chief, Quartermaster- General's Branch, Israeli Defence Forces, General Staff: "All those stories about the huge danger we were facing because of our small territorial size, an argument expounded once the war was over, had never been considered in our calculations prior to the unleashing of hostilities. While we proceeded towards the full mobilization of our forces, no person in his right mind could believe that all this force was necessary to our 'defencey against the Egyptian threat. To pretend that the Egyptian forces concentrated on our borders were capable of threatening Israel's existence does not only insult the intelligence of any person capable of analyzing this kind of situation, but is primarily an insult to the Israeli army."(28)



4. General Ezer Weizman, Chief of Operations, Israeli Defence Forces, General Staff: "There was never a danger of extermination. This hypothesis had never been considered in any serious meeting."(29)



5. General Yeshayahu Gavish, Commanding General, Southern Command: "The danger of Israel's extermination was hardly present before the Six-day war."(30)



6. General Mordechai Hod, Commanding General, Israeli Air Force: "Sixteen years' planning hadgone into those initial eighty minutes. We lived with the plan, we slept on the plan, we ate the plan. Constantly we perfected it."(31)



7. General Haim Barlev, Chief of General Staff Branch, Israeli Defence Forces: "We were not threatened with genocide on the eve of the six-day war, and we had never thought of such a p0ssibility."(32)



8. General Chaim Herzog, Commanding General and first Military Governor, Israeli Occupied West Bank: "There was no danger of annihilation. Israeli headquarters never believed in this danger."(33)



9. Mordechai Bentov, Minister of Housing: "The entire story of the danger of extermination was invented in every detail, and exaggerated aposteriori to justify the annexation of new Arab territory."(34)



10. Yigal Allon, Minister of Labor and Member of Prime Minister Eshkol's Military Advisory Committee: "Begin and I want Jerusalem."(35)



11. General Meir Amit, the former head of Military Intelligence who was head of Mossad in 1967: "There is going to be a war. Our army is now fully mobilized. But we cannot remain in that condition for long. Because we have a civilian army our economy is shuddering to a stop. We don't have the manpower right now even to bring in the crops. Sugar beets are rotting in the earth. We have to make quick decisions ... If we can get the first blow in our casualties will be comparatively light...."(36)



See more:

http://www.palestine-encyclopedia.com/EPP/Introduction1o2.htm#7_cap
?
2016-12-08 22:04:50 UTC
Mordechai Hod
Cher and Cher alike
2010-08-15 23:38:07 UTC
False made-up quote. 5 Armies coming at tiny Israel, & anyone questioning fear of genocide has lost it.



I personally know someone who commanded 10 men -- and lost all of them.



========================

The entire world listened to Nasser threaten to attack publically on TV internationally while Syria lined up at the border. There was never a doubt & the only question was timing -- which is what your quotes are referrring to when taken IN context.
?
2010-08-15 23:33:19 UTC
the real thesis of the 6 day war was that the barbarian hordes surrounding israel attacked but were destroyed by the israeli forces ,even though israel was vastly outnumbered ,the hordes ran for their lives like the cowards they are,there was no bluff there was simply heroic action s by israel,and the rest of the story is history,
Eddi
2010-08-16 00:12:26 UTC
No it does not. These quotes summed up the reality for Israel.



March 8th 1965

"We shall not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand, we shall enter it with its soil saturated in blood" - President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser



May 17th 1967

“All Egypt is now prepared to plunge into total war which will put an end to Israel” - Cairo Radio



May 22nd 1967

"We want a full scale, popular war of liberation… to destroy the Zionist enemy" - Syrian president Dr. Nureddin al-Attasi speech to troops



May 26th 1967

"Taking over Sharm el Sheikh meant confrontation with Israel (and) also meant that we were ready to enter a general war with Israel. The battle will be a general one and our basic objective will be to destroy Israel” - Gamal Abdel Nasser speech to the General Council of the International Confederation of Arab Trade Union



May 28th 1967

“We will not accept any…coexistence with Israel.…Today the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel….The war with Israel is in effect since 1948”. - Gamel Abdel Nasser press conference



May 31st 1967

“The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified. This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear - to wipe Israel off the map” - President Aref of Iraq



May 31st 1967.

"Our goal is clear - to wipe Israel off the map"

President Aref of Iraq,



June 1st 1967

“Brethren and sons, this is the day of the battle to avenge our martyred brethren who fell in 1948. It is the day to wash away the stigma. We shall, God willing, meet in Tel Aviv and Haifa” - Radio broadcast by Iraqi President Abdel Rahman Aref

- 11.00 GMT June 1st 1967, Baghdad Domestic Service in Arabic , Foreign Broadcast Information Service



June 1st 1967

“Those who survive will remain in Palestine. I estimate that none of them will survive.” - Ahmed Shukairy, chairman of PLO in Jordanian Jerusalem, asked in news interview what will happen to the Israelis if there is a war
Shay p
2010-08-16 00:33:26 UTC
And I think this one does



"What those now denouncing the 40th anniversary of the 'occupation' do not understand is that the Six- Day War was the most justified war Israel ever fought - because it knocked out of the Arabs' heads the idea that Israel could be destroyed by force.

Yoel Marcus, Ha'aretz, 08.06.07



Must I remind you of these.



EVENTS LEADING TO SIX-DAY WAR



1955

278 Israelis killed in Palestinian fedayeen attacks.



July 26, 1956



Egyptian President Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal.



Jan 14-17 1964



Arab leaders unite to plan destruction of Israel.



November 1964



Syria begins Arab plan to divert the Jordan River headwaters.



Jan 1965 - June 1967



Nasser, upstaged by Syrian-sponsored anti-Israel terror, ramps up threats to Israel.



Feb. 23, 1966



New Syrian Baathist regime sets destruction of Israel as primary goal.



July 7, 1966



Syria shells Israel. Israel Air Force downs Syrian MiG-21.



Nov 4, 1966



Egypt and Syria sign mutual defense pact.



Nov 4-10, 1966



Attacks against Israel increase sharply.



Jan-April 1967



63 Arab attacks (Syrian tank fire, mines, more than 200 mortar shells, Palestinian terror attacks) heighten anxiety in Israel.



April 7, 1967



Israel responds to intensive Syrian shelling into Israeli DMZ.



May 13, 1967



After fourteen attacks, Israeli PM Eshkol warns Syria of retaliation.



May 14, 1967



Egypt mobilizes thousands of its troops in and around the Suez Canal. Nasser finds no Israeli buildup, but continues massing troops.



May 16, 1967



Egypt moves into Sinai, demands U.N. peacekeepers withdraw.



May 17, 1967



Two Egyptian MiG-21 jets fly over Dimona; Israelis agonize over course of action.



May 18, 1967



U.N. Secretary General U Thant agrees to Egyptian demand to remove UNEF.



May 19, 1967



Tens of thousands of Egyptian troops mass in the Sinai.



May 22, 1967



Act of War; Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.



May 23, 1967



President Johnson calls blockade illegal and disastrous for peace.



May 24 - June 4, 1967



Six Arab countries deploy more than 230,000 troops close to Israel's boundary lines.



May 30, 1967



Jordan and Egypt sign mutual defense pact.



May 31 - June 4, 1967



"Our goal is clear - to wipe Israel off the map!"







THE WAR

DAY 1, JUNE 5, 1967



First day of fighting. Israel destroys most of Egyptian air force. Jordan, Syria and Iraq attack Israel.



DAY TWO, JUNE 6, 1967



Second day of fighting. Fighting continues on all fronts.



DAY 3, JUNE 7, 1967



Third day of fighting. Jerusalem taken. Blockade of Straits of Tiran broken.



DAY FOUR, JUNE 8, 1967



Fourth day of fighting. Israel consolidates hold on West Bank.



DAY FIVE, JUNE 9, 1967



Fifth day of fighting. Israel and Syria in heavy fighting on the Golan.



DAY SIX, JUNE 10, 1967



Sixth day of fighting. Israel gains control of the Golan Heights.



AFTER THE WAR



September 1, 1967



Arab leaders at Khartoum Conference say no to peace.



November 22, 1967



U.N. Resolution 242 creates land for peace paradigm.
Steel Rain
2010-08-16 04:09:45 UTC
The reality is Israel kicked those that wished them harm butts.
2014-11-30 03:45:46 UTC
Oh yes !!
dandyl
2010-08-15 23:34:16 UTC
To answer you, the reality of the 6 day war ,that the Arabs say the Israelis grabbed this real estate in a war of aggression in 1967. In fact, Israel did not start that war. Israel did not want that war. Israel merely defended itself – very, very effectively – from coordinated attacks by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Arafat's terrorists.

Infact,this is not opinion. This is fact. Here is what newspapers were reporting about the crisis before June 5, 1967 – before there was any alleged "Israeli occupation." Here' is the month-long timeline leading up to the Six-Day War:

On May 7, the New York Times reported Syria had shelled the Israeli village of Ein Gev.



On May 17, the New York Times reported that the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Arafat, pledged to "keep sending commandos" into Israel.



On May 19, the Los Angeles Times reported Egypt stood accused of using poison gas in Yemen.



On May 19, the New York Times reported Egypt had deployed its forces along the Israeli border.



On May 20, the New York Times reported Egypt forced U.N. peacekeeping troops to leave the Sinai Desert in anticipation of its attack on Israel.



On May 21, the New York Times reported Egyptian soldiers were massing in the Sinai.



On May 22, the New York Times reported that the PLO would be stepping up its attacks in Israel, that Cairo was calling up 10,000 reserves and that Iraq would be sending aid to battle Israel.



On May 23, every newspaper in the world reported that Egypt took the provocative action of closing the Gulf of Aqaba to Israel.



On May 24, every newspaper in the world reported that the U.S. declared Egypt's military blockade of the gulf "illegal."



On May 25, the New York Times reported that Jordan would admit Saudi and Iraqi forces into its country to do battle with Israel.



On May 27, every newspaper in the world reported Egypt's fiery threats to destroy Israel.



On May 29, the New York Times reported the Egyptian buildup of military forces in the Sinai was continuing.



On May 29, the Washington Post reported that despite all of this provocation, Israel was still reluctant to have a showdown with its enemies.



On May 29, the New York Times reported new Syrian attacks on Israel.



On June 3, the New York Times reported that Britain declared the Egyptian blockade could lead to war. It also reported that four Syrian commandos were intercepted in Israel.



On June 5, 1967, the Six-Day War began. Israel rolled up all of its enemies faster than anyone would have believed. It took control of East Jerusalem from Jordan. It took control of Judea and Samaria on the west bank of the Jordan River from Jordan. It took control of the Golan Heights from Syria. And it took control of the Gaza Strip and Sinai Desert from Egypt.

You can read these news reports for yourself thanks to the work of Sol Jacobs.



Clearly, the so-called "occupation" of these territories came about as a result of Arab war-making on Israel. Israel merely defended itself well. Israel also proved it was willing to give these territories back to neighbors who would live in peace with the Jewish state, as demonstrated with the return of the Sinai to Egypt.



All of this raises a few questions: If Israel is occupying those territories today, who was occupying them until 1967? If the West Bank and Gaza belong to "Palestinians," why were they under the control of Jordan and Egypt until June 5, 1967? If Arab "Palestinians" just want their own state, why didn't they ask for it before 1967?
?
2010-08-15 23:19:21 UTC
I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. During that same conflict, Israel was supposedly involved in a back-door deal with the US to sink an American warship, the USS Liberty, and blame the event on Egypt. This would have provided a pretext for armed American intervention.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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