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Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN — Part 1 of 6

ZIONIST TERRORISM, WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN PALESTINE AND NEIGHBORING ARAB COUNTRIES 1967-1988

Having waged a war of aggression against Jordan, Syria and Egypt in 1967, and having been able to occupy the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the Sinai, Israeli leaders became intoxicated with the arrogance of power. They followed a policy of aggression, destruction, terrorism and crimes against the Palestinians, Jordanians, Syrians, Lebanese and Egyptians, with the object of conducting psychological warfare against the Arabs to prevent them from attempting to liberate the occupied Arab territories.

The Israeli leaders even conspired to control the Arab world by breaking down each Arab country into small units in order to exercise military and political control over them. This plan was published in 1982 in the Hebrew language magazine Kivunim (Directions), an official organ of the World Zionist Organization, in an article entitled "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties."

The Israeli air force has continuously committed war crimes by indiscriminately and wantonly bombing towns, villages and Palestinian refugee centers in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, killing thousands of men, women and children and destroying houses, crops and livestock by napalm, fragmentation and phosphorous bombs. The paratroops and armored units of the Israeli army carried out raids against the neighboring Arab countries and committed massacres, destroying homes, schools, churches, mosques and factories. The senior officers of the Israeli army took part in these acts of terrorism and crimes. Almost without exception, every political and military Israeli leader from 1967 until today is implicated in these crimes.

This chapter contains accounts of the most horrendous acts of terrorism and crimes which could only have been carried out by a gang of war criminals. The Israeli leaders can be said without exaggeration to have become the successors of the Nazi leaders in committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The crimes in this chapter were taken from the records of the Security Council of the United Nations. The following gives a summary of the types of acts of terrorism and crimes, but the details are recorded by date and reference thereafter.

1. Destroyed 135 houses and two mosques in Jemsalem, expelled all the owners and inhabitants of the houses and subsequently expropriated 838 acres in the area adjacent to the Old City.

2. Armed attacks on United Nations Forces, killing and wounding UN soldiers.

3. Expelling Palestinian from towns and villages.

4. Demolishing Palestinian houses with dynamite and bulldozers.

5. Destroying, uprooting or burning olive trees, orange groves and other crops belonging to Palestinian farmers.

6. Destroying Palestinians' furniture and belongings.

7. Indiscriminate shelling of Egypt, killing civilians.

8. Expelling prominent citizens of Jemsalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

9. Beating up Palestinian villagers and confiscating their possessions.

10. Forcing Palestinians to swim across the Jordan River and shooting them in cold blood.

11. Torturing Palestinian prisoners.

12. Sinking Greek and Indian ships and blocking the Suez Canal.

13. Destroying Syrian villages with bulldozers.

14. Demolishing mosques.

15. Expelling Arab Bedouins.

16. Attacking Jordanian villages with mortar and machine gun fire, killing and wounding civilians.

17. Firing on Palestinian refugee camps and Jordanian villages by tanks and artillery, killing and wounding civilians.

18. Destruction of automobiles and their passengers by Israeli-planted anti-vehicle mines.

19. The use of phosphorous shells to burn crops in Jordan.

20, The shelling of a densely populated district of the Egyptian city of Suez, killing 46 and wounding 67, including women and children, and destroying 42 houses, one church, two mosques and one child welfare center and damaging a hospital and the railway station as well as 25 houses.

21. Herding Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip like cattle into buses and dumping them in Jordan.

22. Israeli soldiers committed premeditated murder of Judge Shawqi A. El Farra, who was unarmed, in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.

23. Mortar shelling of Lebanon, killing civilians and livestock and destroying houses.

24. Bombing civilian centers in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

25. Strafing and napalm bombing of villages and fields of crops.

26. Attacking the Beirut airport and destroying 14 passenger aircraft on the field.

27. Helicopter assaults on villages and Palestinian refugee camps.

28. Arson by setting fire to the Syrian village of Khisfine.

29. Combined air and ground assaults on Arab villages.

30. Sniper fire directed at Jordanian farmers in their fields.

31. Helicopter assaults on Bedouin camps.

32. Expulsion of Lebanese villagers from their homes and destruction of their houses.

33. Shooting unarmed Egyptian prisoners of war.

34. Bombing attacks on civilian centers in Lebanon aimed at disrupting telephone, electricity and water systems.

35. Combined sea and helicopter attacks on Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

36. Shooting down an unarmed Libyan civilian passenger plane, killing all 106 people on board.

37. Intercepting boats and civilian aircraft and forcing them to go to Israeli occupied territory.

38. Rounding up and transferring civilians to concentration camps, and seizing their personal belongings, identification papers, land property leases and agricultural contracts.

39. Using Syrian prisoners of war to walk ahead of Israeli forces through mine fields.

40. Arson and damage to Islamic mosques and Waqf property.

41. Kidnapping Arab civilians in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

42. Use of fragmentation bombs on civilian population centers, killing and severely injuring men, women and children.

43. Shooting into unarmed crowds of peaceful demonstrators.

44. Prevention of Muslims from attending prayers at their mosques.

45. Planting time bombs in the cars of Palestinian mayors, killing or maiming them.

46. Arson against Christian holy places.

47. Tear gas bombs shot through the windows of a synagogue used by anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews.

48. Assault by armed Jews on Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

49. Use of heavy air-to-surface rockets to destroy civilian buildings in Lebanon.

50. Wholesale massacre at Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut under aegis of Israeli forces.

51. Imposition of collective punishment on Palestinian cities, towns and villages.

52. Random hand grenade attacks on Arab civilians by Jewish settlers.

53. Rocket launcher attack on bus carrying Palestinian workers and shoppers.

54. Mass arrests of Palestinian villagers.

55. Sealing off of refugee camps and cutting off their electricity and water supply.

56. Bombed and destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Bagdad.

57. Closing of Palestinian universities and schools.

58. Bombed the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization and other buildings in Tunisia, killing many Palestinian and Tunisian men, women and children during the attack, and killing hundreds of civilians with delayed-action 1,000 pound bombs.

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RECORDS

12 APRIL 1967
1. During the morning hours of 16 March 1967, 1srael forces crossed the armistice demarcation line into Jordan, south of Hebron.

2. An Israel helicopter crossed the line and landed in Jordan.

3. An Israel helicopter was transporting Israel forces from Israel across the line into Jordan, the general area of Kh. Tabban, south of Jordan.

4. The Israel forces while being in Jordan were engaged in a serious clash with armed Jordanian civilians who were in Jordan.

5. As a result of this engagement, one armed Jordanian civilian named Ahmed Diab Abu Ali was killed east of Kh. Tabban in Jordan.

6. Another armed Jordanian named Ali Mahmoud Shawahin was wounded and taken prisoner by the Israel force in Israel.

7. Ali Mahmoud Shawahin died later in unknown circumstances.

5 JUNE 1967
In a strafing attack by Israel aircraft on a convoy of the Force immediately south of Khan Yunis on the road between Gaza and Rafah three Indian soldiers were killed and an unknown number were wounded. All vehicles in the convoy were painted white, as are all vehicles of the Force. Prior to this incident the Commander of the Force, as a result of Israel artillery fire on two camps occupied by the Indian Contingent of the Force, had, through the Chief of Staff UNTSO, requested the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces to give instructions that a strict cease-fire would be observed in the vicinity of the installations and camps of the Force.

5 JUNE 1967
At 12:30 hours GMT on 5 June, the main camp of the Indian Battalion of the Force came under Israel artillery fire which killed one officer and one soldier and wounded one officer and nine soldiers.

6 JUNE 1967
According to accounts from displaced persons, the Israel forces entered the three villages of Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba at 4:30 am on 6 June and called the inhabitants to assemble, after which they were ordered under threat to leave in the direction of Ramallah. They were joined on the road by people from the "second line" villages of Beit Liqya, Beit Sira and Beni Hareth. After three days they were told that they could go back but they were allowed to reach the "second line" villages only. Those who wanted to go on to Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba were turned back. They then returned to Ramallah and some of them went to the east bank.

11 JUNE 1967
The UN Special Representative visited Beit 'Awwa on 11 August. The Arab mukhtar stated that Israel troops entered the village on 11 June at 5:30 am. The inhabitants were then asked to take two loaves of bread each and to go to the hills surrounding the village. At 7:30 am the Israel troops started to demolish the houses with dynamite and bulldozers. Groves around the village were burnt. The belongings of the inhabitants were also burnt since they were unable to take them along. The population stayed in the hills for a week. They were then authorized to return by the military governor. Out of the original population of 2,500, some 300 had left for other areas.

11 JUNE 1967
On 11 June 1967 and the following week, the Israeli Army destroyed 135 Arab houses and two mosques in Magharbah Quarter and evacuated 650 Arabs after they had been given three hours' notice.

14 JUNE 1967
While pursuing its aggressive policy, Israel has as recently as today, 14 June 1967, at 03:00 hours (local time), started to shell north of Suez, Ismailia, El Kantara and El Firdan. At 05:40 hours, they again opened fire at El Firdan, and as a result of this wanton aggression all along the Canal, twenty Egyptians died and thirty-six were wounded in Ismailia. In addition to this, a physician with his family, composed of his mother and his four children were killed in his car on the El Kantara road.

22 JUNE 1967
Israel has expelled today at 13:00, local time, through the cease-fire line El Kantara, 405 Palestinians. Israel stated that this is sure to reach 1,000 Palestinians by the end of the day and that they will expel several thousands more on the basis of 1,000 per day.

21 JULY 1967
On 31 July 1967 Anwar El-Khatib, Governor of Jerusalem, Dr. Daoud El-Husseini, a former member of Parliament, and Mr. Abdul Muhsen Abu-Maizer, a lawyer, and Mr. Ibrahim Bakir, another lawyer, were banished because of their refusal to accept the annexation of Jordanian Jerusalem.

26 JULY 1967
On the morning of 27 July 1967, the Israel armed forces arrested eight Jordanian citizens near Auja villages. After being searched and their possessions confiscated, they were forcibly taken to the Hayek Bridge on the Jordan River, where they were brutally beaten with rifle butts and machine-guns. According to Ali Hassan Ali Suleiman, an eye-witness and the only survivor, the victims were told to swim to the east bank. They were later thrown in the river and seven of them were shot in cold blood. Ali Hassan Ali Suleiman, who escaped death by diving under the water and hiding behind a bush, is now undergoing medical treatment at Salt Hospital.

26 JULY 1967
On 26 July 1967, at 17:35 hours (local time), the Israel forces expelled eighty-five inhabitants of the west bank of Jordan by way of Mandasa and Um ash-Shurat Bridges. Having crossed the above-mentioned bridges, the Israel forces opened fire at them. Six of them were seriously wounded and were later treated at Salt Governmental Hospital. In their testimony the expellees stated that they were detained at Jericho Prison where they were subjected to various methods of intimidation and torture.

27 JULY 1967
On 27 July 1967, Dr. Subhi Ghousheh, aprominent citizen of Jerusalem, and his brother Amin, were arrested. They were charged with distribution of so-called "inflammatory leaflets". Two days later, five youths were arrested on suspicion of distributing leaflets urging the Arab population not to cooperate with the Israel authorities.

27 JULY 1967
On 27 July 1967, fifty-seven inhabitants of the Gaza Strip sought refuge on the east bank of the Jordan after making their way via the occupied part of Jordan. In their testimony the refugees indicated that their exodus was prompted by the shortage of food and the inhuman treatment they were subjected to by the Israel authorities.

31 JULY 1967
On 31 July 1967, four prominent leaders in Arab Jerusalem, namely, Mr. Anwar El-Khatib, the Governor of Jerusalem, and former Ambassador to Cairo, Dr. Daoud Husseini, a former member of Parliament, Mr. Ibrahim Bakr, a lawyer, and Mr. Abd El-Muhsen Abu Mizer, a lawyer, were detained and laterbanished to various parts of the Israeli-occupied areas. Those four prominent citizens were among twenty Arab religious and secular leaders who signed a memorandum challenging the validity of Israel annexation of the City of Jerusalem.

31 AUGUST 1967
On 31 August, 1967, the occupying military forces imposed a curfew on the inhabitants of the village of 'Aqraba, Nablus District, and demolished a number of houses on the pretext that arms were found in the village, and subsequently they deported several young men to unknown places.

3 SEPTEMBER 1967
On 3 September, 1967, the Israeli forces spread terror in the village of Qabatiyah, Jenin District, and deported a number of young men to unknown places. Several houses were demolished in Qabatiyah on the pretext that they served as hide-outs for arms. This was not the first time that the Israeli occupation forces demolished houses in this village on the pretext that arms had been found in them.

4 SEPTEMBER 1967
On 4 September 1967, three Israel naval units - two motor boats and a tug - attempted to force their passage through the Suez Canal at the Suez entrance. Notwithstanding the warnings of the United Arab Republic authorities, the aforementioned vessels proceeded and simultaneously opened fire on positions in Port Tawfiq. Against such provocative acts and in the exercise of our right of self defense, (the Egyptians) were compelled to return the firing.

General Odd Bull. Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine, was immediately informed of the events. He subsequently ordered a cease-fire which was only implemented temporarily. Shortly after, the Israel forces resumed the firing on (Egyptian) positions in Shallufa and El Shatt and wantonly shelled the city of Suez using artillery. (Egyptian) positions answered back the shelling. A further cease fire was proclaimed and enforced only after the intervention of the United Nations observers.

As a result of this sneaky attempt and the inhuman attack against a populated city, 42 civilians were killed, and 161 were wounded, of which 14 are in serious conditions; 30 buildings were destroyed as well as 2 mosques and 2 hospitals. Furthermore, a Greek freighter with a cargo of cement, a dredger belonging to the Suez Canal Authority, as well as a motor boat belonging to the Eastern Petroleum Company, were sunk, an Indian ship was damaged and the tower of Port Tawfiq was demolished.

7 SEPTEMBER 1967
The Israel forces of occupation have on 7 September started the systematic and complete destruction of another Syrian village of El-Hurriah using huge bulldozers to better complete the task.

12 SEPTEMBER 1967
On 12 September 1967 at 10:15 hours (local time), two Israel planes flew over El Kantara West. When (Egyptian) artillery intervened, the two planes changed their course. This was followed by heavy firing on El Kantara West. At 12:05 hours (local time) a cease-fire was arranged by the United Nations military observers. As a result of this attack two persons were killed and nine wounded, and seven houses were destroyed.

20 SEPTEMBER 1967
On 20 September 1967, the Israelis opened fire on the city of Suez; the firing lasted for half an hour. Five civilians were killed, two houses were demolished and a fishing boat was sunk.

21 SEPTEMBER 1967
On 21 September 1967, again the Israelis opened fire on El Kantara West for two hours. Two civilians were killed and twelve wounded. Also a mosque and buildings of social welfare were demolished.

29 SEPTEMBER 1967
On 29 September 1967 the Israel occupation forces opened fire and killed an Arab youth who was crossing the Jordan River heading for the west bank.

9 OCTOBER 1967
On the night of 9 October 1967, at 21:20 hours local time, the Israel occupying forces opened fire on Jordanian citizens trying to cross to the west bank at Umm Nakhleh, north of King Hussein Bridge. As a result, two young Arabs were killed and a woman seriously wounded.

10 OCTOBER 1967
On 10 October 1967, a young Jordanian was shot dead while trying to cross back to the east bank after having seen his family in the west bank.

2 NOVEMBER 1967
On 2 November 1967, the Israel occupying forces opened fire on two Jordanian citizens trying to cross to the west bank. One of them died of his wounds.

5 NOVEMBER 1967
On 5 November 1967, at approximately 05:30 hours local time, the Israel occupying forces, using tanks and 106 mm cannons, again opened fire on civilian homes and on the Jordanian military forces at Abu Issa orange grove and at Tell Alarbayeen.

At 06:45 hours, that same morning, the firing stopped at Abu Issa orange grove but continued intermittently at Alzarnaliyah and Tell Alarbayeen. As a result, one Jordanian soldier was wounded and three civilian houses at Al Zamaliyah demolished. Another house in the Abu Issa orange grove was damaged.

5 DECEMBER 1967
On 5 December 1967, the Israel occupation forces expelled 203 members of the peaceful Nuwaseirat tribe and forced them to cross to the east bank. On 6 December, another ninety-one members of that same tribe underwent the same inhuman treatment and had to find refuge on the east bank.

20 DECEMBER 1967
On 20 December 1967, two prominent Arab leaders, Mr. Ibrahim Bakir and Mr. Kamal Nasser, were deported because of their refusal to cooperate with the Israel authorities in changing the nature of things.

8 JANUARY 1968
At 16:45 hours, the Israelis employed jet aircraft and bombarded the following adjacent villages: Marhabah, Kufr Asad, Deir abu Sa'id and Kufr Rakib. The jets also flew over the area of Irbid. At 18:25 hours, firing was ceased. As a result of this criminal and unprovoked wide-scale Israel attack, one soldier and seven civilians, including a woman, were seriously injured.

11 JANUARY 1968
On 11 January 1968,838 acres in the area adjacent to the Old City (of Jerusalem) were arbitrarily expropriated by the Israel authorities to pave the way for the settlement of Jewish immigrants. This is the latest of a series of acts committed by Israel to alter fundamentally the physical, geographical and historical features of Arab Jerusalem. These acts unfold step bystep their well prepared scheme for the suppression of all Arab national feeling and opposition to Israel domination.

25 JANUARY 1968
On 25 January 1968, at 15:05 hours local time, the Israel forces opened fire, using light and medium machine-guns, on Jordanian positions situated south of King Hussein Bridge. Fire was returned in self-defense.

At 16: 15 hours, the Israel armed forces resumed fire using artillery and 106 mm guns. Fire was returned in self-defense. The exchange of fire lasted until 17: 10 hours. One Jordanian soldier was wounded.

30 JANUARY 1968
On 29 January 1968, at 2230 hours local time, the Israel armed forces opened fire, using medium machine guns on the Jordanian village of Al Baqurah on the east bank of the Jordan. The fire lasted ten minutes.

On 30 January, at 00: 10 hours local time, the Israel armed forces resumed fire, using mortar-guns. Twenty-five shells of 4.2 inch calibre hit the village of Al Baqurah. The shelling lasted ten minutes. As a result of this wanton and lawless attack against the civilian inhabitants of this village, a child and a civilian were seriously injured. The latter died of his wounds. Three houses were damaged.

8 FEBRUARY 1968
On 8 February 1968, at 13:00 hours local time, the Israel armed forces started an intensive shelling with repeated attacks using tanks, artillery, 106 mm and various war weapons. The shelling started first on (Jordanian) front posts in Saidiya and Musidra, situated at a distance of 10 kilometres north of Damiya Bridge. Later on, the shelling was particularly concentrated against the refugee camp of Karameh and the villages of Kurayirna, Nmuaddi and Damiya. The shelling stopped at 18:25 hours local time. As a result of this unprovoked and atrocious act of aggression, seventeen persons were killed: five children, five women, six men and a thirteen- year-old girl. Sixty were wounded: thirteen children, twenty women and twenty-seven men; all of them were refugees. Some of them were seriously injured.

11 FEBRUARY 1968
On 11 February 1968, at 10:05 hours local time, the Israel armed forces opened fire, using light and medium machineguns on the Jordanian position in the vicinity of Al Majami' Bridge.

At 12:00 hours local time, of that same day, fire was resumed on that area. 106 rnm guns were used.

At 12:35 hours local time, the Israel armed forces began shelling Al Jumrock and Al Mashroo areas near the Al Majarni' Bridge. Fire was returned in self-defense. The shelling ceased at 13:00. As a result of this deliberate and unprovoked attack, a Jordanian soldier was injured.

7 MARCH 1968
On 7 March 1968, Mr. Rouhi El-Khatib, Mayor of Jerusalem, was arbitrarily deported by the Israel authorities. Mr. El-Khatib was forced by the Israeli forces to cross King Hussein Bridge to the east bank of Jordan.

At 12:30 hours local time, on 7 March, 1968, Israel armed forces opened fire from mortar guns on the villages of Adasiyah and Madraj. Fire lasted for ten minutes. As a result of this wanton attack, seven civilians were killed, including five children; two houses were completely destroyed.

9 MARCH 1968
At 00: 10 hours local time, on 9 March, Israel armed forces resumed fire from mortar guns and artillery on the same village (Khirbat Wadi El Yabis). Fire lasted for five minutes. At 13:00 hours local time, fire was resumed from mortar guns and artillery on the northern part of Masharip Road. Fire lasted for fifteen minutes. As a result of this premeditated and unprovoked attack, four civilians were killed and three other civilians, including a woman, were seriously injured.

8 APRIL 1968
On 8 April 1968, in the area south of the Dead Sea, a car belonging to the Jordanian Manganese Company and carrying seven employees of this company was blown up by an anti-vehicle mine planted by the Israelis before their retreat. Four of the passengers were killed and two seriously wounded. It was discovered that the Israelis have planted the area between the village of Dana and the manganese site with anti-vehicle mines.

11 APRIL 1968
At 08:50 hours local time on 11 April 1968, a military ration car was blown up by an anti-vehicle Israel mine in the area 1,200 metres east of the River Jordan and seven kilometres north of King Hussein Bridge. One officer was killed and the driver wounded. At 10:00 hours local time on the same day, a mine was the cause of severe injuries to an officer and a soldier.

At 07:25 hours local time on 11 April 1968, the Israel forces opened fire from medium machine-guns on Jordanian farmers working in an area east of Makhadit al-Kattaf, east of Shunah Shamaliyyah. As a result a civilian truck being loaded with bananas was burnt.

12 MAY 1968
At midnight on Saturday, 1 1 May 1968, heavy fire erupted in the Manara settlement on the Israel side of the Lebanon- Israel armistice demarcation lines. The Manara settlement is situated opposite the Lebanese village, Houle. At 12:45 am on Sunday, 12 May 1968, the Israelis shelled Houle continuously for fifteen minutes. They hit the village with fifty mortar shells killing one woman and injuring another woman and child; one house was demolished, many others heavily damaged and livestock was destroyed.

4 JUNE 1968
Every building in Shuneh appears to have suffered hits from shelling and air strafing. On 4 June, antipersome1 bombs landed, throwing steel fragments in a11 directions. They caused casualties here and in the larger city of Irbid, about eight miles to the east. In their attacks, the Israelis used phosphorus shells to burn the crops.

4 JUNE 1968
On 4 June, the Israel forces launched their attack against the concentration of civilians on the east bank of the Jordan. In the city of Irbid and its environs alone, thirty-four Jordanians were killed and 135 injured. This indiscriminate shelling and bombing in which land-to-land rockets and anti-personnel bombs were used against the civilian population, many of whom were rendered refugees for the second and third time, constitutes an unprecedented act of lawlessness bordering on genocide. This attack must.be a refinement on the old Israel doctrine of "reprisals" in order to achieve peace and tranquility by exterminating the civilian population.

14 JUNE 1968
At midnight on Friday, 14 June 1968, a group of the Israel armed forces crossed the borders of Lebanon near the village of Houle. They shelled the village of Meiss ej Jebel with thirty mortar shells. As a result of this shelling, four civilians were wounded and ten houses were destroyed; two of the civilians, a man and a woman, are in a very critical condition.

29 JUNE 1968
On 29 June 1968, the Israel arrny bulldozed the Syrian village Al Dabboussia.

1 JULY 1968
On 1 July 1968, the Israel army bulldozed the Syrian village Al Jurnia. Only the water reservoir in that village was left standing.

8 JULY 1968
On 8 July 1968, at 18:00 hours, the Israel armed forces opened fire, from the occupied eastern bank of the Suez Canal, on the city of Suez, The shelling was concentrated on the densely populated district of Al Arba'in, a western suburb of the city of Suez. This unprovoked aggressive action by Israel caused heavy casualties among the civilian population, as well as severe damage to civilian properties. The result of this promiscuous and barbaric shelling, which did not spare women and children, amounted to forty-six killed and sixtyseven wounded. Forty-two houses, one church, two mosques and one child welfare centre were completely destroyed. Moreover, twenty-five houses, one hospital and the railway station were partially destroyed.

24 JULY 1968
On 24 July, 1968 at 15~25 hours, Israeli forces opened machine-gun fire from Khirbit Al Duwear west of Al Himma on Jordanian posts. Fire was returned and exchanged until 16: 10 hours. One Jordanian soldier was wounded and there were three Israel casualties.

28 JULY 1968
On 28 July, the Israel authorities carried the Gaza refugees in buses and attempted to force them to cross King Hussein Bridge to the east bank of Jordan. Consequently, Jordanian authorities closed the bridge and halted every entrance to the east bank.

29 JULY, 1968
On 29 July, the Israel autho~ties attempted to enforce the crossing of three busloads of refugees escorted by an Israel military force. Again, Jordanian posts on the bridge foiled the attempt. As a result, the Israel forces opened fire on Jordanian observation posts. Firing lasted twenty minutes.

20 AUGUST 1968
On 20 August, at 03:30 hours local time, the Israeli forces opened fire on Jordanian civilian centres in Wadi El Yabis in the northern area of the Jordan Valley, using medium-range artillery. Israeli shelling continued for fifteen minutes, causing the death of three civilians and the injury of twenty, some of whom were seriously wounded.

21 AUGUST 1968
On 21 August, at 0345 hours local time, Israeli forces opened fire on Manshiya area. Fire was returned and exchanged sporadically until 07: 15 hours. One Jordanian was killed and another wounded. On 21 August, at 0O:00 hours local time, Israeli forces opened fire on Tel El-Arba'in village using medium machineguns and followed by tank guns and field artillery. Fire and artillery were returned and exchanged until 00:50 hours. One Jordanian soldier was wounded.

24 AUGUST 1968
On 24 August, 1968 at 07:20 hours local time, Israeli forces opened fire on Manshiya area using rnedium machineguns and 81 mm mortar guns. Fire was returned in selfdefense and exchanged until l0:00 hours. One Jordanian soldier was killed and three were wounded.

25 AUGUST 1968
On 25 August, at 10:00 hours local time, the Israeli arrned forces shelled the villages of As Sama, Marhaba, Harawiah, Tel al-Arba'in, Kufur Asaad, Um Quis, Al Makhaba Al Tihta, Al Baqoura, and Al Manshiya, all in the northern part of the Jordan Valley, using tanks and rnedium and heavy artillery. Jordanian forces returned the fire in self-defense. As a result of this treacherous Israeli attack, three Jordanians were seriously injured. A school was destroyed in the village of Um Quis. A mosque was destroyed in the village of Kufur Asaad. The East Ghor Irrigation Canal was destroyed in the area of Waqas. A number of houses were destroyed in every one of the villages subjected to the Israel shelling, which continued for over seven hours.

2 SEPTEMBER 1968
On 2 September 1968 at about 21:05 hours, local time? an Israeli armored personnel carrier opened machine-gun fire across both the Israel cease-fire position and the Syrian cease-fire position towards Syrian military positions situated in the area of Om Lucos villages. As a result of the shooting, two Syrian soldiers were killed and one wounded. Fire was not returned.

7 SEPTEMBER 1968
On 7 September, at 05:30 hours local time, Israeli forces ambushed Jordanians and opened fire on them, killing one.

8 SEPTEMBER 1968
On 8 September, 1968 at 22~45 hours local time, Israelis opened fire on Baqourah village. Fire was returned and stopped at 2255 hours. One Jordanian farmer was wounded.

13 SEPTEMBER 1968
On 13 September, 1968 at 10: 15 hours local time, Israeli forces opened fire on Manshiya area using medium machineguns and mortar artillery. Fire was returned in self-defense. One Jordanian was killed.

16 SEPTEMBER 1968
Israeli soldiers murdered in cold blood and with premeditation the unarmed Judge Shawqi A. El-Farm, of Khan Yunis, the Gaza Strip.

17 SEPTEMBER 1968
On 17 September 1968, at 22: 15 hours local time, Israeli forces shelled the area of Kureima. Fire was returned and exchanged until 22145 hours. Kureima school was seriously damaged.

On 17 September 1968 at 06155 hours local time, Israeli armed forces situated on the Syrian Golan heights, shelled the city of Irbid. One Jordanian, his wife and their child were seriously wounded. The man later died. Two houses were seriously damaged.

26 SEPTEMBER 1968
On 26 September, at 0545 hours local time, an antivehicle Israeli mine on a road south of Karameh, exploded under a tractor and an attached vehicle. The driver was killed. Twelve were injured, two of them seriously.

25 OCTOBER 1968
On 25 October 1968, four Arab personalities were unjustly subjected to expulsion without charge or trial. These are: Dr. Salah Anabtawi and lawyer Mosa Jayousi from Nablus, Dr. Mosa Abu Gosh from Ramallah, and Mr. Mohammad Tawfig Haj Hassan, Deputy Mayor of Jenin. The occupation authorities thus obviously discarded the right of the individual to live in his own home, a right which is confirmed by all international laws and conventions.

27 OCTOBER 1968
At 1 :00 am, Sunday morning, 27 October 1968, the Israeli armed forces shelled the Leb.anese village of Almajydiah with about one hundred mortar shells from the village of Alabasyiah inside Syrian territories occupied by the Israeli armed forces. As a result of this shelling, two Lebanese soldiers were injured and three houses were damaged and a number of livestock were destroyed.

1 DECEMBER 1968
On 1 December 1968, Israeli armed forces embarked on a concerted attack using machine-guns, tanks, artillery and military aircraft against centres of civilian population in the northern part of the Jordan Valley. Simultaneously they attacked, deep inside Jordanian territory, in the south, aiming at means of communication and civilians in utter disregard for the Armistice Agreement.

At 21:30 hours local time, Israeli military aircraft penetrated deep inside Jordanian territory and bombed a convoy of civilian trucks on the main highway near Al-Hasa area between Amman and the port of Aqaba, As a result of this attack, six Saudi Arabian civilian trucks were destroyed, two Saudi Arabian civilians killed and three others injured. A fourth civilian, a Jordanian, was wounded.

Immediately thereafter, Israeli armed units landed? in the same area, from helicopters covered by Israeli jetfighters. They proceeded to their targets and destroyed two bridges: one a highway bridge and the other the Hijazi railway bridge. The city of Irbid in Jordan was subjected to heavy shelling for ten minutes. A child and a civilian were wounded and a house destroyed.

3 DECEMBER 1968
On 3 December 1968, at 00:05 hours local time, the Israeli armed forces shelled the Jordanian villages of Kum, Kufur Asad and Samma from the Israel occupied Syrian heights. Their shelling soon spread to cover the whole northern part of the Jordan Valley.

At 01:07 hours of that same day, the city of Irbid was heavily shelled, and the village of Kufur Asad was bombed for more than half an hour by waves of Israel military aircraft. In this village alone fifteen civilians were killed and seventeen others seriously wounded, most of them elderly people, women and children. Forty houses were destroyed.

12 DECEMBER 1968
On 12 December 1968 at 08145 local time, Israeli armed forces opened fire on the area of Um Al-Shurat. Fire was returned and the exchange lasted until 09135 hours. One Jordanian was wounded.

12 DECEMBER 1968
On 12 December at 1435 hours local time, Israeli forces shelled the area of King Hussein Bridge and Um Al-Shurat, using mortar and medium artillery. Fire was returned. At 1440 hours shelling ceased, but fuing continued in the area of King Hussein Bridge until 1605 hours. In the village of Shunah, as a result of the Israeli shelling: two Jordanian citizens were killed (one was in his seventies); nine were injured, among them one woman and two children; several buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged, such as the mosque, the post office, and the municipal building; four civiliancars were also destroyed.

15 DECEMBER 1968
On 15 December 1968, at 23100 hours local time, Israeli forces heavily shelled centres of civilians in Ghor Al Safi. Shelling was at 23:25 hours. One woman was killed and two seriously wounded. A child and two other civilians were wounded. Two houses were destroyed.

15 DECEMBER 1968
On 15 December at 23100 hours local time, Israeli forces shelled civilian centres in the area of El-Safi south of the Dead Sea, using field artillery. Shelling lasted until 23:25 hours. One Jordanian was killed and five seriously injured (a child, two women and two men).

17 DECEMBER 1968
On 17 December, 1968, at 1010 hours local time, two Israeli jet fighters bombed farms near Shuna Shamaliyah, using missiles and napalm bombs. Crops and installations were destroyed.

19 DECEMBER 1968
On 19 December at 2030 hours local time, Israeli army units opened fire on Jordanian positions south of Damya Bridge, Fire was returned and exchanged until 2100 hours. One Jordanian was killed.

20 DECEMBER 1968
On 20 December 1968, at 2030 hours local time, four Israeli Skyhawk aircraft bombed and strafed the village of Addasiyah. Napalm bombs were used. Two houses were destroyed and another damaged.

29 DECEMBER 1968
On 29 December 1968, at 12~05 hours local time, Israeli military forces opened fire from heavy artillery and indiscriminately shelled the following areas for four hours:Al Shunah Al-Janoubiyyah, Um ash-Shurat and the King Hussein bridge.

As a result of this lawless and wanton attack, two civilians were killed and nine others were wounded, including a woman and a child. The Israeli indiscriminate shelling caused severe damage to a mosque, to the Municipality Building, the Post Office and the local market. Four civilian cars were destroyed.

29 DECEMBER 1968
On 29 December, the Chairman of the Israel-Lebanon Mixed Armistice Commission received the following complaint from the Lebanese delegation: "On Saturday 28 December 1968 at 2 1:30 hours local time (19130 GMT) Israeli heliborne troops in a flagrant act of aggression at the Beirut International Airport destroyed 13 civilian aircraft. Request a one-sided inquiry immediately." United Nations military obsewers to conduct inquiry departed Israel-Lebanon Mixed Armistice Commission at 08:00 hours GMT on 29 December.

In discussion with chief operations officer of UNTSO , an assistant Israeli liaison officer stated that 14 aircraft were destroyed or damaged; 7 of these owned by Lebanon and 7 by other Arab countries. Of the 14, 9 were jet aircraft and 5 were reported to be propeller aircraft.

31 DECEMBER 1968
On 31 December 1968 at 1130 hours local time, three Israeli helicopters, covered by two jet fighters, strafed a security police car in the Gharandal area. As a result, three policemen were killed and two injured and the car was destroyed. At 1400 hours, two Israeli helicopters, covered by a Mystere jet, flew over that same area.

1 JANUARY 1969
On 1 January 1969 at 1055 hours local time, two Israeli helicopters, covered by a jet fighter strafed Jordanians in the Gharandal area, As aresult, one soldier and twocivilians were killed. At the same time, two Israeli jet fighters flew over Ma'an area.

6 JANUARY 1969
On 6 January 1969, at 1510 hours, Israeli forces shelled the village of El Safi south of the Dead Sea for twenty minutes, using field artillery. An Israeli helicopter was sent to the village and strafed the civilians. At 1625 hours, Israeli shelling was resumed for five minutes, followed by helicopter strafing. As a result of the Israeli attack, four persons were killed, among them a child, and six were wounded. All the casualties were civilians from the village.

3 FEBRUARY 1969
On 3 February 1969, at 0650 hours local time, two Israeli jet fighters bombed the area south of Manshiya on the East Bank with napalm. As a result, crops were damaged. On 3 February at 1410 hours local time, two Israeli helicopters, covered by two jet fighters, strafed bedouin in the Petra area. As a result, two women were killed. A man and a child were seriously injured.

11 FEBRUARY 1969
On 11 February 1969. at 11: 10 hours local time, the Israeli armed forces shelled the villages of Safi and Fefah south of the Dead Sea, using mortar and field artillery for thirty minutes. At 12:30 hours on the same day eight Israeli jet fighters and a helicopter raided Ghor Al-Safi and bombed the area for ninety minutes, using napalm bombs. As a result, six Jordanian soldiers were killed and ten others wounded, and property was heavily damaged.

 

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Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem
By Issa Nakhleh

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