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00:02Palestine, a land divided.
00:08A holy place, a battleground,
00:11a homeland claimed by both Arabs and Jews.
00:35By 1947, the lines were drawn.
00:39To the Jews, Palestine is their traditional and spiritual home,
00:43the promised land.
00:44But the majority of the inhabitants of Palestine are Arabs.
00:48They too regard Palestine as their rightful home.
00:52But with the end of the war,
00:54into Palestine ports came ship after ship
00:56crammed with illegal immigrants,
00:58refugees from recent persecution in Germany,
01:01Austria, Poland, Belsen and Dachau.
01:04The Arabs, fearful of becoming a minority,
01:07persuaded the British to limit Jewish immigration.
01:12Jewish extremists attacked British troops,
01:14wrecked government buildings,
01:16blew up trains and ships.
01:18And so Palestine remains,
01:20a place of martial law,
01:22where all go their ways only under watch,
01:25where the innocent must suffer with the guilty.
01:31Great Britain had ruled Palestine for three decades.
01:37After years of strenuous but unavailing effort,
01:40the United States government have reached the conclusion
01:43that they are not able to bring about a settlement in Palestine
01:46based upon the consent of both Arabs and Jews,
01:50and that the mandate is no longer workable.
01:53A York transport landing at Leda Airport
01:56brings delegates to the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine.
01:59The U.N. committee considered the partition of Palestine
02:03into a Jewish and an Arab state.
02:06And on the shoulders of these delegates rests a heavy responsibility.
02:11But the Arabs did not want to talk to the committee.
02:14They wanted nothing to do with the Jews.
02:21Sabri ad-Din was an honorable sheikh and an eloquent speaker.
02:26And he said,
02:27if the Jews want to take Palestine from us,
02:30we swear that we will throw them into the sea.
02:34And he pointed to the Mediterranean,
02:36which was a few hundred meters from the place where we had gathered.
02:44The Arab leadership believed that if a partition was imposed,
02:48they could reverse it by force.
02:55Jamal Husseini, the chairman of the Arab Higher Committee,
02:58said that only four to five hundred riflemen
03:01can easily take over Tel Aviv.
03:08While the committee was still in Palestine,
03:10a ship called Exodus arrived in Haifa,
03:15loaded with Jewish Holocaust survivors.
03:18But now she had on board some five thousand Jews
03:21who'd hoped to enter Palestine illegally.
03:23When she was boarded at sea by the Navy,
03:26a fierce battle was fought on her decks,
03:28resulting in many casualties on both sides.
03:33The UN committee saw firsthand the immigrants' despair
03:36when they were forced to return to Europe.
03:45The Jews argued that refugees needed a home
03:48and that they would not be welcomed by an Arab state.
03:52The UN committee agreed.
03:54They recommended that Palestine be partitioned
03:57when the British pulled out.
04:03We felt that what had happened to the Palestinians was unjust
04:08and that the division of Palestine was not fair.
04:15The Arabs were outraged.
04:18We had a man called Mustafa Mu'min
04:21who managed to penetrate literally
04:24into the circle of the Security Council
04:27to read a letter written in the blood
04:29of several thousand Egyptian Muslim brothers
04:32denouncing Israel and the support of Israel and so on.
04:37You all know how to vote.
04:42Those who are in favor will say yes.
04:46Those who are against will say no.
04:53No one relied on the calculations
04:55made by the president of the assembly.
04:58Each person held his own pencil and piece of paper
05:01and calculated whether or not there was two-thirds
05:04for the partition or not.
05:08United Kingdom, abstain.
05:12United States, yes.
05:15Uruguay, yes.
05:19Venezuela.
05:21And towards the end,
05:23during the last countries,
05:25USA, Venezuela, etc.,
05:27we found there was two-thirds.
05:29We jumped from our places with joy.
05:32We wept.
05:33We hugged.
05:34We kissed.
05:37The resolution
05:40of the Duck Committee for Palestine
05:43was adopted by 33 votes,
05:4613 against, 10 abstentions.
05:51I was glad.
05:52I was very glad.
05:54Because for me,
05:55it was important that the UN
05:57according to the decree of nations
05:59was giving, granting the Jews,
06:01I'd say the Zionists,
06:03an independent country
06:04on the land of Israel.
06:09And I thought in my heart,
06:10history is turning a huge page.
06:19The news was broadcast at 8 p.m.
06:21The Palestinian people
06:24listened to it everywhere,
06:26and there was this feeling
06:27of frustration and sadness,
06:29a feeling of catastrophe
06:31which was about to befall Palestine.
06:41Riots and demonstrations
06:43started everywhere.
06:53The Arabs attacked Jews,
06:56and the Jews hit back.
06:57Cities and neighborhoods
06:59were divided along religious lines.
07:04In Jerusalem,
07:06an Arab car bomb destroyed
07:08the Jewish agency offices.
07:09seven were killed,
07:11more than a hundred wounded.
07:15The Fifty Years' War
07:16was underway.
07:21Palestinian forces
07:22from towns and villages
07:24along the road to Jerusalem
07:25were commanded
07:26by Abdul Qader el-Husseini.
07:30They blocked supplies
07:31going from Jewish-held Tel Aviv
07:33to a besieged Jerusalem.
07:40keeping the Jews of Jerusalem supplied
07:42was the first priority
07:44of the Jewish army,
07:45the Haganah.
07:50They tried to defend the convoys.
07:56It was very hard
07:58to protect the convoys.
07:59We had a huge number
08:01of casualties
08:01among the convoy escorts,
08:03and there was a big waste
08:05of product.
08:10When a convoy got through,
08:11the whole city knew.
08:13The trucks brought vital supplies,
08:15flour.
08:16We really needed matches,
08:18and cigarettes.
08:19Can you imagine soldiers
08:21without cigarettes?
08:23We were kept alive
08:24by the convoy from Tel Aviv.
08:26We were kept alive
08:28by the convoy from Tel Aviv.
08:32We started with military operations
08:36to make sure
08:37that the road
08:39between Tel Aviv
08:40and Jerusalem
08:41will not be endangered
08:43by the big villages
08:46or towns
08:47that were along the road.
08:49well formed
08:51came all the attackers
08:52on the convoys.
08:54A special Haganah brigade
08:56was formed
08:57to open the road
08:59to Jerusalem.
09:03The system was
09:06to attack the village,
09:07to give warning
09:09to the civilians,
09:11to destroy the village.
09:14And by the elimination
09:16of the villages
09:17alone
09:18and adjacent
09:19to the road,
09:20we were assured
09:21that there would be
09:22no attacks.
09:24The Jews tried
09:25to seize Kestil,
09:26a village controlling
09:28the road to Jerusalem.
09:32It was a Palmaq unit,
09:34my troops,
09:35that captured the Kestil.
09:37And it was here
09:38that Abdelkader el-Husseini,
09:40the Palestinian leader,
09:42was killed.
09:44Enraged,
09:45Husseini's soldiers
09:46went to recover
09:46the body of their leader.
09:51The Arabs counter-attacked.
09:55Our reinforcements
09:57were wiped out.
09:58It was a very black day.
10:02Down the road
10:03from Kestil,
10:03there would be
10:04another battle that day.
10:09Two Jewish extremist
10:11organizations,
10:12Irgun and Lehi,
10:13which had fought
10:14the British,
10:15were eager to prove
10:16themselves in the new war.
10:20It was such a tragedy.
10:23Der Yassin was a lovely village.
10:26The events at Der Yassin
10:27would haunt relations
10:29between Jews and Arabs
10:30for years to come.
10:32Der Yassin had stayed
10:34out of the fighting.
10:35It was not on the Haganah's list
10:37of hostile villages.
10:43I ran into a man
10:44who had left us
10:45for the terrorists.
10:47He told me
10:48that the Irgun and Lehi
10:49had got permission
10:50from our commander
10:51to attack the village
10:53of Der Yassin.
10:54He was very proud.
10:58The Irgun and Lehi forces
11:00were ordered to take
11:01Der Yassin.
11:05I ran to my commander
11:07and asked,
11:07why did you allow it?
11:09He said,
11:10I suggested two other targets.
11:13They turned them down.
11:16He said,
11:17I can't shoot them,
11:18can I?
11:19So I decided
11:20to spy on them.
11:27Their loudspeakers blared out,
11:29lay down your arms.
11:30Run for your lives.
11:34Then I heard our machine gun.
11:36I was kneeling down like this.
11:40When I looked up,
11:41I saw the village ablaze.
11:43Their attack lit up
11:44the whole village.
11:50The village was not
11:51the soft target
11:52the Jews had expected.
11:58from the windows
12:00of their houses,
12:02Arabs were shooting
12:03at our soldiers.
12:05And from a force
12:06of 132,
12:08we had 42 wounded
12:10and six dead.
12:16The commander
12:17ordered a house-to-house attack.
12:23So I gave the order,
12:24before entering a house,
12:26throw a couple of grenades inside.
12:29They threw a grenade
12:30into one house.
12:3128 were killed.
12:38It was impossible
12:40to attack the enemy
12:41without hurting their families.
12:43It was difficult.
12:45It was painful
12:46and I'm sorry
12:47we had to do it.
12:49But we had no choice.
12:50but we had no other weapons.
12:58After the battle,
13:00they took 14 prisoners.
13:02They lined them up
13:03by the quarry
13:03and mowed them down.
13:05They threw their bodies
13:07in the quarry.
13:08That's what happened.
13:15While this was going on,
13:17Jews came from
13:18the next village.
13:19Most of them
13:20were religious,
13:21by the way.
13:23They started yelling,
13:24bastards,
13:26murderers,
13:27what are you doing?
13:30Some shouted in Hebrew,
13:32others in Yiddish.
13:33They stopped the massacre.
13:38110 Arabs died
13:40in Deir Yassin.
13:41Some died fighting,
13:42others were murdered.
13:45The survivors
13:46were taken to Jerusalem.
13:53We gathered in Jerusalem
13:54at the Hebron Gate.
13:58We checked who was missing
13:59and who had survived.
14:01Then the Palestinian leaders
14:03arrived,
14:04including Dr. Khalidi.
14:11I asked Dr. Khalidi
14:13how we should cover the story.
14:16He said,
14:17we must make the most of this.
14:19So he wrote a press release
14:21stating that at Deir Yassin,
14:23children were murdered,
14:24pregnant women were raped,
14:26all sorts of atrocities.
14:33Arab radio stations
14:35passed on the false reports,
14:37ignoring the protests
14:38of the witnesses.
14:45We said,
14:46there was no rape.
14:48He said,
14:48we have to say this
14:49so the Arab armies
14:50will come to liberate
14:51Palestine from the Jews.
14:58This was our biggest mistake.
15:00We did not realize
15:02how our people would react.
15:05As soon as they heard
15:06that women had been raped
15:07at Deir Yassin,
15:09Palestinians fled in terror.
15:16They ran away from all our villages.
15:27In the next few months,
15:29over half the Arab population,
15:31three quarters of a million people
15:33fled their homes in Palestine.
15:38Israel never allowed them back.
15:45The British did little
15:46to prevent the atrocities
15:48committed by both sides.
15:51As they prepared to leave,
15:53they washed their hands
15:54of the whole mess.
15:57At the United Nations,
15:59the Jews announced their plans.
16:16The Jewish leadership
16:18sought political support abroad.
16:26The U.S. State Department
16:27argued against it.
16:29Their first response was,
16:31no country,
16:32no state.
16:39Ben-Gurion sent his close colleague,
16:41Moshe Charette,
16:42to convince the Americans
16:43to recognize
16:44the proposed Jewish state.
16:48Charette tried to persuade
16:50Secretary of State
16:51George Marshall,
16:52who was totally opposed
16:53to the idea.
16:57Charette explained
16:58that we have no other way
16:59and to proceed.
17:01This is a historic juncture.
17:04If we miss that,
17:06we may create a tragedy
17:08for future generations.
17:10But President Truman
17:12surprised everyone
17:13with his strong support.
17:16I was told by all these
17:18so-called experts
17:19that if it was done,
17:22it would involve
17:24the whole Near East
17:25in a war,
17:27and it would also involve
17:29the United States.
17:33Hitler had been
17:34murdering Jews
17:35right and left.
17:36I saw it,
17:37and I dream about it
17:39even to this day.
17:40the Jews needed
17:42someplace where
17:43they could go.
17:45It was my attitude
17:46that the American government
17:49couldn't stand idly by
17:50while the victims
17:52of Hitler's madness
17:54were not allowed
17:55to build new lives.
17:58Marshall was worried
17:59that war would break out.
18:01We are in the midst
18:03of a very critical situation.
18:06We should, therefore,
18:08carefully avoid
18:09approaching international problems
18:11on an emotional basis.
18:14He wanted to maintain
18:15good relations
18:16with the Arabs.
18:19I was on the receiving end
18:21of Azzam Pasha's
18:23impressions
18:24of his meeting
18:25with Marshall,
18:26and he was happy.
18:28I mean,
18:28he felt much more reassured
18:30about the Americans
18:31after having talked
18:32to Marshall
18:33than before,
18:34and we had the Saudis
18:36with us.
18:37They were our partners
18:37in this business.
18:41Two days before
18:42the British left Palestine,
18:44Truman summoned Marshall
18:45to the White House.
18:47Clark Clifford
18:48was asked to support
18:49the case
18:50for a Jewish state.
18:53General Marshall
18:54started off.
18:56The president
18:57listened attentively
18:58and then said,
19:02I would like now
19:04to hear from Clark,
19:07but as I spoke,
19:09I saw Marshall's face
19:11getting redder
19:13and redder.
19:15When I finished,
19:16he exploded.
19:17Marshall accused
19:19Truman of a transparent
19:20dodge to win
19:21the Jewish vote.
19:25Clark Clifford
19:26did not disguise
19:27the fact that Marshall
19:28was raging mad.
19:30They don't need a state,
19:32they don't deserve a state,
19:33it isn't theirs.
19:35They've stolen that land.
19:37These were Marshall's words.
19:40He turned to the president,
19:42he said,
19:43I'm obliged,
19:44Mr. President,
19:45to tell you
19:46that if you should adopt
19:48the policy
19:49that is recommended
19:50by Clifford,
19:52I would be unable
19:53to vote for you
19:55in this coming election
19:57in November.
20:00Wow.
20:02Dead silence
20:03in the room.
20:04No one had ever heard
20:06anything like that.
20:08I had never heard
20:09anybody threaten
20:11the president
20:13of the United States
20:14in that manner.
20:16Before Marshall
20:17could go any further,
20:19Truman ended the meeting.
20:20I gathered my papers
20:22together
20:23and the president said,
20:26well,
20:27that was tough
20:29as a cob.
20:31Marshall Ted
20:32said to Charette,
20:35well,
20:35it's your decision.
20:37Don't count
20:39that we can bail you out,
20:41but
20:44we know
20:45that you have reached
20:47an historic stage
20:49and
20:51God
20:51protect you.
20:54Eastward,
20:55the Arab Legion
20:56poised for invasion
20:57on the Transjordan border.
20:58The rarely photographed
20:59King Abdullah
21:00reviewed a brigade
21:01of reinforcements
21:02from Iraq.
21:04Marshall's prediction
21:05of war
21:05was about to come true.
21:10Five Arab states
21:11mobilized
21:12on the border,
21:13threatening
21:13to enter Palestine
21:14and crush
21:15a Jewish state
21:16if it came
21:18into being.
21:27For the Jews
21:28of Palestine,
21:29this was a critical moment.
21:32Ben Gurion
21:33was determined
21:34to go ahead
21:34with or without
21:36international support.
21:41I had to act fast.
21:43I didn't consult
21:44anyone.
21:48Today,
21:49the British mandate
21:50over the land
21:51of Israel
21:52ends.
21:54We declare
21:54a Jewish state
21:55in the ancient
21:56land of Israel.
21:58It will be called
21:59the State of Israel.
22:00Israel.
22:02He made the last
22:03Israel.
22:08At the same time,
22:10the UN's role
22:11in Palestine
22:12was supposed
22:12to end.
22:15When the hands
22:16pointed to six o'clock,
22:18the Iraqi delegate
22:19got up and said,
22:20Mr. President,
22:21there is a very
22:22important matter
22:24to consider
22:25before we proceed.
22:27The time
22:27is one minute
22:28past six.
22:29Indeed,
22:29I think it is two minutes.
22:31The United States
22:32delegate,
22:33when he came
22:34to this rostrum,
22:35declared
22:36that if by six o'clock
22:38we cannot arrive
22:38at any conclusion,
22:41the whole game
22:41is up,
22:42and I hold that
22:43to you,
22:44Mr. President,
22:45to give us your ruling.
22:46The time
22:46is past six now.
22:48That was about
22:49the only occasion
22:49when the Iraqi
22:50delegate and I
22:51have ever agreed
22:52on anything.
22:53He was full
22:54of exuberance
22:55because he thought
22:55the game is up
22:56and now the road
22:57is open
22:58for the Arab invasion.
22:59I felt that
23:00the game is up
23:01and that meant
23:02that we were free
23:03to establish our state
23:04without being accused
23:06of impinging
23:07upon an international
23:08decision.
23:09Then the news
23:10from Israel arrived.
23:14This government
23:14has been informed
23:15that a Jewish state
23:17has been proclaimed
23:18in Palestine
23:18and recognition
23:20has been requested
23:21by the provisional
23:23government thereof.
23:25The United States
23:26recognizes the
23:27provisional government
23:28as the de facto
23:30authority
23:31of the new
23:32state of Israel.
23:35Scarcely had
23:36the United States
23:37pronounced its words
23:38of recognition
23:39and almost unnoticed
23:41by our own delegation
23:42which was still
23:42celebrating
23:43our American victory.
23:45Andrew Gromyko
23:46rose and said,
23:48said that the
23:49Soviet Union
23:49which unlike
23:50the western powers
23:51which has abandoned
23:52the Jewish people
23:53to its dark
23:54and fearful fate
23:55the Soviet Union
23:57recognizes the state
23:58of Israel
23:58and therefore I would say
24:00that the issue
24:01of Israel's recognition
24:04was solved
24:05almost miraculously
24:07within a few hours
24:09because of our independence
24:11declaration.
24:16After 2,000 years
24:17of exile
24:18the Jewish people
24:20had a state
24:20of their own.
24:26But even as they danced
24:28Israel's fate
24:29hung in the balance.
24:32The day after Ben-Gurion
24:34declared the state
24:35of Israel
24:35of Israel
24:36the armies
24:36of Egypt
24:37Jordan
24:37Iraq
24:38Lebanon
24:39and Syria
24:40invaded.
24:46But the largest Arab army
24:48that of Egypt
24:49had only been tested
24:51on the parade ground.
24:54At its head
24:55was the playboy
24:57King Farouk.
25:00The king
25:01hadn't had
25:02any experience
25:02of war
25:03nobody in fact
25:04had any experience
25:05of war
25:05including the
25:06commander-in-chief
25:06of the Egyptian army
25:07you see.
25:09At the time
25:10a euphoria
25:11went
25:12in the Arab ranks.
25:14The boys
25:15were very pleased
25:16with the war
25:16they thought
25:16it was a good idea
25:17but they had no idea
25:19of the logistics
25:20and the problems
25:22they were going to face.
25:26Still
25:26the Arab states
25:27with a population
25:28of 40 million
25:29looked certain
25:30to overwhelm
25:31Israel's
25:32half million Jews.
25:36It seemed
25:37that Ben-Gurion's
25:39new state
25:39would last
25:40only a few days.
25:44We thought
25:45it was going
25:45to be a pushover
25:46that the Jews
25:47were going
25:48to run away
25:48the moment
25:49they saw
25:49Arab
25:50regular army
25:51uniform
25:52moving on
25:53to them
25:53with bayonets
25:54and whatever.
25:56Egypt's army
25:57attacking from
25:58the south
25:58headed towards
25:59the main
26:00Jewish center
26:01Tel Aviv.
26:03Jordan's Arab
26:04legion
26:04took the west bank
26:05and the old city
26:06of Jerusalem.
26:08The Syrians
26:09moved towards
26:09Nazareth
26:10while the Lebanese
26:11attacked from the north.
26:16The Arab regular armies
26:18converged on Palestine
26:20superior in numbers
26:21and equipment.
26:24Early in the war
26:25they had a number
26:27of victories.
26:40Whenever they overran
26:42Israeli villages
26:43the inhabitants
26:44were either
26:44expelled
26:45or killed
26:45or killed.
26:53The Egyptian army
26:54was finally halted
26:55only 20 miles
26:56from Tel Aviv.
27:01The Israelis
27:02were fighting
27:02for their survival
27:03and after three weeks
27:05of fierce resistance
27:06they brought
27:07the Arabs
27:07to a standstill.
27:16We had no aircraft
27:18we had no tanks
27:20and we were going
27:21into war this way
27:22we hardly even
27:23had guns.
27:24We would try
27:25to buy guns
27:25as much as we could
27:28anywhere we could.
27:30In this situation
27:31we were really saved
27:32by Czechoslovakia
27:33that is Russia.
27:36America didn't
27:37give us arms.
27:54When the weapons
27:57came in
27:57the whole balance
27:58of power changed
27:59and the Israelis
28:00would then pass
28:01on to the offensive.
28:05We weren't even
28:07mentally prepared
28:08we just weren't ready
28:10so our officers
28:11were confused
28:12and panic stricken.
28:16And so the Egyptian
28:17army was surrounded
28:18and then
28:19the Jordanian army
28:21just kept neutral
28:22didn't interfere
28:23in any way.
28:25Finally
28:26our prime minister
28:27here in Egypt
28:28was murdered
28:29by the Muslim
28:30brothers
28:31and
28:32and his successor
28:34said
28:34there's no future
28:35in this war
28:36let's make peace.
28:43But there was no peace
28:45only a ceasefire agreement.
28:48The Arabs believed
28:49a peace treaty
28:50would be an acknowledgement
28:51of defeat.
28:56both sides
28:57mourned their dead.
29:10Even before
29:11the ceasefire agreements
29:13were signed
29:13Israel held
29:15its first
29:15democratic election.
29:24Ben-Gurion
29:25Ben-Gurion
29:25and his labor party
29:26won.
29:35Israel celebrated
29:36the triumph
29:37of its armed forces
29:39Israel's right to exist.
29:40But the Arabs
29:40refused to recognize
29:42Israel's right to exist.
29:47For the Arabs
29:48the legacy
29:49of the 48 war
29:50was the displacement
29:51of the Palestinian people.
29:55The Palestinians
29:56now faced
29:57political extinction.
29:58The West Bank
29:59was annexed
30:00by Jordan
30:01and Gaza
30:02was ruled by Egypt
30:03which left them
30:04with nothing.
30:08Egypt
30:08the most powerful
30:09Arab country
30:10was shaken
30:11by the defeat.
30:13A group of young officers
30:15frustrated by
30:16the incompetence
30:17of the king
30:17and the new prime minister
30:18plotted a coup.
30:21I went
30:22to the prime minister
30:23and delivered
30:24the ultimatum
30:26to him.
30:27He was shocked.
30:28Believe me.
30:30Because up
30:30till this moment
30:31he didn't know
30:32that we were going
30:33to dethrone the king
30:34at all.
30:36He was shocked
30:39and received me
30:40like this.
30:42I told him yes.
30:44I said
30:44are you
30:46powerful enough?
30:47I told him yes.
30:49Go and deliver it
30:50to the king.
30:51He must leave
30:52by 6 o'clock
30:53this evening.
30:56From Cairo
30:57come these first
30:58authentic pictures
30:59of the bloodless coup
31:00by which the army
31:01took over control
31:02of Egypt.
31:02it was the end
31:03of the king's
31:04attempt to maintain
31:04power.
31:12As we took
31:13the king
31:14to the ship
31:15he said
31:16you ate me
31:17for lunch
31:19before I could
31:21eat you
31:21for dinner.
31:24Egypt's new leader
31:25Gamal Abdel Nasser
31:27pledged radical reform.
31:30There were six principles
31:32to put an end
31:33to colonialism
31:35to put an end
31:36to feudalism
31:37put an end
31:39to corrupted
31:40of exploitation
31:42by capitalism.
31:49I read that Nasser
31:50was going to Yugoslavia.
31:52I thought
31:52President Tito
31:53could help
31:53make peace.
31:56I knew a friend
31:57of Tito's.
31:58I asked him
31:59to go to Yugoslavia.
32:00I said
32:01get Tito
32:02to ask Nasser
32:03if he will
32:04make peace.
32:16Tito passed
32:17on the message.
32:19Nasser said
32:20that if he was seen
32:21talking to Israel
32:22he would be overthrown
32:23even killed.
32:27Sharet
32:28Ben-Gurion's
32:29foreign minister
32:30initiated
32:31more secret
32:32contacts.
32:37Sharet
32:37believed
32:38the best way
32:38to ensure
32:39the security
32:40of Israel
32:40was to understand
32:42the Arabs
32:42and negotiate
32:44peace.
32:46Sharet
32:47sent Yvonne
32:47to Paris
32:48the UN
32:49General Assembly's
32:50temporary home.
32:57I told a friend
32:58I was ordered
32:59to Paris
32:59to meet Arabs
33:00and he said
33:01Zima
33:02I know you
33:04like Cervantes
33:04but I never
33:06saw you
33:06as Don Quixote.
33:09Will you go
33:10to the Place
33:10de la Concorde
33:11and shout
33:12any Arabs
33:13here?
33:21I was sitting
33:22on the balcony
33:23of the UN
33:24a young man
33:26came in
33:26and sat
33:27next to me.
33:30We began
33:30to talk
33:31I said to him
33:32my dear sir
33:33I am a Jew
33:35I looked
33:36in his face
33:36I saw no sign
33:38of embarrassment
33:42So I asked him
33:44who do you
33:44represent?
33:46When I pressed
33:47him
33:47he said
33:48Sharet
33:54I said
33:54I am an Israeli
33:56who dreams
33:56of peace
33:57with Egypt
33:59For Egyptians
34:00talking to Israelis
34:02was taboo
34:03So Abdel Rahman
34:05Sadek
34:05was nervous
34:06when he was
34:06summoned
34:07by President
34:07Nasser
34:12I went in
34:14and I found
34:15Gamal Abdul Nasser
34:16standing in the
34:17middle of the room
34:21He said
34:22I want to tell you
34:23that you have
34:24my permission
34:25to continue
34:26talks
34:26with the Israeli
34:27in Paris
34:33The diplomat's reports
34:35were to be
34:35for Nasser's ears
34:36only
34:41He said
34:42He said
34:43I want you
34:44to see
34:44if there is
34:45a chance
34:45of avoiding
34:46bloodshed
34:52While we conducted
34:54the talks
34:55with Abdel Rahman
34:56there was
34:57once in a while
34:58a radical escalation
35:00of Egyptian
35:00statements
35:01about Israel
35:02An Egyptian
35:03leader
35:03even said
35:04that Israel
35:05was the cancer
35:06in the midst
35:06of the Arab world
35:08and we asked
35:09them to refrain
35:10from such
35:10inflammatory language
35:15Nasser's envoy
35:16returned to Paris
35:17with promises
35:18to tone down
35:19the anti-Israeli
35:20propaganda
35:21on Cairo radio
35:23and to restrain
35:24the guerrilla raids
35:25against Israel
35:28But Nasser
35:29would not
35:30terminate the war
35:31nor would he
35:32establish
35:33diplomatic relations
35:34or allow
35:35Israeli ships
35:36through the
35:36Suez Canal
35:37and the Straits
35:38of Tehran
35:40Sharet was
35:41disappointed
35:44Sharet's message
35:45said that
35:46we were sorry
35:46of course
35:47that the Egyptian
35:49government
35:49would not change
35:50its official policy
35:51which was a clear
35:53anti-Israeli policy
35:56Sharet's repeated
35:57offers to start
35:58peace negotiations
35:59were turned down
36:04I had realized
36:05that the Israelis
36:06continuously say
36:08that they want peace
36:11I realized also
36:13that the Arabs
36:13refused to talk
36:19Israel desperately
36:21needed peace
36:22Jewish refugees
36:24from Europe
36:24and Arab countries
36:25were streaming in
36:33its population
36:34doubled
36:35during the first
36:36two years
36:36its economy
36:38was in ruins
36:50new immigrants
36:52were often settled
36:53along Israel's
36:53frontiers
36:54they lived in fear
36:56of frequent Arab raids
37:03Ben-Gurion blamed
37:05Nasser for the raids
37:06he ordered
37:07he ordered the Israeli
37:08army to retaliate
37:09by striking Arab
37:10countries
37:10harboring infiltrators
37:17Ben-Gurion knew
37:19Arab villagers
37:20supported these terrorists
37:21we had to show them
37:24that helping terrorists
37:25was dangerous
37:26to protect
37:28our settlements
37:32I was called to see
37:34Moshe Dayan
37:36a mother had been killed
37:37murdered on a settlement
37:41the murderers
37:42left tracks
37:43which led to a village
37:44across the border
37:45in Jordan
37:52my orders
37:53were to reach
37:54the village
37:55in Jordan
37:57we had to blow up
37:58as many buildings
37:59as possible
38:01and cause
38:02as many Arab casualties
38:03as possible
38:09the tiny village of Kibya
38:11on the Israel-Jordan border
38:12is in ruins
38:13as day survivors
38:15relate how troops
38:16struck across the frontier
38:17at night
38:19they accuse Israeli forces
38:20of leveling buildings
38:21with grenades
38:22shell fire
38:23and explosives
38:23trapping entire families
38:25in the rubble
38:26the attack prompts
38:28the United States
38:28England and France
38:29to deliver their sharpest
38:31rebuke to Israel
38:31since its founding
38:32and to demand stern action
38:34to punish the guilty troops
38:38after the operation
38:39I was called
38:40to see Ben-Gurion
38:41it was the first time
38:43I'd met him
38:58he said one thing to me
39:00he said
39:01it doesn't matter
39:03what the world says
39:06it doesn't matter
39:07what they say
39:08about Israel
39:09anywhere else
39:11the only thing
39:12that matters
39:13is that we can exist here
39:17unless it's clear
39:18that there is a price
39:19to pay
39:19for Jewish lives
39:21we will not be able
39:22to survive
39:23and that's what counts
39:28Ben-Gurion
39:29Ben-Gurion was such a believer
39:30in the importance
39:31of agricultural settlements
39:32that he abandoned
39:34the prime ministership
39:35and joined a kibbutz
39:36in the desert
39:39he was succeeded
39:40by Moshe Shoret
39:41who hoped he could advance
39:43Israeli security
39:44through diplomacy
39:47but his minister of defense
39:48Pinchas Lavon
39:50believed in military solutions
39:56in July 1954
39:58the British announced
40:00they were quitting
40:00their huge military base
40:02on the Suez Canal
40:13we feared we would be exposed
40:15to an attack from Egypt
40:22the fact that the British army
40:24was there
40:24served as a buffer
40:27it reduced the chance
40:29of an Egyptian attack
40:33on his own
40:34Lavon ordered plans
40:36for destabilizing Egypt
40:38and frightening the British
40:39into remaining
40:42Lavon summoned
40:43the director
40:43of military intelligence
40:44to his home
40:45in Tel Aviv
40:51Lavon would not stop talking
40:52about the need
40:53for action
40:54he suggested
40:55all sorts of schemes
41:01we cooked up a plan
41:03to hit targets
41:04in Egypt
41:05Lavon said
41:06go ahead
41:07activate the unit
41:10in Egypt
41:11Israeli military intelligence
41:13had recruited young Jews
41:14to act as saboteurs
41:19I was ready to do anything
41:21to help Israel
41:22I was idealistic
41:28I was naive
41:34a code word
41:36broadcast during
41:37Israeli radio's
41:38housewives choice
41:39was the signal
41:40to act
41:46in Cairo
41:47I went to one cinema
41:49my friend
41:50went to another
41:52I put the bomb
41:53under an empty seat
41:57no one was killed
41:58and the saboteurs
41:59were all caught
42:00the news was splashed
42:02across Egyptian newspapers
42:04so I went to Charette
42:06and said
42:07look
42:07this is the communique
42:09from Cairo
42:10what do you know
42:11about it
42:13he said
42:14no no no no
42:16this is not
42:17authentic
42:17it can't be
42:18because how can
42:19such a thing happen
42:21I the prime minister
42:22doesn't know about it
42:23after he learned
42:25of Lavon's role
42:26Charette's first priority
42:27was to save the lives
42:29of the young Jews
42:33Moshe Charette
42:37called on me
42:38he said
42:40the cabinet is worried
42:41about the prisoners
42:42in Egypt
42:42we must prevent
42:44death sentences
42:48in a bid for mercy
42:49Charette sent
42:50Devon to Paris
42:51to reveal the truth
42:52to Nasser's envoy
42:57Devon told me
42:58the plot was hatched
43:00in the Ministry of Defense
43:03Charette had no idea
43:04about it
43:06Nasser's response
43:07was not what Charette
43:08had hoped for
43:11in Cairo
43:12two of the saboteurs
43:13were executed
43:14the others went to prison
43:16Marcel Nino
43:17and Robert Dasa
43:18for 15 years
43:21Charette in his office
43:22that night
43:23confided to his diary
43:24that he was living
43:25through a nightmare
43:26in the air
43:27if I do not remove
43:29Lavon
43:29I am supporting
43:30something rotten
43:31that will destroy
43:32the defense ministry
43:33and army command
43:35if I do act
43:36it will destroy
43:37the party
43:38and cause a scandal
43:39what should I do
43:43Lavon was dismissed
43:44from his post
43:45as defense minister
43:47but the damage
43:48was done
43:50Egypt also
43:51was playing
43:55with fire
43:56in Gaza
43:57it recruited
43:58and trained
43:58Palestinians
43:59for military action
44:09they paid
44:10four pounds
44:11a month
44:11in those days
44:12it was a lot
44:14of money
44:14so it was good
44:19they were sent
44:20to Israel
44:20to gather
44:21intelligence
44:22and commit
44:22sabotage
44:29they would see
44:30if an airport
44:30was built
44:31and come back
44:33and report
44:38others
44:39went on military
44:40operations
44:41and carried out
44:42attacks
44:51these infiltrators
44:52the Fedayeen
44:53were a tremendous
44:54security problem
44:55not only
44:56for the settlers
44:57on the borders
44:58but also
44:59in the center
44:59of the country
45:04they were attacking
45:05places
45:05five kilometers
45:07from Tel Aviv
45:12the frequent
45:13attacks
45:14and the loss
45:14of lives
45:15were not only
45:16a disaster
45:17for the victims
45:17families
45:19they fostered
45:20a profound
45:21sense of helplessness
45:22among Israelis
45:26the government
45:27seemed unable
45:28to protect
45:29its own people
45:37only one man
45:39could satisfy
45:39the public's
45:40demand for action
45:41within months
45:43Ben-Gurion
45:44was back
45:45as prime minister
45:48by mid-1955
45:50Nasser
45:51turned to the
45:52Soviet bloc
45:52for economic
45:53and military
45:54assistance
45:58the conflict
45:59now became
45:59part of the
46:00Cold War
46:01and Egypt
46:02received a huge
46:03arms shipment
46:04from Czechoslovakia
46:06new tanks
46:08artillery
46:08bombers
46:09and jet fighters
46:10threatened to render
46:12the Israeli army
46:12and its propeller
46:13air force
46:17obsolete
46:18General Moshe Dayan
46:20wanted to strike
46:21at the Egyptian army
46:22before it could absorb
46:23its new weapons
46:24but Ben-Gurion
46:25felt Israel
46:26could not fight alone
46:27Ben-Gurion
46:28became more and more
46:29convinced
46:29that there is no
46:31diplomatic solution
46:32for the conflict
46:34and because of
46:35the accumulation
46:36of arms
46:38in Egypt
46:41we have to
46:42restore war
46:44triggered by Egypt
46:45A few weeks later
46:46President Nasser
46:48nationalized
46:49the Suez Canal
46:51Unexpectedly
46:52Ben-Gurion
46:53found himself
46:54with two new allies
46:55Britain and France
46:57had jointly
46:58owned the canal
46:59and wanted it back
47:04Ben-Gurion
47:05sent Shimon Peres
47:07to a secret meeting
47:08in Paris
47:12The French defense minister
47:14told me
47:14Britain and France
47:15were planning
47:16an operation
47:17to take the Suez Canal
47:18back from Nasser
47:22and he asked me
47:23would Israel
47:24join them
47:28how long
47:29would it take
47:29Israeli troops
47:30to reach the canal
47:39Ben-Gurion
47:40waited anxiously
47:41for the return
47:42of his emissary
47:48Ben-Gurion
47:49asked me
47:49well
47:50what did
47:51the French say
47:53so I began
47:54to tell him
47:55about their plan
47:58he interrupted
48:00and said
48:00ok
48:01this changes
48:02everything
48:03we'll go
48:04with them
48:06Israel invaded
48:07Egypt
48:07secretly supported
48:08by Britain
48:09and France
48:15within a week
48:16Israeli troops
48:17had captured
48:18the Sinai desert
48:25Britain and France
48:26tried to retake
48:27the Suez Canal
48:27until international
48:29pressure
48:29forced them
48:30to withdraw
48:34but for Israel
48:36the war
48:37was a triumph
48:44we achieved
48:45our main purpose
48:46the main purpose
48:47was free navigation
48:48in the Straits of
48:49Elat
48:50which is rather vital
48:51and this happened
48:53until now
48:53the second objective
48:55was secure safety
48:57for our settlements
48:58near the Gaza
48:58street
48:59I cannot say
49:00we got it
49:02entirely
49:03but there are more
49:04safe than the war
49:05before
49:06the Israeli forces
49:07withdrew from Sinai
49:09and the positions
49:10along the Israeli border
49:11and the Straits of Tehran
49:13were guarded by
49:14United Nations forces
49:16for ten years
49:18there was peace
49:19along the Israeli-Egyptian border
49:21under the UN flag
49:23in the U.S.
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