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1949 Armistice Agreements

 

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1949 Armistice Agreements



 
 
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 and neighboring Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
, and Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, known by the Israelis predominantly as War of Independence and War of Liberation , and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the Declaration of Independence State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict....
, and established armistice
Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace....
 lines between Israel and the Jordanian-held West Bank
West Bank

The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
, also known as the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)

The term Green Line is used to refer to the 1949 Armistice Agreements established between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War....
.
The United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 established supervising and reporting agencies to monitor the established armistice lines.






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1947 Un Partition Plan 1949 Armistice Comparison
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 and neighboring Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
, and Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, known by the Israelis predominantly as War of Independence and War of Liberation , and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the Declaration of Independence State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict....
, and established armistice
Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace....
 lines between Israel and the Jordanian-held West Bank
West Bank

The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
, also known as the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)

The term Green Line is used to refer to the 1949 Armistice Agreements established between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War....
.
The United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 established supervising and reporting agencies to monitor the established armistice lines. In addition, discussions related to the armistice enforcement, led to the signing of the separate Tripartite Declaration of 1950
Tripartite Declaration of 1950

The Tripartite Declaration of 1950 , was a jointly issued statement by the United States, United Kingdom, and France, which guaranteed the territorial status quo determined by Arab - Israeli 1949 Armistice Agreements....
 between the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. In it, they pledged to take action within and outside the United Nations to prevent violations of the frontiers or armistice lines. It also outlined their commitment to peace and stability in the area, their opposition to the use or threat of force, and reiterated their opposition to the development of an arms race. These lines held until the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War

In the Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967, Israel defeated the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In Arabic, the war is called ....
.

Agreements


With Egypt

On 6 January 1949, Dr. Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche

Ralph Johnson Bunche was an United States political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine....
 announced that Egypt had finally consented to start talks with Israel on an armistice. The talks began on the Greek island of Rhodes
Rhodes

Rhodes is a Greece List of islands of Greece approximately southwest of Turkey in eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007 of which 53,709 resided in the Rhodes capital city of the island....
 on 12 January, and, shortly after their commencement, Israel agreed to the release of a besieged Egyptian brigade in Faluja
Al-Faluja

al-Faluja was an Arab village in the British Mandate Palestine, located 30 kilometers northeast of Gaza City. The village and the neighbouring village of Iraq al-Manshiyya formed part of the Faluja pocket, where 4,000 Military of Egypt were besieged for four months by the newly established Israel Defense Forces....
. At the end of the month, the talks floundered. Israel demanded that Egypt withdraw all its forces from the former area of Palestine. Egypt insisted that Arab forces withdraw to the positions which they held on 14 October 1948, as per the Security Council Resolution S/1070 of 4 November 1948.

The deadlock culminated on 12 February 1949 with the murder of Hassan al-Banna
Hassan al-Banna

Hassan al-Banna was an Egyptians social and political reformer, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential 20th century Muslim revivalist organizations....
, leader of the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brothers is a transnational Sunni Islam movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly Egypt....
. Israel threatened to abandon the talks, whereupon the United States appealed to the parties to bring them to a successful conclusion.

On 24 February the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement was signed in Rhodes
Rhodes

Rhodes is a Greece List of islands of Greece approximately southwest of Turkey in eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007 of which 53,709 resided in the Rhodes capital city of the island....
. The main points of the armistice agreement were:
  • The armistice line was drawn along the international border (dating back to 1906) for the most part, except near the Mediterranean Sea
    Mediterranean Sea

    The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
    , where Egypt remained in control of a strip of land along the coast, which became known as the Gaza Strip
    Gaza Strip

    The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north....
    .
  • The Egyptian forces besieged in the Faluja Pocket were allowed to return to Egypt with their weapons, and the area was handed over to Israel.
  • A zone on both sides of the border around 'Uja al-Hafeer was to be demilitarized, and became the seat of the bilateral armistice committee.


With Lebanon

The agreement with Lebanon was signed on 23 March 1949. The main points were:
  • The armistice line ("Green Line
    Green Line

    The term Green Line may refer to:...
    ", see also Blue Line (Lebanon)
    Blue Line (Lebanon)

    The Blue Line is a Demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon....
    ) was drawn along the international border.
  • Unlike the other agreements, there was no clause disclaiming this line as an international border, which was thereafter treated as it had been previously, as a de jure
    De jure

    De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".The terms de jure and de facto are used instead of "in principle" and "in practice", respectively, when one is describing politics or legal situations....
     international border.
  • Israel withdrew its forces from 13 villages in Lebanese territory, which were occupied during the war.


With Jordan

The agreement with Jordan was signed on 3 April 1949. The main points:
  • Jordanian forces remained in most positions held by them in the West Bank
    West Bank

    The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
    , particularly East Jerusalem
    East Jerusalem

    East Jerusalem refers to the part of Jerusalem captured by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and subsequently by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War....
     which included the Old City.
  • Jordan withdrew its forces from their front posts overlooking the Plain of Sharon. In return, Israel agreed to allow Jordanian forces to take over positions in the West Bank previously held by Iraq
    Iraq

    Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
    i forces.
  • Exchange of territory: According to Article 6 Israel received a territory in the area known as Wadi Ara
    Wadi Ara

    Wadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arab citizens of Israels. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District....
     and the Little Triangle in exchange for territory in the southern hills of Hebron. In March 1949 as the Iraqi forces withdrew from Palestine and handed over their positions to the smaller Jordanian legion, 3 Israeli brigades manoeuvred into threatening positions in Operation Shin-Tav-Shin in a form of coercive diplomacy. The operation allowed Israel to renegotiate the cease fire line in the Wadi Ara area of the Northern West Bank in a secret agreement reached on 23 March 1949 and incorporated into the General Armistice Agreement. The green line was then redrawn in blue ink on the southern map to give the impression that a movement into green line had been made. The events that led to a change in the Green line was an exchange of fertile land in the Bethlehem area to Israeli control and the village of Wadi Fukin being given to Jordanian control. On 15 July when the Israeli Army expelled the population of Wadi Fukin after the village had been transferred to the Israeli-occupied area under the terms of the Armistice Agreement concluded between Israel and the Jordan Kingdom The Mixed Armistice Commission decided on 31 August, by a majority vote, that Israel had violated the Armistice Agreement by expelling villagers across the demarcation line and decided that the villagers should be allowed to return to their homes. However, when the villagers returned to Wadi Fukin under the supervision of the United Nations observers on September 6, they found most of their houses destroyed and were again compelled by the Israeli Army to return to Jordanian controlled territory. The United Nations Chairman of the Mixed Commission, Colonel Garrison B. Coverdale (US), pressed for a solution of this issue to be found in the Mixed Armistice Commission, in an amicable and UN spirit. After some hesitation, this procedure was accepted and finally an agreement was reached whereby the Armistice line was changed to give back Wadi Fukin to the Jordanian authority who, in turn, agreed to transfer some uninhabited, but fertile territory south of Bethlehem to the Israelis.


  • A Special Committee was to be formed to make arrangements for safe movement of traffic between Jerusalem
    Jerusalem

    Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
     and Mount Scopus
    Mount Scopus

    Mount Scopus is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem, Israel. Overlooking Jerusalem, Mount Scopus has been strategically important as a base from which to attack the city since antiquity....
     campus of Hebrew University, along the Latrun
    Latrun

    Latrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 15 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla....
    -Jerusalem
    Jerusalem

    Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
     Highway, free access to the Holy Places, and other matters.


With Syria

The agreement with Syria was signed on July 20, 1949. Syria withdrew its forces from most of the territories it controlled west of the international border, which became demilitarized zone
Demilitarized zone

is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more military powers , where military activity is not permitted, usually by peace treaty, armistice, or other bilateral or multilateral agreement....
s. It was emphasised that the armistice line was "not to be interpreted as having any relation whatsoever to ultimate territorial arrangements." (Article V)

Iraq

Iraq, whose forces took an active part in the war (although it has no common border with Israel), withdrew its forces from the region in March 1949. The front occupied by Iraqi forces was covered by the armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan and there was no separate agreement with Iraq.

Cease-fire line vs. permanent border


The areas under Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
i control, as set by the agreements, encompassed about 78% of mandatory Palestine as it stood after the independence of Transjordan
Transjordan

The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman Empire territory incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921 as an autonomous political division under Abdullah I of Jordan....
 (now Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
) in 1946. From the early 1920s to 1946, the British mandate of Palestine had also encompassed Transjordan
Transjordan

The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman Empire territory incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921 as an autonomous political division under Abdullah I of Jordan....
, ruled under different arrangements from the area west of the Jordan river
Jordan River

The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers. It is 251 kilometers long....
. Israel inside the armistice lines composed about 18% of this larger area including Transjordan
Transjordan

The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman Empire territory incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921 as an autonomous political division under Abdullah I of Jordan....
. The areas of Palestine
Palestine

Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is derived from a name used already much earlier for a narrower geographical region, mainly along the coastal region....
 not occupied by Israel (the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north....
 and West Bank
West Bank

The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
) were occupied by Egypt and Jordan respectively until 1967. See the related articles Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt
Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt

Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt : 1947 - October 1956; March 1957 - June 1967....
 and Occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan.

The armistice agreements were intended to serve only as interim agreements until replaced by permanent peace treaties. However, no peace treaties were actually signed until decades later.

The armistice agreements, except for the one with Lebanon, were clear (at Arab insistence) that they were not creating permanent or de jure
De jure

De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".The terms de jure and de facto are used instead of "in principle" and "in practice", respectively, when one is describing politics or legal situations....
 borders. The Egyptian-Israeli agreement stated "The Armistice Demarcation Line is not to be construed in any sense as a political or territorial boundary, and is delineated without prejudice to rights, claims and positions of either Party to the Armistice as regards ultimate settlement of the Palestine question."

The Jordanian-Israeli agreement stated: "... no provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights, claims, and positions of either Party hereto in the peaceful settlement of the Palestine questions, the provisions of this Agreement being dictated exclusively by military considerations" (Art. II.2), "The Armistice Demarcation Lines defined in articles V and VI of this Agreement are agreed upon by the Parties without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines or to claims of either Party relating thereto." (Art. VI.9)

As the armistice lines were technically not borders the Arabs considered that Israel was restricted in its rights to develop the DMZ and exploitation of the water resources. Further that as a state of war still existed with the Arab nations, the Arab League was not hindered in their right to deny Israel the freedom of navigation through the Arab League waters. Also it was argued that the Palestinians had the right of return and that the Israeli use of abandoned property was therefore not legitimate.

In the Knesset
Knesset

The Knesset is the legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem....
 then Foreign Minister and future Prime Minister Moshe Sharett
Moshe Sharett

Moshe Sharett was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms....
 called the armistice lines "provisional boundaries" and the old international borders which the armistice lines, except with Jordan, were based on, "natural boundaries".. Israel did not lay claim to territory beyond them and proposed them, with minor modifications except at Gaza, as the basis of permanent political frontiers at the Lausanne Conference, 1949
Lausanne Conference, 1949

The Lausanne Conference, 1949 was convened by the United Nations Conciliation Commission from 27 April to 12 September, 1949. During the conference, representatives of Israel, the Arab states Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria, and Palestinian refugees attempted to resolve disputes arising from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, ....
.

After the 1967 Six Day War several Israeli leaders argued against turning the armistice lines into permanent borders on the grounds of Israeli security:
  • Prime Minister Golda Meir
    Golda Meir

    Golda Meir was the fourth prime minister of the Israel.Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel on 17 March 1969, after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister....
     said the pre-1967 borders were so dangerous that it "would be treasonable" for an Israeli leader to accept them (New York Times, December 23, 1969).
  • The Foreign Minister Abba Eban
    Abba Eban

    Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician....
     said the pre-1967 borders have "a memory of Auschwitz" (Der Spiegel
    Der Spiegel

    Der Spiegel is a German weekly magazine, published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest weekly magazines with a circulation of more than one million per week....
    , November 5, 1969).
  • Prime Minister Menachem Begin
    Menachem Begin

    was the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. Before the establishment of the state, he was the leader of the Irgun, playing a central role in Jewish resistance to the British Mandate of Palestine....
     described a proposal for a retreat to the pre-1967 borders as "national suicide for Israel."


The internationally recognized border between Egypt and Israel was eventually demarcated as part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty

The Egyptian?Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, United States, on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accords . The main features of the treaty were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the complete withdrawal by Isra...
. The border between Israel and Jordan (except for Jordan's border with the post-1967 West Bank) was demarcated as part of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty
Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace

File:Hussein Clinton Rabin.jpgThe Israel?Jordan Treaty of Peace is a peace treaty signed in 1994. The treaty normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes between them....
.

Violations

In each case Mixed Armistice Commissions
Mixed Armistice Commissions

The Mixed Armistice Commissions . An organisation for monitoring the cease fire along the lines set by the General Armistice Agreements. It was composed of United Nations Military Observers and was part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization peacekeeping force in the Middle East....
 (MACs) were formed under the auspices of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization

The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Its primary task was providing the military command structure to the peace keeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peace keepers to observe and maintain the cease-fire, and as may be necessary in assisting...
, (UNTSO) which investigated complaints by all parties and made regular reports to the UN Security Council.

Israel refused to attend the meetings of the Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission
Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission

Israel?Syria Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations commission for observing the armistice between Israel and Syria after the 1948 Arab?Israeli War, as part of the Mixed Armistice Commissions ....
 since 1951. This refusal on the part of Israel not only constitutes a flagrant violation of the General Armistice Agreement, but also contributed to an increase of tension in the area. The Security Council itself strongly condemned the attitude of Israel, in its resolution of 18 May 1951, as being "inconsistent with the objectives and intent of the Armistice Agreement".

The discussion of complaints by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission

At the closing of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, on 3 April 1949, the Hashemite Jordan Kingdom and Israel signed a truce called the 1949 Armistice Agreements....
 during the year 1952 resulted in:

  • 1. Jordan being condemned for 19 violations of the General Armistice Agreement;


  • 2. Israel being condemned for 12 violations of the General Armistice Agreement;


Statistics Taken from The Official Records of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission Period from 1 January 1953 Through 15 October 1953:-

  • The discussion of the 171 Israeli complaints by the Mixed Armistice Commission resulted in Jordan being condemned for 20 violations of the General Armistice Agreement.


  • The discussion of the 161 Jordanian complaints by the Mixed Armistice Commission resulted in Israel being condemned for 21 violations of the General Armistice Agreement.


28-29 January 1953 Israeli military forces estimated at 120 to 150 men, using mortars, 3-inch mortars, PIAT
PIAT

The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank , was one of the earlier anti-tank weapons using a HEAT projectile. It was developed by the United Kingdom starting in 1941, reaching the field in time for the Operation Husky in 1943....
 weapons, bangalore torpedoes, machine-guns, grenades and small arms, crossed the demarcation line and attacked the Arab villages of Falameh and Rantis. At Falameh the mukhtar was killed, seven other villagers were wounded, and three houses were demolished. The attack lasted four and a half hours. Israel was condemned for this act by the Mixed Armistice Commission.

22 April 1953, firing broke out at sunset within Jerusalem along the demarcation line on a length of about 4 kilometres. It lasted two hours, until the cease-fire arranged by United Nations observers came into effect. On the following day, there were isolated shots in the early morning and in the afternoon. There were twenty Jordanian casualties-ten killed and ten wounded. Six Israelis were wounded. The Jerusalem incident was investigated by United Nations observers. After studying the evidence thus collected, my predecessor, General Riley, in a report to the Security Council on the violation of the cease-fire [S/3607], stated that it appeared impossible to determine who fired the first shot.

On 25, 26 and 27 May, the two parties submitted complaints alleging violation of the General Armistice Agreement by civilians and military personnel in the Al-Dawayima
Al-Dawayima

Al-Dawayima was a Palestinian town, located 18 kilometers northwest of the city of Hebron. It is identified with the Old Testament town of Bosqat....
 area. In an emergency meeting of the Mixed Armistice Commission, both parties agreed to a mixed investigation. United Nations observers accompanied the representatives to the demarcation line to establish the facts. Despite the cease-fire which had been previously arranged, heavy firing broke out during the investigation. The origin of the incident was the illegal cultivation by Jordanians of land in Israel territory. Armed Jordanians had penetrated Israel territory to harvest crops, and other Jordanians had fired across the demarcation line to protect the harvesters. On the other hand, Israel troops had fired across the demarcation line at Jordanians in Jordan territory, and Israeli soldiers had burned crops in Jordan territory.

During the latter part of May 1953, incidents took place which cost the lives of three persons and in which six others were wounded. There seemed to be no motive for these crimes other than killing for the sake of killing. On the night of 25-26 May, an armed group from Jordan attacked two homes in Beit Arif, wounding two women. The same night, armed Jordanians attacked a home in Beit Nabala, killing a woman and wounding her husband and two children. Jordan was condemned for all three of these attacks. On the night of 9 June, armed Jordanians blew up a house in Tirat Yehuda, killing one man, And two nights later an armed band struck at a house in Kfar Hess, killing a woman and seriously wounding her husband. Jordan was again condemned by the Mixed Armistice Commission for these attacks. Both Governments were greatly concerned over the happenings during this fortnight, and a great effort was made to stop the work of these groups, which seemed bent on creating tension along the border.

11 August 1953, Israel military forces using demolition mines, bangalore torpedoes, 2-inch mortars, machine-guns and small arms attacked the villages of Idna, Surif and Wadi Fukin, inflicting casualties among the inhabitants and destroying dwellings. The body of an Israel soldier in full uniform with identification tag was found in the village of Idna after the attack. The Mixed Armistice Commission condemned Israel for these attacks.

2 September 1953: Palestinian infiltrated from Jordan, and reached the neighbourhood of Katamon, in the heart of Jerusalem. They threw hand grenades in all directions. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

3 September 1953: Sovereignty over the DMZ between Syria Israel is questioned when Israel start a creeping border attempt by using a water diversion in DMZ as an excuse the UN orders work halted; USA threatens to end aid channelled to Israel by the Foreign Operations Administration: Israel moves intake out of DMZ.

September 1953 the General Headquarters orders Unit 101 to drive Bedouins out from the Negev and push them southward to Sinai. Unit 101 soldiers act aggressively: they raid the Bedouin camp, shooting aimlessly, confiscating arms and burning tents. The Bedouins run away, leaving many wounded behind. For a few days Unit 101 pursuits the Bedouins until they are out of the Negev.

2 October 1953: The explosion of a land mine on the Israel railway north of Eyal derailed an Israel freight train. The Mixed Armistice Commission has held Jordan responsible for this act of violence which fortunately caused no loss of life and relatively little damage, as the train was made up of empty tank cars.

14-15 October 1953: Qibya massacre
Qibya massacre

The Qibya Massacre occurred in October 1953 when Israeli troops under Ariel Sharon attacked a Jordanian West Bank village. 69 Palestinians were killed, many while hiding in houses blown up over their heads....
 The crossing of the demarcation line by a force approximating one half of a fully equipped battalion from the Israel regular army. Into Qibya village, to attack the inhabitants by firing from automatic weapons, throwing grenades, and using Bangalore torpedoes together with TNT explosive. Forty-one dwelling houses and a school building were destroyed. Resulting in the cold-blooded murder of forty-two lives (later increased to 53) including men, women [and] children, and the wounding of fifteen persons and the damage of a police car, [and] at the same time, the crossing of a part of the same group into Shuqba village, [are] a breach of article III, para-graph 2 of the General Armistice Agreement.

Israel Unit 101 commanded by Ariel Sharon, attacks Qibia in the West Bank killing 53 Palestinians. between thirty and forty buildings had been completely demolished, including the school, the water-pumping station, the police station and the telephone office. Bullet-riddled bodies near the doorways and multiple bullet hits on the doors of the demolished houses indicated that the inhabitants had been forced to remain inside until their homes were blown up over them. Witnesses were uniform in describing their experience as a night of horror, during which Israel soldiers moved about in their village blowing up buildings, firing into doorways and windows with automatic weapons and throwing hand grenades. A number of unexploded hand grenades, marked with Hebrew letters indicating recent Israel manufacture, and three bags of TNT were found in and about the village.

By the time the acting chairman of the Mixed Armistice Commission left Qibya, twenty-seven bodies had been dug from the rubble. The villagers were digging for others who they claimed were still buried beneath the building stones. They believed that the number of dead might reach sixty. Six wounded persons were seen in the village, and the acting chairman was told that there were other wounded persons in the hospital.

Following the Security Council resolution 101 of 24 November 1953 condemning Israel for the attack on Qibya the Security Council "took note of the fact that there is substantial evidence of crossing of the demarcation line by unauthorized persons, ten resulting in acts of violence and requests the Government of Jordan to continue and strengthen the measures which they are already taking to prevent such crossing." The Jordanian authorities carried out the following measures:-

  • (a) Increase of the number of police assigned to the border area;


  • (b) Increase of the number of patrols;


  • (c) Replacement of village mukhtars and area commanders, where laxity of border control was suspected;


  • (d) Removal from the border area of suspected infiltrators and imposing of heavy sentences on known infiltrators;


16 December 1953, two Israeli soldiers were killed while on patrol inside Israel territory (approximate M. R. 1433-1097). On 21 December, the Mixed Armistice Commission condemned Jordan for this incident.

18 December 1953, a car was ambushed on the Hebron road (approximate M.R. 1658-1221) inside Jordan and an Arab Legion medical officer was killed. Israel was condemned by the Mixed Armistice Commission for this incident (21 December).

21 December 1953, an armed group attacked a Bedouin camp near Tarqumyia (approximate M.R. 1512-1092) wounding one man. Israel was condemned by the Mixed Armistice Commission for this incident (23 December).

21 December, an armed group, using explosives and automatic weapons, attacked a house near Hebron (approximate M.R. 1591-1066) killing one pregnant woman and two men, and wounding another man. Israel was condemned for this incident (24 December). The last three incidents were apparently reprisal attacks for the killing of the two Israeli soldiers on 16 December. Two Arabs responsible for this crime were arrested by the Jordan police a few days later.

14 February 1954, an Israeli villager on guard duty at Mahasyia, near Deiraban, (approximate M. R. 1510-1282) in the central area, was killed. No evidence was introduced to indicate that Jordanians were guilty of this crime and on 18 February the Chairman voted against the Israeli draft resolution condemning Jordan.

17 February 1954: the Israel delegation complained that five armed persons (two of them Negroes) dressed in khaki, crossed the demarcation line during the night and, on the morning of 16 February, stole a flock of 260 sheep belonging to an Israeli kibbutz. According to the complaint, the Israeli shepherd and his flock were taken into caves and kept there till 5.30 p.m. when the shepherd was released and the marauders returned to the Gaza Strip with the flock crossing the demarcation line at M.R. 1067-1024. The Israel delegation considered that "the above was a carefully planned action ordered by the Egyptian authorities and carried out by a well-trained military unit."

17 February 1954: the Israel delegation complained that two Arabs crossed the demarcation line into Israel at M.R. 1018-0992, on 16 February. According to the complaint, they started to escape when challenged by Israeli guards, and fire having been opened on them, one was hit and was dragged over the demarcation line by the second.

18 February, the Mixed Armistice Commission condemned Israel and Jordan for firing across the demarcation line on 14 February near Deir el Ghusun (approximate M. R. 1575-1955) in the northern area. This firing resulted in the killing, of one Jordanian.

18 February: the Israel delegation complained that on 18 February at 1 p.m. two armed Egyptian soldiers crossed the demarcation line at M.R. 10884-10486. According to the complaint, the Egyptian soldiers refused to stop, when challenged by an Israeli patrol; two warning shots were fired; one of the Egyptian soldieries escaped, and the other was killed 15 meters inside Israel territory

18 February: the Israel delegation complained that on 18 February four armed infiltrators crossed the demarcation line into Israel and that when challenged by an Israel patrol at M.R. 1023-1123 they started to escape while firing on the patrol. During the exchange of fire one of the infiltrators was killed.

19 February: the Egyptian delegation complained that on 18 February, at M.R. 1087-1050, a patrol of two Egyptian soldiers in Egyptian territory was attacked by armed Israelis hiding in ambush. One of the Egyptian soldiers was kidnapped and killed inside Israel-controlled territory, close to the demarcation line (Cf. sub-paragraph (c) above summarizing an Israeli complaint dated 18 February).

19 February: the Egyptian delegation complained that on 19 February armed Israelis opened automatic fire across the demarcation line at an Arab working in his field at M.R. 0952-0931. The Arab was seriously injured.

24 February One Arab was reported killed and another wounded by the Egyptian Delegation. 16 March 1954, Israelis of the Ein Gev colony began ploughing 130 dunums of land situated near the colony and belonging to the Arab population of demilitarised Nuqeib, in violation of the verbal agreement concluded at Samara in 1950 to the effect that the two parties should retain and work the said land until the problem was settled.

17 March 1954: Ma'ale Akrabim [Scorpion Pass].Terrorists ambushed a bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv, and opened fire at short range when the bus reached the area of Maale Akrabim in the northern Negev. In the initial ambush, the terrorists killed the driver and wounded most of the passengers. The terrorists then boarded the bus, and shot each passenger, one by one. Eleven passengers were murdered. Survivors recounted how the murderers spat on the bodies and abused them. The Israeli claimed that the terrorists could clearly be traced back to the Jordanian border, some 20 km from the site of the terrorist attack. The MAC investigation found that the claim could not be substantiated and that the attack was more likely to have been by Bedu tribesman from within Israel and the Israeli complaint was not upheld.

23 March 1954: The Israel Government has severed all connections with the Mixed Armistice Commission. It has also discontinued attendance at the local commanders' meetings provided for under a separate Israel-Jordan agreement. Israel communications referring to alleged violations by Jordan of the General Armistice Agreement have been addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the request that they should be circulated to the members of the Security Council. The Chief of Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization in Jerusalem has been informed of such alleged violations of the General Armistice Agreement only on receiving from New York a copy of the Security Council document. The non-co-operation of the Israel Government has prevented the investigation of such alleged violations in conformity with the provisions of the General Armistice Agreement.

On 29 March 1954, at 07.00 hours, local time, the Jordanian delegation presented to the Chairman of the Mixed Armistice Commission a verbal complaint dealing with an incident which had occurred at Nahhalin village seven hours earlier and requested an immediate investigation as well as an emergency meeting of the Commission to consider the incident.

The Jordanian complaint was that On 29 March 1954 at 07.00 hours, local time, at Nahhalin village, some 35 kilometers from the demarcation line "an Israel armed force, well equipped, surrounded the village from three directions and penetrated inside the village and opened fire from different automatic weapons, threw hand-grenades and placed mines at some houses, including the mosque of the village. As a result of this brutal attack, 9 persons—8 men and 1 woman—were killed, and 14 others were injured and taken to hospital. Fire lasted for about one hour and a half, and was returned by the village guards. Then the aggressors withdrew. Mines, grenades and other warlike materials bearing Hebrew markings were found on the spot. This complaint was upheld by the Mixed Armistice Commission
Mixed Armistice Commissions

The Mixed Armistice Commissions . An organisation for monitoring the cease fire along the lines set by the General Armistice Agreements. It was composed of United Nations Military Observers and was part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization peacekeeping force in the Middle East....


30 June 1954, two Israeli armoured launchers attacked the Syrian post of El Koursi, situated on Syrian soil, with their 20-mm. and 57-mm. guns, this time with the support of Israel field artillery sited in the defensive area. This artillery continued firing for approximately one hour and 45 minutes, causing material damage to the post.

5 December 1954, at approximately 16.30 hours, a group of 8 armed Israel State policemen stationed approximately at MR 209600 233400 opened fire on two Arab farmers at approximately MR 209600 233450 in the southern demilitarised zone (Tawafiq). The fire was returned by the two Arabs. One of them was hit by a bullet and immediately taken to hospital. The MAC Decided that the presence of a regular Israel police force in the southern demilitarised zone is a flagrant violation of article V of the General Armistice Agreement and requested that the Israel authorities to pay to the wounded Arab civilian an appropriate compensation

A list of 29 complaints of alleged infractions of the agreement by Jordan was submitted on April 6, 1954. These alleged infractions included alleged Jordanian attacks on an Israeli civilian bus, killing 11 people (see 17 March above), attacks on Israeli farmers and Bedouin shepherds, sniping at Israeli civilians from the Old City of Jerusalem, kidnappings, shooting at civilian aircraft, ambushing roads and laying mines. In violation of the agreements, the Jordanians denied Jewish access to the holy places in Jerusalem, prohibited visits to Rachel's Tomb
Rachel's Tomb

Rachel's Tomb , is the traditional gravesite of the Biblical Matriarch Rachel and is widely considered the third holiest site in Judaism. It is located in the central West Bank on the outskirts of Bethlehem....
 and vandalized the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in east Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters ....
, using tombstones for construction of pavements and latrines. The 'Uja al-Hafeer demilitarized zone on the Israeli-Egyptian border was the site of numerous border incidents and armistice violations. In September 1955, Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon

is a former Israeli Prime Minister of Israel and military leader. Sharon served as Prime Minister from March 2001 until April 2006, though he was unable to carry out his duties after suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006, when he fell into a coma and entered a persistent vegetative state....
's paratroopers entered the United Nation sector of the demilitarized zone. Benny Morris writes that Sharon "didn't realize that the UN area was off limits for his men." On May 28, 1958, Israel reported a shooting incident in the demilitarized zone on Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus

Mount Scopus is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem, Israel. Overlooking Jerusalem, Mount Scopus has been strategically important as a base from which to attack the city since antiquity....
 in which 4 Israel police officers patrolling the botanical gardens of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is Israel's oldest university.The First Board of Governors included Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, and Chaim Weizmann....
, along with the United Nations observer sent to extricate them, were killed by Jordanian fire from Issawiya. Israel sent soldiers into Jordanian territory to conduct raids in retaliation for incursions by armed persons into Israel. From their positions on the Golan Heights
Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a contested, strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The term Golan Heights actually has two separate meanings, one geography and one political:...
 Syrian forces shelled Israeli settlements in the demilitarized zone, attacked fishing boats on the Kinneret
Kinneret

Kinneret or Kineret may refer to:*The Sea of Galilee, Israel's largest freshwater lake.*Kinneret, Israel, a village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee...
  and fired on agricultural workers.

See also

  • 1947 UN Partition Plan
    1947 UN Partition Plan

    The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or s:United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 was a plan adopted by a decision of the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947....
  • 1948 Arab-Israeli War
    1948 Arab-Israeli War

    The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, known by the Israelis predominantly as War of Independence and War of Liberation , and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the Declaration of Independence State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict....
  • Arab-Israeli conflict
  • Blue Line
    Blue Line (Lebanon)

    The Blue Line is a Demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon....
  • Peace Process in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
    Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

    The peace process in the Israeli?Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East and an "all or nothing" attitude about a lasting peace, "which prevailed for most of the twentieth century"....


Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy and treaties

  • Paris Peace Conference, 1919
    Paris Peace Conference, 1919

    The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors in World War I to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations, and to deal with the empires of the defeated powers following the Armistice of 1918....
  • Faisal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
    Faisal-Weizmann Agreement

    The Faisal-Weizmann Agreement was signed on January 3, 1919, by Faisal I of Iraq and Chaim Weizmann as part of the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 settling disputes stemming from World War I....
  • Camp David Accords (1978)
  • Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (1979)
    Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty

    The Egyptian?Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, United States, on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accords . The main features of the treaty were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the complete withdrawal by Isra...
  • Madrid Conference of 1991
    Madrid Conference of 1991

    The Madrid Conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR. It convened on October 30 1991 and lasted for three days....
  • Oslo Accords (1993)
    Oslo Accords

    The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles was a milestone in the Palestinian - Israeli conflict....
  • Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (1994)
    Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace

    File:Hussein Clinton Rabin.jpgThe Israel?Jordan Treaty of Peace is a peace treaty signed in 1994. The treaty normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes between them....
  • Camp David 2000 Summit
    Camp David 2000 Summit

    The Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President of the United States of America Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat....
  • Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
    Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

    The peace process in the Israeli?Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East and an "all or nothing" attitude about a lasting peace, "which prevailed for most of the twentieth century"....
  • Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs
    Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs

    Projects that work to foster peaceful and productive co-existence between Israelis and Arabs fall into various categories....
  • List of Middle East peace proposals
    List of Middle East peace proposals

    *Folke Bernadotte#His peace efforts in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1947/8 *UN Security Council Resolution 242 **Land for peace *Jarring Mission ...
  • International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict
    International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict

    There is international consensus that at least some of the actions of the nations involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict are "illegal" under international law ....


Texts

The complete texts of the Armistice Agreements can be found at


A at the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 web site for "Mixed Armistice Commission" will reveal many of the reports made to the UN by those commissions.

External links