THE PLOT

In 1959 Yasser Arafat and Khalil al-Wazir founded an organization called Fatah, which means “victory” or “conquest” in Arabic. Fatah was formed out of frustration with Egypt, specifically its president, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Arafat and al-Wazir believed that if the Palestinians wanted liberation, through Israel’s defeat, they would have to do it themselves. Their strategy was armed struggle — to continue the violent opposition to Zionism that the Palestinians had started in the 1920s and 30s. It quickly became an organization of young Palestinians who were smart, driven, and often had military or fedayeen experience. 

Although the Arab countries agreed on many things, they were far from united and, indeed, often at violent ends with each other. But they could all agree that they didn’t want an independent Palestinian state, and therefore an independent Palestinian militia running around. So they decided to undermine Fatah by creating their own Palestinian organization, which they would control. They called that group, founded in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and were determined to control it.

On January 1, 1965, Fatah initiated its first attack on Israel, targeting a pumping station of the new National Water Carrier. The operation failed, but the publicity was a huge success amongst Palestinians, who felt that someone was finally fighting the Israelis. Over the next year Fatah staged more than a hundred attacks.

On November 11, 1966, three Israeli soldiers were killed when their jeep hit a landmine planted by Fatah along the Israeli-Jordanian border in the West Bank. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol wanted to retaliate against the Jordanian village from where the terrorists came, but it was a controversial decision. Most Fatah attacks came from Syria, and Israel was in secret talks with King Hussein of Jordan, who was the most moderate Arab leader. He was against Fatah but also asked Israel not to retaliate on his territory, since that would make him even more unpopular.

On November 13, 1966, the IDF crossed into Jordan-occupied West Bank and headed towards the village of as-Samu, where the Fatah terrorists had come from. The army evacuated the residents and razed many homes. But the Jordanian Army soon showed up and a firefight ensued, with soldiers killed on both sides. The Palestinians directed their anger at King Hussein and several were killed by Jordanian security forces. The PLO likewise condemned Hussein, and the king for his part complained that Egypt didn’t come to his help like Nasser had promised. The as-Samu incident revealed how divided the Arabs really were. 

The attack on as-Samu was a bad omen. It earned Israel international condemnation, including from its allies like Britain and the United States. Both Ben Gurion and Moshe Dayan criticized Eshkol for weakening King Hussein. Instead of getting closer to Israel, now Hussein would have to stick with the Egyptians and the Syrians, even though he didn’t really want to. But Eshkol insisted that Israel would strike back at terrorists from where ever they came, and Jordan could not be immune from responsibility. Still, the lesson was that retaliation wasn’t effective against Palestinian terrorism; yet Israel simply didn’t have a better solution. 

THE PEOPLE

Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar): Leader of Fatah and later the PLO. He claimed to have been born in Jerusalem, and so an original Palestinian refugee, but he was more likely born in Cairo in 1929. He would spend the next four decades directing a campaign of terrorism against Israel. 

Rafi Eitan: Mossad head of European operations, who advocated assassinating the leaders of Fatah at an early stage.

Levi Eshkol: Israeli Prime Minister wrestling with how to respond effectively to terrorism. 

King Hussein: 29-year-old King of Jordan pursuing secret negotiations with Israel, and who was unpopular with his Arab neighbors and the Palestinians. 

Gamal Abdel Nasser: President of Egypt. Championed himself as defender of the Palestinians against Israel, but, after the failed war in the Sinai in 1956, had refrained from further attacking Israel and did not support Fatah.

Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad): Palestinian refugee born near Tel Aviv, co-founder of Fatah with Yasser Arafat. Led early terrorist attacks against Israel.

THE BIG IDEAS

Egyptian President Nasser and the other Arab counties didn’t really care that much about the Palestinians, except where they could be a useful propaganda tool against Israel. The original 720,000 Palestinian refugees from 1948, who were growing in numbers, were left destitute and crowded into slums, without much prospect for employment, health care, or education. Rather than absorb and integrate the Palestinians, the Arab countries were content to leave them in misery since it made Israel look bad. The Palestinians often resented the Arab leaders.

The PLO charter declared it “inevitable” that Palestine would have to be liberated by force, and so set forth its intention to wage armed struggle against Israel without any possibility for negotiation or diplomacy. Palestinian liberation was declared essential for the unity of all Arabs, raising the conflict with Israel to the status of a holy cause. Judaism was declared to be only a religion, and therefore the Jewish people without rights of self-determination to, or within, their own state.

Once again Israel was confronted with the confounding problem of how to respond to terrorism. Back in the 1950s the answer was retaliation. It made Israelis feel better, it punished the terrorists, and it sent a strong message of strength to whomever was thinking about attacking Israel. But it didn’t end terrorism, and innocent people could easily get killed. Yet Israel’s leaders in the 1960s didn’t see much better options, and reached for the same playbook.

FUN FACTS

Yasser Arafat had an interest in Jews and Judaism. As a young man in Cairo he would attend synagogue to see what Jews were like.

King Hussein initiated secret talks with Israel through his London-based British-Jewish doctor.

© Jason Harris 2020