Beanca Jhanine M.

Samiano

Milieu Before War Beginning of War Recovery of Israel Post-ceasefire Negotiations

Milieu Before War

also known as:

 October war  Ramadan war  1973 Arab-Israeli War  Fourth Arab-Israeli War

Duration: October 6 - 25, 1973 1971: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat raised the possibility of signing an agreement with Israel, provided that all the occupied territories were returned by the Israelis..

1972 -1973: Sadat threatened war unless the United States forced Israel to accept his interpretation of Resolution 242 - total Israeli withdrawal from territories taken in 1967. April 1973: In interview, Sadat again warned he would renew the war. But it was the same threat he had made in 1971 and 1972, and most observers remained skeptical.

The Beginning of the War

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October 6, 1973: Yom Kippur - the holiest day of prayer and fasting in the Jewish calendar Egypt and Syria opened a coordinated surprise attack against Israel. Golda Meir the leader of Israel Golan Heights: 180 Israeli tanks faced an onslaught of 1,400 Syrian tanks. Suez Canal: 436 Israeli defenders were attacked by 80,000 Egyptians.

At least nine Arab states, including four nonMiddle Eastern nations, actively aided the Egyptian-Syrian war effort.
Iraq hunter jet fighter planes Saudi Arabia finance and troops (3000 men) Kuwait - finance Libya French-built Mirage fighters and 1 billion dollars (President Muammar Qaddafi) Algeria three aircraft squadrons of fighters and bombers, an armored brigade and 150 tanks Tunisia 1, 000 2, 000 soldiers in Nile Delta Sudan 3, 500 troops in S. Egypt Morocco three brigades

Lebanon radar units Jordan 40th and 60th Armored Brigades and three artillery units
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King Hussein of Jordan was not able to give full support because he was not informed of what Egypt and Syria planned Iraq deployed 18, 000 men and several hundred of tanks to participate in October 16 attack Saudi brigade participated in Damascus attack Jordan defended the main Amman-Damascus route and attacking Israeli positions along the Kuneitra-Sassa road on October 16

Recovery of Israel

October 7: The military signs were ominous for Israel October 8: Israel counter-attacked Sinai
Israelis used Suez-Cairo road to advance to Cairo (capital of Egypt) They used the main road from Tiberias to Damascus to got within 35 miles of the Syrian Capital

American provided Israelis with something more important Intelligence SR-71 Blackbird American spy-plane showed that Israelis knew where major concentrations of (flying over the war zone)

UN Security Council - saved from a disastrous defeat (which had failed to act while the tide was in the Arabs' favor) The Soviet Union showed no interest in initiating peacemaking efforts while it looked like the Arabs might win. The same was true for UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. (Waldheim's service with a World War II German army unit guilty of war crimes in the Balkans resulted in his being barred from entering the United States after his election as President of Austria).

Post-ceasefire Negotiations

American Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger acted a peace broker between Israel and Egypt October 22:
the Security Council adopted Resolution 338/339 calling for "all parties to the present fighting to cease all firing and terminate all military activity immediately." The vote came on the day that Israeli forces cut off and isolated the Egyptian Third Army and were in a position to destroy it.

October 24:
A ceasefire was organized by UN.

October 25: Kissinger appeared before the press at the State Department. ` He then reviewed the prospects for a peace agreement, which he termed quite promising, and had conciliatory words for Israel, Egypt and even the USSR. ` Kissinger concluded his remarks by spelling out the principles of a new US policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict saying: Our position is that... the conditions that produced this war were clearly intolerable to the Arab nations and that in the process of negotiations it will be necessary to make substantial concessions. The problem will be to relate the Arab concern for the sovereignty over the territories to the Israeli concern for secure boundaries. We believe that the process of negotiations between the parties is an essential component of this.
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Hafez Ismail sent Kissinger a message -Egypt was willing to enter into direct talks with Israel, provided that it agree to allow non-military supplies to reach the Third Army and to a complete ceasefire January and March 1974:
Israeli and Egyptian forces disengaged along the SuezCanal regions Sinai Desert an area that allowed Israel to buffer to ensure any fighting there did not spill over into Israel itself.