The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East » (REV)

Chaim Herzog was a major-general in the Israeli army and later President of Israel. He died in 1997.
Shlomo Gazit is the former head of Israeli Military Intelligence.

Now in its third edition, this classic study has been updated for the first time in more than twenty years.

Chaim Herzog, former President of Israel, was involved in every conflict involving Israel and its Arab neighbors from before the 1948 War of Independence. The Arab-Israeli Wars is Herzog’s acclaimed history of Israel’s fight since 1947 to preserve her existence against repeated attacks. Revised after his death by friend and colleague General Shomo Gazit, this new edition also covers the events of the past twenty years, including the pullout from Lebanon, both intifadas, the first Gulf War, the Oslo Process, and beyond. Riveting, informative, and comprehensive, this authoritative account tells the story of Israel’s struggle to survive but gives a clear picture of the people and politics that continue to shape the destiny of this crucial region.

Preface Introduction to Revised Edition Prologue

BOOK I. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1948–1949

1. Confrontation in Palestine Israeli forces and dispositions Arab forces and dispositions Military confrontation The struggle intensifies Operation ‘Nachshon’
Plan D The battle for Jerusalem The Mandate ends

2. To the First Truce 15 May to 11 June 1948
The northern front The central front The battle for Jerusalem The southern front The first truce

3. To the Second Truce, 18 July to 15 October 1948
The northern front The central front and Jeruslaem The southern front The second truce

4. The Decision Decision in Galilee The southern front: the Faluja pocket The southern front: The ‘Horev’ offensive

Summary: The Israeli Victory

BOOK II. THE SINAI CAMPAIGN OF 1956

New régimes: the rise of Nasser’s Egypt The arena of war and the opposing forces The war — the Mitla battle The battle of Abu Agelia The battle for Rafah The battle for the Gaza Strip The battle for the Straits of Tiran The air and naval war Britain, France and the United Nations

BOOK III. THE SIX DAY WAR, 1967

Prologue The Confrontation The pre-emptive strike

1. The Second Sinai Campaign

2. The War with Jordan The encirclement of Jerusalem The West Bank: Samaria The fall of Jerusalem To the Jordan Valley

3. The Golan Heights

Summary: A Vindication

BOOK IV. THE WAR OF ATTRITION

‘Defensive rehabilitation’'
‘Offensive defence’ and the Bar-Lev Line Jordan and the PLO The ‘liberation’ phase
‘Flying artillery’
Soviet and SAMs The cease-fire

Summary

BOOK V. THE YOM KIPPUR WAR

Prologue

1. The Southern Front The deception The onslaught Defending the Bar-Lev Line
‘Shovach Yonim’
The first counterattack The crisis The Israeli plan Opening the gap The crossing The battle for the corridor On the west bank The cease-fire

2. The Northern Front The Syrian attack The Isreali break-in Syria’s plight Iraqi and Jordanian counterattacks The recapture of Mount Hermon

3. The Air and Naval War SAMs vs. ‘Flying artillery’
Missles at sea

Summary: A New Era

BOOK VI. THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM: ENTEBBE

BOOK VII. OPERATION ‘OPERA’ THE DESTRUCTION OF OSIRAK

Iraq’s nuclear programme The concerns in Israel The political backdrop Prime Minister Begin calls for a decision Planning Operation ‘Opera’
Operation ‘Opera’
The international reaction The UN anti-Israeli resolution

BOOK VIII. THE WAR IN THE LEBANON

1. Operation ‘Peace for Galilee’
Summary

2. Ending the Entanglement The war for the security zone The night of the hang gliders The Lebanese border during the first intifada
The Al-Naima raid Car bomb near Metula The end of the Lebanese civil war Operation ‘Grapes of Wrath’
The Four Mothers movement The Yitzhak Mordechai initiative Changin military conditions Ehud’s Barak’s unilateral pledge

Summary

BOOK IX. THE FIRST PALESTINIAN UPRISING

A change of Government A new Knesset, a new government The writing on the wall The Palestinian uprising The ‘Ship of Return’
The assasination of Abu Jihad Attacks on Israelis The Temple Mount tragedy Reassessing the intifada
The intifada and the IDF

Summary

BOOK X. ISRAEL THE FIRST GULF WAR

Iraq occupies Kuwait The Gulf War Military lessons for Israel Political Developments

BOOK XI. THE OSLO PROCESS

The Hebron massacre The abduction of Nashon Wachsman Beit Lid and its aftermath A new spell of violence The tunnel incident

Summary

BOOK XII. THE EL-AQSA INTIFADA

Background Characteristics of the El-Aqsa intifada
Stages of the conflict The debate over the security fence After 1,000 days: a first balance sheet Towards the end of the intifada?

Summary

CONCLUSION

The Israeli military experience The Arab military experience The role of the superpowers The Palestinians

Select Bibliography Index