Prior to Israel's occupation of theWest Bank andGaza Strip in the Six-Day War, these areas, originally destined for a Palestinian state, were underJordanian, andEgyptian occupation.Palestinians crossed the border for a variety of reasons. This resulted in confrontation withIsraeli military and border guards, from 1949 to 1956 about 500 Israelis died, half of them combatants, and between 2,700 and 5,000 Palestinians.[1] Simultaneously, a variety of Israeli military attacks targetedPalestinian fedayeen, Egyptian and Jordanian military forces in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jordan, in response to the Arab offensive.
A number of fedayeen attacks deliberately targeted civilians, causing many deaths and serious injuries and disrupting daily life. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs[2] describes the following events as terrorist attacks, although most media reports of that time refer to them as 'fedayeen' attacks.[citation needed]
Border conflict, 1951-1956
February 1951 - Jamil Muhammad Mujarrab, a member of a Jordanian armed group, raped and murdered an Israeli girl in Jerusalem'sKatamon neighborhood.[3]
Jan 1, 1952 - Seven gunmen attacked and killed a nineteen-year-old girl in her home, in the neighborhood ofBeit Yisrael, inJerusalem. On investigation, theMixed Armistice Commission found that the case against Jordanian infiltrators could not be substantiated.
December 31, 1951/ Jan 1 1952 - a rape-murder occurred. TheMAC investigating officer, Major Loreaux, reported that the body of the girl, Leah Feistinger,[4] had been found hidden in a cave about a mile from the Jordan border, the girl had been raped, murdered, and her face had been mutilated. While it was believed by Israeli police that this atrocity had been committed by Jordanians, they did not find evidence of an infiltration. The case had not been discussed by the Commission. Major Loreaux expressed the opinion that the Israeli police would have a better chance of finding the killer than the Arabs would.[5] A “reprisal raid” carried out atBeit Jalla on January 6, 1952 was attributed to Israelis.
Apr 14, 1953 - Infiltrators tried for the first time to infiltrate Israel by sea, but were unsuccessful. One of the boats was intercepted and the other boat escaped.
June 7, 1953 - A youngster was killed and three others were wounded, in a shooting attacks on residential areas in southern Jerusalem.
June 9, 1953 - Gunmen attacked a farming community nearLod, and killed one of the residents. The gunmen threw hand grenades and sprayed gunfire in all directions. On the same night, another group of terrorists attacked a house in the town ofHadera. This occurred a day after Israel and Jordan signed an agreement, with UN mediation, in which Jordan undertook to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel from Jordanian territory.
June 10, 1953 - Attackers infiltrating from Jordan destroyed a house in the farming village ofMishmar Ayalon.
June 11, 1953 - Gunmen attacked a young couple in their home inKfar Hess, and shot them to death.
Sept 2, 1953 - Attackers infiltrated from Jordan, and reached the neighborhood ofKatamon, in the heart of Jerusalem. They threwhand grenades in all directions. No one was hurt.
October 12, 1953 -Yehud attack - A PalestinianFedayeen squad threw a grenade into a civilian house inYehud, killing a woman and her two children.
Scorpions Pass Massacre
Mar 17, 1954 -Scorpion Pass Massacre - Bandits ambushed a bus traveling fromEilat toTel Aviv, and opened fire at short range when the bus reached the area ofMa'ale Akrabim (Scorpion Pass) in the northernNegev. In the initial ambush, the bandits killed the driver and wounded most of the passengers. The bandits then boarded the bus, and shot some of the passengers, one by one. Eleven passengers were murdered. Survivors recounted how the murderers spat on the bodies and abused them. The massacre was apparently a reprisal raid conducted by members of a Bedouin tribe expelled from the al-Auja region of the Sinai three and a half years earlier.[6][7][8]
Jan 2, 1955 - Gunmen attacked and killed 2 hikers in theJudean Desert.
Mar 24, 1955 - Gunmen threw hand grenades and opened fire on a crowd at a wedding in the farming community ofPatish, in the Negev. A young woman was killed, and eighteen people were wounded in the attack.
August 29, 1955 - Beit Oved attack - a Palestinian Fedayeen squad fired small arms at a group of Israeli laborers, killing four and injuring ten.[citation needed]
Apr 7, 1956 - A resident ofAshkelon was killed in her home, when attackers threw three hand grenades into her house. Two members of kibbutzGivat Haim were killed, when terrorists opened fire on their car, on the road fromPlugot Junction toMishmar HaNegev. There were further hand grenade and shooting attacks on homes and cars, in areas such asNitzanim andKetziot. One person was killed and three others wounded.
Apr 11, 1956 -Gunmen opened fire on asynagogue full of children and teenagers, in the farming community ofShafir. Three children and a youth worker were killed on the spot, and five were wounded, including three seriously.
August 16, 1956 - Egged bus 391 ambush - a PalestinianFedayeen squad carries out an attack on an Israeli civilian passenger bus traveling from Tel-Aviv to Eilat. Three Israeli soldiers and a female civilian passenger were shot dead by the attackers who ambushed the bus. In addition, three other civilian passengers were injured in the attack.
Sept 12, 1956 -Ein Ofarim killings - Attackers killed threeDruze guards at the Ein Ofarim facility, in theArabah region.
Sept 23, 1956 -Ramat Rachel shooting attack - Gunmen opened fire from a Jordanian position, killing four archaeologists and wounded sixteen others near kibbutzRamat Rachel.
Sept 24, 1956 - Attackers killed a girl in the fields of the farming community ofAminadav, near Jerusalem.
Oct 4, 1956 -Negev desert road ambush - A squad of 10 armed Palestinian Arab militants, who infiltrated into Israel from Jordan, ambush and kill five Israeli construction workers inSdom.
Oct 9, 1956 - Two workers were killed in an orchard of the youth village,Neve Hadassah, in theSharon region.
Nov 8, 1956 - Gunmen opened fire on a train, attacked cars and blew up wells, in the North and Center of Israel. Six Israelis were wounded.
Feb 18, 1957 - Two civilians were killed bylandmines, next toNir Yitzhak, on the southern border of the Gaza Strip.
Mar 8, 1957 - A shepherd from kibbutzBeit Guvrin was killed by terrorists in a field near the kibbutz.
Border conflict, 1957-1967
Apr 16, 1957 - Militants infiltrated from Jordan, and killed two guards at KibbutzMesilot.
May 20, 1957 - A gunman opened fire on a truck in the Arava region, killing a worker.
May 29, 1957 - A tractor driver was killed and two others wounded, when the vehicle struck a landmine, next to kibbutzKissufim.
June 23, 1957 - Israelis were wounded by landmines, close to the Gaza Strip.
Aug 23, 1957 - Two guards of the IsraeliMekorot water company were killed near KibbutzBeit Govrin.
Dec 21, 1957 - A member of kibbutzGadot was killed in the Kibbutz fields.
Feb 11, 1958 - Militants killed a resident of moshavYanov who was on his way toKfar Yona, in the Sharon area.
Apr 5, 1958 - Militants lying in an ambush shot and killed two people nearTel Lakhish.
Apr 22, 1958 - Jordanian soldiers shot and killed two fishermen nearAqaba.
May 26, 1958 - Four Israeli police officers were killed in a Jordanian attack onMount Scopus, in Jerusalem. At 1654 Local time Lieutenant-Colonel Flint of theMixed Armistice Commission was killed apparently by a single sniper round while trying to evacuate the dead and wounded Israelis from an Israeli police patrol. The Israeli police patrol was on a disputed route past theal-Issawiya village in the Jordanian controlled area of Mount Scopus.[9]
Dec 3, 1958- A shepherd was killed at KibbutzGonen. In the artillery attack that followed, 31 civilians were wounded.
Jan 23, 1959 - A shepherd from KibbutzLehavot HaBashan was killed.
Feb 1, 1959 - Three civilians were killed by a landmine near MoshavZavdiel.
Apr 15, 1959 - A guard was killed at kibbutzRamat Rachel.
Apr 27, 1959 - Two hikers were shot at close range and killed nearMasada.
Oct 3, 1959 - A shepherd from kibbutzHeftziba was killed near kibbutzYad Hana.
Apr 26, 1960 - Militants killed a resident of Ashkelon south of the city.
Apr 12, 1962 - Militants fired on anEgged bus on the way to Eilat; one passenger was wounded.
Sept 30, 1962 - Two Militants attacked an Egged bus on the way to Eilat. No one was wounded.
May 31, 1965 - JordanianLegionnaires fired on the neighborhood ofMusrara in Jerusalem, killing two civilians and wounding four.
June 1, 1965 - Militants attack a house in KibbutzYiftah.
Sept 29, 1965 - A Militant was killed as he attempted to attack MoshavAmatzia.
Nov 7, 1965 - A Fatah cell that infiltrated from Jordan blew up a house in MoshavGivat Yeshayahu, south ofBeit Shemesh. The house was destroyed, but the inhabitants were unhurt.
Apr 25, 1966 - Explosions placed by Militants wounded two civilians and damaged three houses in moshavBeit Yosef, in theBeit She'an Valley.
May 16, 1966 - Two Israelis were killed when theirjeep hit an enemy landmine, north of the Sea of Galilee and south ofAlmagor. Tracks led into Syria.
July 14, 1966 - Militants attacked a house inKfar Yuval, in the North.
July 19, 1966 - Militants infiltrated into MoshavMargaliot on the northern border and planted nine explosive charges.
Oct 27, 1966 - A civilian was wounded by an explosive charge on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem.
References
^Benny Morris,The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 2004, provides the most up-to-date breakdown of the reasons for the flight
^Morris, Benny (1993)Israel's Border Wars, 1949 - 1956. Arab infiltration, Israeli retaliation, and the countdown to the Suez War. Oxford University Press,ISBN0-19-827850-0. Page 203.
