With the 1948-1949 war ending only with armistice agreements, no clear or recognized borders are drawn between Israel and her Arab neighbors. With highly porous borders, during the first two decades of Israel’s existence, sporadic attacks on Israeli civilians come from the West Bank, Gaza, and in the north from Syria and Lebanon. On October 11, 1953, Arabs coming from Jordan attack the Israeli village of Yahud, killing a mother and her child. Retaliating, Israel attacks the village of Qibya, where more than four dozen Arabs are killed. Israeli Prime Minister Ben-Gurion believes that a strong retaliatory policy needs to be demonstrated. Ariel Sharon, who leads the attack, claims in his autobiography, “Warrior” that his troops did not check all the houses thoroughly before blowing them up. Diplomatically, despite Ben-Gurion’s public apology for the large loss of life, Israel suffers an enormous ‘black-eye.’ From the UN and from the US State Department, Israel is angrily censured. Arab cross-the border attacks into Israel do not cease, but Jordanian forces are more widely deployed to prevent infiltration into Israel.
October 13, 1953
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