sue Date: April 17, 1968
Israel and the Arabs
Israeli Raid in Jordan
Israeli army authorities reported April 8 that a few dozen Israeli helicopter-borne soldiers had crossed 18 miles into Jordan that day to pursue Arab fedayeen infiltrators. All of the guerrillas, "about half a dozen," were killed and the Israelis suffered no casualties, the report said. [See 1968 Middle East: Israeli-Jordanian Clash; Other Developments]
According to the Israelis: The guerrillas had been spotted east of the Israeli Negev settlement of Ein Yahav, near the Jordanian border, 35 miles south of the Dead Sea. After firing at a circling Israeli helicopter, the Arabs fled back to Jordan. Several other helicopter patrols joined the chase, and some landed behind the fleeing band to bar their escape. The operation culminated in a gun clash between the Arabs and their pursuers on the cliffs of the Hills of Moab. In addition to wiping out the infiltrators, the Israeli patrol destroyed a granite house used as a terrorist base. The infiltrators were members of the Egyptian 141st Commando Battalion, receiving its orders from the Egyptian embassy in Amman, Jordan. The Israelis found documents telling of imminent attacks against the Israeli Negev towns of Elath, Sdom and Timna.
The Israeli raid followed the killing earlier April 8 of 2 Israeli soldiers and a Bedouin scout when their jeep ran over a mine.
According to Jordan's version of the fighting south of the Dead Sea, an Israeli armored force, supported by helicopters and planes, crossed the cease-fire line following an exchange of artillery and tank fire. But the Israeli raiders were repelled by Jordanian troops and were forced to withdraw to their own territory without "achieving their aims." In an action north of the Dead Sea, Jordanian artillery silenced an Israeli gun that had been firing at the Jordanian town of Kuraimah, the Amman communique said. "The ammunition dumps were seen on fire and a military vehicle was destroyed."
A Jordanian note filed April 8 with UN Secretary General U Thant for circulation to Security Council members accused Israel of "new acts of aggression" against Jordan. An Israeli note submitted to the Council admitted an incursion into Jordanian territory but explained that it was "in pursuit of saboteurs."
An Amman report said that an Israeli mine April 8 had blown up a Jordanian army vehicle south of the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side of the Negev border. 3 soldiers were reported killed.
Israel's possible use of counterterrorism was suggested in a statement made April 9 by Major General Chaim Bar Lev, Israeli chief of staff. Bar Lev said Israel had not yet "adopted all possible methods against terrorism." "Counterterrorist activity cannot be excluded, although it would not be the reply par excellence," he said.