1968_4_arabisraelwar

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into Israel and take action against the country from which these infiltrators
come.
On April 2 Prime Minister Levi Eshkol told the cabinet that recent sabotage
attempts were regarded with the utmost gravity. Three days later, Foreign
Minister Eban issued another warning to Syria in the Keneset that "the
Government of Israel will take and carry out whatever steps it deems necessary
to protect its territory and the lives of its citizens."
On April 7 a serious clash occurred on the northern border, after the
Syrians had shelled the villages of Tel Katzir, Ha'on, Ein Gev, and Gadot
intermittently for four days, over 200 heavy mortar shells falling on Gadot,
where not a single house escaped damage. When the Syrians brought up
tanks and heavy artillery, Israeli artillery returned fire, and bombers, covered
by Mirage fighters, were sent up to silence their positions. Six Syrian
Mig 21s were shot down by Israeli fighters pursuing them as far as Damascus.
The Israeli air force action had saved the villages from catastrophe,
Eshkol stated in a broadcast on the following day. After several more days
of Syrian shooting, Israel again complained to the Security Council, drawing
attention to official Syrian communiques that admitted opening fire on Israeli
tractors.
In view of rumors of Israeli troop concentrations near the Syrian border,
General Bull had proposed to both parties (April 5) an investigation of the
situation by UN observers. Israel agreed to this and a further, similar, request
in the first week of May, but the Syrians refused. Prime Minister Eshkol
invited Soviet Ambassador Dimitri Chuvakhin to tour the border to see for
himself, but the envoy declined the invitation.
Addressing a Mapai meeting in Tel Aviv, on May 12, Prime Minister
Eshkol said:
In view of the fourteen incidents of sabotage and infiltration perpetrated in
the past month alone, Israel may have no other choice but to adopt suitable
counter measures against the foci of sabotage and their abettors.
In reply to a question, he emphasized that Israel would continue to thwart
any attempt to interfere with shipping to and from Israel through the Red
Sea.
On May 13 Soviet Russia informed Egypt that Israel was concentrating
troops on its border with Syria with a view to launching an attack within a
week. President Gamal Abdel Nasser began moving forces on a large scale
through the streets of Cairo and building up Egyptian strength in the Sinai
Peninsula. When the news reached Israel during the night of May 14, the
government immediately informed the United Nations that Russia's allegations
were baseless. Reporting to the Security Council, on May 19, Secretary
General U Thant stated:
The Government of Israel very recently has assured me that there are no unusual
troop concentrations or movements along the Syrian lines. Reports