Israel’s Arab neighbors were also her declared enemy. Accordingly, they had no interest in respecting a border regarding which they had signed an armistice. Infiltrators, that were called fedayeem would sneak into Israel to tend unmanned farmland, to loot border villages, or to carry out violent and often deadly attacks and then return across the border where they would be commended rather than condemned for the mayhem and murder which they had committed. In the early 1950s there were thousands of attacks each year resulting in the murder of several hundred Israelis.

Something had to be done, resulting in the IDF forming Special Forces Unit 101. After the murder of Susan Kanias and two of her children in a fedayeem raid in 1953, Unit 101 carried out their first reprisal in the West Bank village of Qibya. Overnight everyone learned that the rules of engagement had radically changed.

Credits:

Euro News: Qibya village sheds no tears for Ariel Sharon

Politics and Prowess: Meir Har Zion: A National Hero

Edward Sturm: The Man in the Hathaway Shirt Ad Made David Ogilvy Famous

Unpacked, History of Israel Explained: Moshe Dayan: Iconic Military Leader

Learn more at TellerFromJerusalem.com

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