Christmas War

In Palestine this year, Christmas night was the eve of Hanukkah ("The Feast of Lights"), an eight-day celebration commemorating the great victories of Judas Maccabeus over the Syrians in 165 B.C. By Christmas Eve, the Israeli army was once again on the march, breaking the uneasy truce that had begun to settle on Palestine.

The fighting commenced formally, like a duel. The Israeli Foreign Office handed a warning to the U.N. Commission. A few hours later the Israeli army announced it was taking "steps to prevent the Egyptians from continuing aggressive action." The evening of the same day Jewish forces attacked Gaza from the sea; the following day they attacked it from the air, bombed Egyptian outposts in the southern Negeb desert.

The fighting was sporadic and obscure, but the motive was clear. If the U.N. could not bring the Egyptians to the conference table with words, Israel would try it with guns. Said one Israeli spokesman: "If the Egyptians want peace, they can have it. If they want war, they will get it. It is up to them." The Egyptians, meanwhile, were demanding an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and calling on all Arab states to resume hostilities against the Jews. King Abdullah of Transjordan, who has the only effective Arab fighting force in the area, stood pat. If the Egyptians were beaten, his position would be improved.

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