Israel releases documents with Ben-Gurion’s remarks about Gaza — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, the Israel Defense Forces and the Defense Ministry Archive at the Ministry of Defense released documents marking the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Sinai Campaign, also known as Operation Kadesh or the Suez Crisis. The materials record remarks by then-prime minister and defense minister David Ben-Gurion about the Gaza Strip and his warnings about civilian casualties in future wars, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Position on the Gaza Strip
During a government meeting on October 28, 1956, on the eve of Operation Kadesh, Ben-Gurion called the Gaza Strip a problematic target and expressed a wish that it would “sink into the sea.” On April 4, 1957, after Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, he repeated these words at a conference of senior officers.
Ben-Gurion spoke about the difficulties of controlling the territory under any administration — Israeli, joint with the UN, or a UN administration without Israel. He called Egyptian administration of the Strip the worst option, but noted that Israel’s prolonged presence in Gaza could require suppressing terrorism and exceed the country’s capabilities and vital needs.
Ben-Gurion also opposed the annexation of the Gaza Strip, mentioning approximately 300,000 Arab residents of the territory. He warned that continued control over Gaza could harm Israel not only militarily but also morally.
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Warning about a future war
In another released document, Ben-Gurion urged the command not to project the experience of the Sinai Campaign onto a possible next conflict. He noted that although Israeli forces had then managed to limit losses, this did not mean it would be so in the future. According to him, Tel Aviv and Haifa could be bombed in a future war, and those killed could include not only military personnel but also women and children.
Among the materials is a handwritten note by Shimon Peres, who at the time was the director general of the Ministry of Defense. He wrote that Ben-Gurion believed wars would not solve the problem of Arab-Israeli relations, since victory in battle would not necessarily mean the last battle.
Other archive materials
The special website also published documents on Operation Honio, during which an Israeli team rescued 65 Jews in Egypt’s Port Said in November 1956. The archive contains more than 4,500 photographs, documents, and maps, a significant portion of which had not previously been publicly available. They include materials on the activities of the Israeli Air Force, an unrealized plan to attack Egyptian airfields, an accidental strike on Israeli troops, and an attack on the Egyptian destroyer Ibrahim el-Awal.
