Speaking at the conclusion of the Knesset discussion on Operation "Peace for Galilee" the Prime Minister listed three major gains arising out of the campaign: Peace for Galilee and in Galilee; a large measure of peace for the citizens of Israel, and the demonstration and renewal of the deterrent capability of the I.D.F. Like his predecessors in presenting the Government 's case, Mr. Begin assumed that the campaign was over, and thus he could say with assurance "we won" At the conclusion of the debate the Knesset approved the Government statement by a vote of 50 to 40. Text:
Mr. Speaker, Gentlemen, Members of the Knesset,
Operation "Peace for the Galilee" is linked to four dates. On 6 June - following a decision by the Cabinet, the commander-in-chief of the army, on Saturday night, 5 June - our soldiers set out to strike the terrorists who from Lebanese territory had been shedding our blood for seven full years: For four years - by infiltrations, by seizure of buildings, hostages, buses, murder of men, women and children; for the last three years - mainly through shelling of civilian settlements in the western and eastern Galilee day and night, with occasional interruptions, making the Galilee's residents - 200,000 people - hostages, and imposing on them with the fear of sudden death almost every day and night.
The 6th of June came. The soldiers of the I.D.F. set out to destroy the terrorists' infrastructure, to push them northward, and - by Cabinet decision - to remove all of the Galilee settlements from firing range of the Katyushas, 21.6 kms., heavier Katyushas - range 30 kms., 130 mm. guns - range 27 kms, and even heavier guns, 180 mm -range 43 kms.
On 10 June, I received a letter from the President of the United States in which there was a request to declare a cease-fire. We could not comply with this request of the honorable President of the United States, since the enemy still stood 18 kms. from Metulla; in other words, the whole Galilee panhandle was in firing range of the terrorists. We continued fighting another 24 hours, and our troops pushed the enemy back beyond 45 kms.
Then - this is the second date - on 11 June 1982, we unilaterally announced a cease-fire.
If the terrorists, like the Syrians, would have on that day accepted our declaration, bloodshed, sacrifices, bereavement and orphanhood would have been prevented, first of all from us, [but] also from the civilian population as well as from the terrorists. But they did not heed. And they not only continued to shoot at our troops, they announced that the war will continue. We had no alternative, then, but to push them northward; and the fighting continued.
(Editor's note: At this point there is an interjection from the floor; these, and Mr. Begin's replies, have been deleted.)
In the original Cabinet decision it was stated that our army would not attack the Syrians unless the Syrian army attacks our forces. When the Syrian army attacked our forces, the results of the battles were clear. We destroyed 405 Syrian tanks, among them 9 T-72s, which are considered by NATO impregnable; we downed 102 planes, among them a Mig-25, for the first time since this plane began to fly; and we destroyed 21 SAM-6, SAM-8 and SAM-9 batteries, a deadly weapon against which we had no proper counter-measure in the Yom Kippur War, certainly not in the War of Attrition.
Then came the day, 27 June - that is the third day - on which we said the following: We propose to the terrorists that they leave Beirut and Lebanon. If they want to leave by land on the Beirut-Damascus road, along the section controlled by the I.D.F., we will enable them to leave; if they desire an alternate route, by land or sea, we will secure it; but they must all leave Beirut and Lebanon. On 27 June. If they had listened to us, how much blood, suffering and sacrifices would have been spared. They did not wish to take, continued to fight and resist and shoot; and thus the fighting continued for almost two months, until the terrorists listened to us. They did submit to our demand, they did leave Beirut. They also left Lebanon. During two months of fighting - these are the sacrifices which could have been spared if they had listened to us. We proposed this to them.
The fourth date is 31 August-I September: They all left and scattered to eight or nine Arab states.
Let us remember these four dates, as well as the attitude of the I.D.F. - and the Government commanding it - to human life.
Three achievements are connected with Operation "Peace for the Galilee": First, Peace for the Galilee and in the Galilee, for all its settlements and for all its residents. I was in Nahariya a week ago, I saw the residents and the children: Laughter in their eyes, happiness in their hearts; we gave them new life. There is no member of Knesset who can try to ignore this fact. I have a suggestion: Two Knesset members should leave these benches for Nahariya and Kiryat Shemona - (interruptions) - a friendly suggestion: set up a loudspeaker and announce: Operation "Peace for the Galilee" was an unnecessary war, Operation "Peace for the Galilee" was an unjust war - (interruptions).
The matters are written and I am not saying anything new; I just wanted to say that the first ones to greet these colleagues would be the Alignment members there, and they would say to them: Have mercy on our souls and get out of here, don't say such things, we will lose the last bit of influence we have here. Try it; then you will hear this answer.
The first achievement is - peace for the Galilee, new life for 200,000 people. There are no Katyushas in Kiryat Shemona, no Katyushas in Nahariya, no Katyushas in Kfar Giladi; there are no shells. The children leave in the morning for school, return in the afternoon to their mothers and fathers. Love of life, new building, a return to Kiryat Shemona, to the whole Galilee. The Galilee will be built gloriously in our generation, in our time. This is the first achievement. Whoever wants to ignore it, let him shout from the rooftop: "Unnecessary war, unjust war."
The second achievement is, Mr. Speaker: We granted a large measure of peace to the citizens of Israel. I am not claiming that all incidents of sabotage here and there have already come to an end. It is impossible; the time is a time of violence; sometimes it cannot be understood. Go and see throughout the world - what goes on in London, Paris, Rome, Palermo, New York - throughout the world.
So it is possible that it will occur here and there; but after we did away with the fighting capability of 25,000 terrorists equipped with modern weapons, we saved an unknown number of civilian lives, and to a great extent we assured peace both for Israel and for its citizens.
Thirdly, Mr. Speaker, the deterrent capability of the I.D.F. was really demonstrated and renewed. There were times when it was in question. It is gone, no more. A huge deterrent capability which prevents aggression, prevents wars, before the eyes of all the Arab states and the ears of their rulers.
These are the three achievements of Operation "Peace for the Galilee."
Today, when we discuss the completion of the operation, we know the high price we paid. I wanted to say something from the heart: Woe to those people who have to take certain decisions in the day and night. But there is no choice, if the people of Israel and the Land of Israel have to be defended, they will be taken; and those appointed will stand with determination and strong will and with patience, and will not heed slander, neither in Israel nor abroad, neither in miserable, despicable pictures, or in insulting and hurtful articles. They will pay no heed to any of these and will do their job and fulfill their duty till victory.
These are bitter and painful decisions; and we bow our heads before the bereaved families, national heroes no less than their sons who gave their lives, and honor them from the depths of the heart, and send wishes for speedy and full recovery to the wounded.
Mr. Speaker, I conclude the concluding debate on Operation Peace for the Galilee: We in this operation insured peace for the Galilee and all its residents, to a great degree, peace for Israel and all its citizens. We increased the deterrent capability. We won. Happy are we that we have attained this victory.