10 Report to the Provisional Government of Israel by Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Ben-Gurion

Israel was resisting the invading Egyptian army in the Negev and in the southern approaches to West Jerusalem and central Israel. Mr. Ben-Gurion reported on the political and military situation. Below are his notes:

The Provisional State Council met for the third time on June 3, 1948. It was the first occasion on which political as well as military matters could be discussed. I pointed out that the Arabs had intended to strangle the infant State of Israel in a lightning operation. According to a plan that fell into Israeli hands, Haifa was to have been captured on May 20, with Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to follow on May 25. That same day King Abdullah was to have entered Jerusalem, to be crowned as ruler of his enlarged kingdom.

My review of the situation was to the following effect: We cannot say after what had happened in the last three weeks - a short but significant time - that the dangers facing us have passed. On the contrary, we may face still greater perils in the days ahead. After we bombed Amman the British consul ordered the Mayor of Haifa to inform the appropriate authorities that if Amman were bombed again, the Royal Air Force would destroy every Jewish plane in the skies of Palestine, since Amman was the nerve centre of British aviation in the entire region.

While there is reason for concern about the future, there are also grounds for considerable self-satisfaction. The plot to destroy Israel by sending in heavily armed invasion forces from the north, east, and south has been foiled. The invasion is no closer to success than it was three weeks ago. The armies of Israel hold a larger contiguous area than they did before the attack. The entire expanse of the State of Israel allocated to us under the terms of the UN resolution is in our hands, and we have conquered several important districts outside those boundaries.

All of Jerusalem's New City, western Galilee, and a large part of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road are under control. Two small but vitally important areas of that road, the section between Sha'ar Hagai and Jerusalem, and some sections of the coast road east of Hulda, are not in our hands. We cannot ignore the severe losses we have suffered in the Jerusalem fighting. Following a courageous struggle that will stand out forever in the annals of Jewish military history, the Etzion Bloc fell. After a crushing siege of many months, during which a tiny group of defenders stood against masses of attackers, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City also fell.

The struggle continues in all parts of the country. Special mention should be made of the harsh battles that have taken place in the Jordan Valley: Tribute is due not only to the valour of the Army, but particulary, perhaps, to the determined settlers who, though few in number and almost unarmed, fought off an enemy equipped with planes, artillery, tanks, and armoured cars. The danger has not passed in the Jordan Valley, just as it has not passed elsewhere. But in the Valley, as elsewhere, at least temporarily, we have the upper hand.

I singled out the extraordinary struggle of Jewish Jerusalem, a struggle characterised by both suffering and bravery. The city has been cut off from all other Jewish sections of the country. It has been confronted by the spectre of thirst and hunger. It has been mercilessly bombarded day and night, with a complete and cynical disregard for the sanctity of a city regarded as holy by Christians and Moslems as well as by Jews. The Arab hirelings of the Bevin government, using British planes and guns, have shown a callous disregard for the Holy Places; meanwhile the Anglican Church has maintained a silence pregnant with significance. Jewish Jerusalem has stood the test with unparalleled valour. The people of Jerusalem know that the State of Israel is behind them, and that our finest sons will give their lives to free the city.

In the last three weeks our armed forces have done an excellent job. They are striking at the Arab Triangle and they stand at the gates of Jenin. Tulkarm is under attack and Nablus quivers with fear. While for us this is a defensive war - we did not seek it and are only fending off aggressors - we will not fight only with defensive tactics. To the greatest possible extent, we will remain constantly on the offensive, which will not be confined to the borders of the Jewish State. We have already struck at enemy concentrations in Syria and Lebanon; Amman, Abdullah's capital, has received its first warning in the form of an Israeli air attack.

We have grown stronger over these weeks. A Jewish Air Force has been created, as has the skeleton of a Jewish Navy. But we are only at the beginning of the road. The greatest and gravest tests lie ahead. The enemy has not yet thrown all his resources into the struggle. We certainly cannot be certain that the Arabs will display the same lack of resolve in the future that they have shown on various occasions in the past. At the same time we have yet to mobilise all our resources, in Israel and among world Jewry.

The two giant powers that supported the November 29 resolution calm for the establishment of a Jewish State have recognised the State of Israel. But our enemies are busy. In many capitals, overt and covert attempts are being made to prevent the recognition of our existence. The military and political obstacles that confront us have positive as well as negative implications. They make us realise that we are not regaining our independence as a result of international charity, that our existence is not dependent on the good will of others. We have built this community over the last seventy years with our own sweat and toil. Though we never ceased appealing to the conscience of mankind, and will never cease to demand our just rights from the community of nations, we should constantly remind ourselves that our existence, freedom, and future depend on our own efforts, abilities, and will power. Two things will sustain us: our own strength and the justice of our cause.

The Security Council proposed a four-week truce. The Government appraised the proposal and decided to accept it. We informed the Security Council of our understanding that the decision has implications in five spheres that are of vital importance to us:

1. The halt in hostilities also presumes a halt to the Egyptian naval blockade of our shores.

2. The ban on the entrance of military forces under no circumstances implies a ban on Jewish immigrants of any age. We agree that if immigrants of military age arrive during the four weeks, they will not be given military training during that period.

3. Measures will be taken to supply Jerusalem with food and to protect people travelling on the roads.

4. The truce involves maintenance of the military status quo in all areas that have been conquered. This means, for example, that if the Arab Legion occupies the road between Ramallah and Sheikh Jarrah when the truce begins, it has no right to advance any farther and we have no right to drive it from the road. The same conditions hold true for us. Our forces in western Galilee retain control of the area they hold, but have no right to continue to the north.

5. The prohibition on the shipment of weapons to any of the following countries - Israel, Trans-Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen - also implies that weapons inside these countries belonging to a foreign power cannot be turned over to the local authorities.

When the Security Council fixed a four-week truce, the decision included the appointment of a UN Mediator (Count Bernadotte). We understand that he will determine the terms of the truce and when it has been violated.

We have heard that the Arab states attach two conditions to their acceptance of the Bernadotte mission: a ban on Jewish immigration and the abolition of the Jewish State. We assume that the Mediator has enough common sense to realise that if the rumours are correct, there is no point in his presenting such ridiculous demands to us. We have always been interested in peace. We have no quarrel with the Arab peoples. But the peace must be one in which the State of Israel maintains her full sovereignty. Anyone unwilling to accept this fact will find himself confronted by the full military might of our young nation, which will not rest until it has emerged victorious.

The State of Israel was not established to serve a military purpose. Its principal mission is the ingathering of Jewish refugees and the fructification of the desert. However, for another few weeks or months our State must devote all its energies to winning this war. Yet even during the conflict we have constructive tasks to perform. The Mandatory Government left us a legacy of chaos in every sphere of administration. In the midst of the fighting we have had to re-establish public services. We cannot claim that they are functioning again on a proper level, owing to the emergency and our lack of resources. Nevertheless, Bevin's malicious plan has not succeeded. More order and better services exist now than before the departure of the Mandatory Government. Not only have we set up regular public services; we have also devoted ourselves to the two tasks at the core of Israel's mission: settlement and immigration. More immigrants have entered the country during this short span than during any equivalent period in the previous generation. A considerable number of new settlements will be established in various sections of the country whether or not there is a truce.

Finally, I announced to the Provisional State Council that the two dissident organisations have agreed to disband. Their members will be called up for service in the Israel Defence Forces as will every other Jew in this country. We hope that, this time, the agreements will be carried out.