Editing War of Attrition (section)

=== 1968 ===
[[File:Operation Inferno. XXI.jpg|thumb|Israeli paratroopers in action during the [[Battle of Karameh]] in 1968]]
* '''January 31, 1968''': Five Israeli soldiers were wounded and one Israeli and two Egyptian tanks were destroyed in a clash in the canal zone. Israeli and Jordanian forces also exchanged fire without known casualties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1968/01/31/archive/exchange-of-fire-on-suez-canal-when-egyptians-attempt-to-enter-northern-passage|title=Exchange of Fire on Suez Canal when Egyptians Attempt to Enter Northern Passage – Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=January 31, 1968}}</ref>
* '''March 21, 1968''': In response to persistent PLO raids against Israeli civilian targets, Israel [[Battle of Karameh|attacks]] the town of [[Karameh]], Jordan, the site of a major PLO camp. The goal of the invasion was to destroy Karameh camp and capture [[Yasser Arafat]] in reprisal for the attacks by the PLO against Israeli civilians, which culminated in an Israeli school bus hitting a mine in the Negev.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hI844N9leNUC&pg=PA45 |access-date=25 October 2015 |title=The Arab-Israeli Conflict |author=Cath Senker |year=2004 |publisher=Black Rabbit Books |isbn=9781583404416}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, plans for the two operations were prepared in 1967, one year before the bus incident.<ref name="Debacle in the desert">
{{Cite news| title = Debacle in the desert| work = Haaretz |access-date = 13 May 2011 |date = 29 March 1968| url = http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/debacle-in-the-desert-1.361453}}</ref> When Jordan saw the size of the raiding forces entering the battle it was led to the assumption that Israel had another goal of capturing [[Balqa Governorate]] to create a situation similar to the [[Golan Heights]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQXtz41f-kcC&pg=PT242 |title=Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country—and Why They Can't Make Peace |publisher=Macmillan |author=Patrick Tyler |date=2012-09-18|access-date=2015-10-25|isbn=9781429944472}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=83073|script-title=ar:الذكرى الثالثة والأربعون لمعركة الكرامة الخالدة |date=2011-03-20 |access-date=2015-10-25 |publisher=Ammon News|work=Petra News Agency|language=ar}}</ref> Israel assumed that the Jordanian Army would ignore the invasion, but the latter fought alongside the [[Palestinians]] and opened heavy fire that inflicted losses upon the Israeli forces.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news
| title = 1968: Karameh and the Palestinian revolt
| work = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
| access-date = 2008-09-03
| date = 2002-05-16
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1400177/1968-Karameh-and-the-Palestinian-revolt.html
}}</ref> This engagement marked the first known deployment of suicide bombers by Palestinian forces.<ref>Saada, Tass & Merrill, Dean ''Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life'' Illinois 2008 pp. 4–6  {{ISBN|1-4143-2361-1}}</ref> The Israelis were repelled at the end of a day's battle, having destroyed most of the Karameh camp and taken around 141 PLO prisoners.<ref name="GUERRILLAS">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990DE3DD143BE73ABC4B51DFB5668383679EDE|access-date=2015-10-26|title=GUERRILLAS BACK AT JORDAN CAMP; Attack by Israelis Failed to Destroy Base at Karameh or Wipe Out Commandos|work=The New York Times|date=1968-03-28}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Both sides declared victory. On a tactical level, the battle went in Israel's favor,<ref name="Zeev Maoz page 246">Zeev Maoz, Defending the Holy Land, A Critical Analysis of Israel's Security and Foreign Policy, University of Michigan Press, 2006, pages 244–246</ref> and the destruction of the Karameh camp was achieved.<ref name="Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars page 205">Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars page 205</ref> However, the relatively high casualties were a considerable surprise for the IDF and was stunning to the Israelis.<ref name="tuckerS" /> Although the Palestinians were not victorious on their own, King Hussein let the Palestinians take credit.<ref name="tuckerS">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA569|title=Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, The: A Political, Social, and Military History: A Political, Social, and Military History|author=Spencer C. Tucker, Priscilla Roberts|publisher=ABC-CLIO|access-date=2015-10-25|date=2005-05-12|isbn=9781851098422}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bXMBQAAQBAJ|title=Aviation and Airport Security: Terrorism and Safety Concerns, Second Edition|access-date=2015-10-27|author=Kathleen Sweet|publisher=CRC Press|date=2008-12-23|isbn=9781439894736}}</ref><ref name="assessment">{{cite magazine
| issn = 0040-781X
| title = The Israeli Assessment
| magazine = Time
| access-date = 2008-09-03
| date = 1968-12-13
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839651,00.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081123100239/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839651,00.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = November 23, 2008
}}{{subscription required}}</ref>
[[File:President Nasser's visit to the Suez front with Egypt's top military commanders during the War of Attrition.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gamal Abdel Nasser|President Nasser]] of Egypt (with binoculars) surveys positions at the Suez Canal in November 1968]]
* '''June 1968''': The war "officially" begins, with sparse Egyptian artillery bombardment of the Israeli front line on the east bank of the Suez Canal. More artillery bombardments in the following months cause Israeli casualties.<ref name="Britannica" />
* '''August 20, 1968''': Israeli and Jordanian forces engaged in a battle along the Sea of Galilee involving artillery, mortars, and machine guns.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1968/08/20/archive/israelis-jordanians-exchange-fire-egyptian-migs-chased-over-sinai-peninsula|title=Israelis, Jordanians Exchange Fire; Egyptian Migs Chased over Sinai Peninsula|date=August 20, 1968}}</ref>
* '''September 8, 1968''': An Egyptian artillery barrage kills 10 Israeli soldiers and injures 18. Israel responds by shelling [[Suez]] and [[Ismailia]].<ref name="acig" />
* '''October 30, 1968''': Israeli helicopter-borne [[Sayeret Matkal]] commandos carry out [[Operation Shock]], destroying an Egyptian electric transformator station, two dams along the [[Nile River]] and a bridge.<ref name="acig" /> The blackout causes Nasser to cease hostilities for a few months while fortifications around hundreds of important targets are built. Simultaneously, Israel reinforces its position on the east bank of the Suez Canal by construction of the [[Bar Lev Line]].<ref name="SIS: Book Review: At Noon The Myth Was Shattered">{{cite web|url=http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Pub/magazin/fall1998/110208000000000003.htm |title=Book Review: At Noon The Myth Was Shattered |access-date=March 4, 2007 |publisher=Egyptian State Information Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930230243/http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Pub/magazin/fall1998/110208000000000003.htm |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref>
* '''November 3, 1968''': Egyptian MiG-17s attack Israeli positions, and are met by Israeli interceptors. One Israeli plane is damaged.<ref name="acig" />
* '''December 1, 1968''': Israeli helicopter-borne commandos destroy four bridges near [[Amman]], Jordan.<ref name="acig" />
* '''December 3, 1968''': The [[Israeli Air Force]] bombs PLO camps in [[Jordan]]. The Israeli jets are intercepted by [[Hawker Hunter]]s of the [[Royal Jordanian Air Force]], and an Israeli fighter jet is damaged during the brief air battle.<ref name="acig" />