Uzi Narkiss

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Uzi Narkiss
Narkiss in 1959
Native name
עוזי נרקיס
BornJanuary 6, 1925
Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
DiedDecember 17, 1997 (Aged 72)
Jerusalem, Israel
Buried
Jerusalem, Israel (Mount Herzl)
AllegiancePalmach,  Israel
Awards War of Independence Ribbon
Sinai War Ribbon
Six-Day War Ribbon
Legion of Honour

Uzi Narkiss (

Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin taken in the Old City of Jerusalem shortly after its capture from Jordanian forces.[1]

Early life

Uzi Narkiss was born in Jerusalem to

operations against British Mandatory forces in Palestine
.

Military career

Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War

In April 1948, Narkiss headed the assault on

Declaration of Independence, Narkiss was appointed to assist those besieged in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Narkiss' unit, dubbed a "diversionary force," succeeded in penetrating Zion Gate, bringing in supplies and evacuating the wounded from those under siege. When military reinforcements failed to appear, however, Narkiss ordered his men to retreat, with the Old City falling to Jordanian forces shortly thereafter.[3]

Narkiss spent several years studying in France at the

Légion d’honneur
by the French government. In 1965, he was appointed the first director of the Israel National Defense College.

During the Six-Day War on June 5, 1967, with seven brigades under his command known as Central Command, Narkiss was responsible for combating any possible Jordanian offensive. Capturing the Old City was not part of the plan. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units moved effectively to take key positions in east Jerusalem, where one key location was Ammunition Hill. Still, to Narkiss' dismay, the politicians would still not allow the Old City to be taken. But with a looming cease fire approaching after an emergency meeting of the UN, Moshe Dayan gave the order to Narkiss who quickly capitalised on the opportunity to capture the city before any cease fire prevented this as an option. Under his direction, the Old City was captured on June 7 and Jerusalem was reunified under Israeli control. From Narkiss' viewpoint, this completed the campaign he had begun 19 years earlier, and whose previous failure had haunted him.

After the war, the Palestinian village of Beit Awwa was completely destroyed.[4] Moshe Dayan claimed the destruction was carried out under the orders of an officer who wished to expel the residents; Brigadier General Uzi Narkiss claimed the credit for the action.[5]

Later activities

Pages from the Quran taken from the body of Abdul Kader al-Husseini's body by Uzi Narkiss

In response to ongoing

Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization.[6]

In 1948, Uzi Narkiss searched the body of the dead Palestinian commander

Abdul Kader Husseini for his Koran on the battlefield. In the 1980s he wanted to give it to Kader's son Faisal Husseini but only "in the presence of journalists and TV cameras – otherwise I am not interested". Husseini was not interested under such terms, therefore Narkiss kept it in his library.[7]

Death

Narkiss died in 1997 after a long illness at the age of 72. He was buried in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Poster of Uzi Narkiss". Archived from the original on 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2006-04-20.
  2. Jerusalem Post supplement by Greer Fay Cashman (partial interview with Narkiss) Archived April 10, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  3. JSTOR 23401299
    .
  4. Jiflik
    , Agarith and Huseirat, in the Jordan Valley. The Special Committee has ascertained that all these villages have been completely destroyed. Para 58. the village of Nebi Samwil was in fact destroyed by Israeli armed forces on March 22, 1971.
  5. ^ Segev, 2007, p. 409
  6. ^ Oren, Amir (23 April 2011). "צה"ל חושף לראשונה את הכישלון בכראמה" [IDF Reveals Failure in Karameh For the First Time]. Haaretz. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  7. ^ Husseini's Koran
  8. ^ "Israeli Gen. Narkiss Dies". Associated Press News. 18 December 1997. Retrieved 2 January 2023.

External links

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