A sharp debate between the ambassadors of Morocco and Algeria to the United Nations over Western Sahara

United Nations: A heated debate took place in the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, between the Moroccan and Algerian ambassadors, over Western Sahara , which the international organization considers a “non-self-governing region.”

After Moroccan Ambassador Omar Hilal delivered his country’s speech during the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly, Algerian Ambassador Ammar Benjama requested the right of reply, accusing his counterpart of “distorting” the words of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who affirmed in his speech from the same podium last week his support for His country organizes a referendum on self-determination in the Sahara.

The Algerian ambassador said: “Everyone has his camp.” We Algerians have chosen the camp of justice, decolonization, freedom, self-determination and human rights. This commitment applies to the issue of the Sahrawi people, who have been waiting for nearly half a century for the United Nations to achieve justice for them.”

He added: “If the Moroccan occupation has truly made Western Sahara a paradise, with or without granting it autonomy, why is it preventing the organization of this referendum?”

The Algerian ambassador refuted “terrorism accusations related to the Polisario,” saying: “Do not let anyone deceive you, because all the dominant powers have always tried to demonize the resistance and freedom fighters,” offering at the same time his country’s condolences to Morocco for the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck the Kingdom three weeks ago.

In turn, the Moroccan ambassador requested the right to respond to what his Algerian counterpart made, saying: “One cannot shed crocodile tears and at the same time attack a country that is still experiencing a tragedy.”

He added: “You express your solidarity and support, but at the same time you spread your poison, insult the dead, and insult the Moroccans.”

The Moroccan ambassador stressed that “the autonomy initiative within the framework of Morocco’s sovereignty and territorial integrity remains the only way to turn the page on this artificial regional conflict.”

Hilal stressed that “Morocco exists in its desert and will remain so until the end of time.”

From Suez to the “Meadow of Tears” Testimonies about the shock of the Israelis and the valor of the Egyptian and Syrian soldiers in the 1973 war

Nazareth : The 1973 war continues to preoccupy Israelis excessively with new press and television reports, films, books, and studies that attempt to deepen the understanding of what happened and the extent to which lessons can be drawn from it. As a whole, it reflects the depth of the shock that befell the Israeli side, and its fire does not fade even after 50 years.

 A new Israeli book narrates the 1973 war and its transformations and sheds light on the Israeli intelligence and military failures, and the seriousness of that war, which almost killed Israel, had it not been for “urgent Western aid, the Israeli army’s desperation, and its subsequent success in moving from defense to attack.”

Under the title “The War... Fifty Years Since the 1973 War,” prominent journalist Nassim Mishal refers to the valor of Egyptian and Syrian soldiers as well as he reviews bloody battles in Sinai and the Golan, based on his observations as a young journalist-soldier, in addition to war diaries written by Israeli commanders and soldiers.

Mishal says in his book: “We quickly began to understand the catastrophic results of the war: thousands killed and wounded, the failed performance of politicians and the military, and we became aware of the remaining scars in our bodies and souls, and we saw how the national consensus was fractured in everything related to Israel’s security.” Mishal explains that as a reporter, he participated in the war as a soldier in the paratroopers unit in the Suez region, and he experienced all its atrocities, saw the dead, heard the cries of the wounded, and felt the shock that swept away all the Israelis, and later feelings of astonishment penetrated us due to the magnitude of the failure: “I participated in protecting the Israeli military mission, Headed by General Aharon Yariv, which managed the ceasefire talks with the Egyptian mission, headed by General Mohamed El-Gamasy, at the “Kilometer 101” site, and I still remember how feelings of joy overwhelmed us because we wanted to stop the war and return to our homes.”

A man said to Diane, with a heavy heart and a strangled voice: I survived the Nazi Holocaust in Auschwitz, and I raised a son here in the country, so what did I do this for? I raised him so that he would be neglected to death by you?

 He also says that he recalls other events after the war, including a seminar by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, during which Israelis who lost their children in the 1973 war shouted: “You are a killer, you are a killer.” He continues: “At that symposium, a man got up and said to Diane with a heavy heart and a strangled voice: ‘I survived the Nazi Holocaust in Auschwitz, and I raised a son here in the country, so what did I do this for? I raised him so that he would be neglected to death by you?”

The seminar exploded, and Diane was smuggled out the back door.”

Mishal recalls the replacement of the Israeli political and military leaders after the war, but that did not calm the fears of the Israelis, and did not calm the state of turmoil until the public shock exploded strongly in 1977, when the great coup took place, and the “Labor” Party fell and the “Likud” Party rose to power for the first time since The establishment of Israel in 1948. But the leader of the “Likud”, Menachem Begin, the Israeli Prime Minister, surprised the world by signing a peace agreement with Egypt, after anticipating the future, and later he won the Nobel Peace Prize together with Sadat, and about that coup, Mishal adds: “The change of government did not lead to Not only did it lead to Camp David, but it led to a change in the status of the Eastern Jews. Begin, who realized the importance of their support for him, succeeded, with his charismatic personality and rhetoric, in encouraging them to improve their conditions and revive their dignity that had been damaged since they came to the country. Indeed, after a short time, Eastern Jews began to occupy central positions in politics, the economy, local government, education, and army leadership.

Rising social tensions

In his book, the Israeli journalist refers to other outcomes of the 1973 war , saying that social tensions began to worsen, and differences and borders emerged between Western and Eastern Jews, between religious and secular people, between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, between Israelis as a whole and the Palestinians in the territory occupied in 1967, and between old immigrants and new immigrants. . He adds about the fundamental change in Israel after that war: “Slowly, a new Israeli society began to form with different distinctions and harsh ideological conflicts, under the leadership of the “Gush Emunim” and “Peace Now” movements, which turned Israel into a divided, fragmented, and conflicting society.”

Birth of new leaders

According to Mishal's book, the 1973 war produced two prominent Israeli leaders; Yitzhak Rabin, who replaced Golda Meir as Prime Minister, and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who addressed the issue of Israeli women, widows who lost their husbands in the war, and took the initiative to issue fatwas allowing them to break the marriage bond and marry again, which brought him closer to Israeli society, and he began to care about security issues. The army kept informing him of developments. He points out that the 1973 war was the last war in which Israel fought regular Arab armies, and since then wars have continued with Palestinian and Lebanese “terrorist” organizations, and in practice the 1973 war was the last war that threatened our existence.

Mishal: After the 1973 war, little by little a new Israeli society began to form with different distinctions and harsh ideological conflicts, led by the “Gush Emunim” and “Peace Now” movements, which turned Israel into a divided society.

A shocked country

The writer recalls how the feelings of euphoria resulting from the 1967 victory collapsed all at once, after sirens shattered the silence, on that Black Saturday, and after Sinai shook from the power of Egyptian fire: “1,000 Egyptian artillery opened fire in one moment, as part of a heavy attack along the canal. Meanwhile, 200 fighter planes raided carefully selected Israeli positions. Intelligence bases, air force bases, air communications and control units, anti-aircraft weapons bases, and command and control facilities. At the same time, 100,000 Egyptian soldiers began crossing the Suez on boats on 13 moving bridges, and within three hours, Egyptian units crossed the Suez successfully, with support from Tanks, commando units, and anti-tank missile units, and in exchange for all these forces, the fighters of the Israeli 14th Tank Unit were alone.”

Regarding the fighting on the first day: “As a result of a miscalculation, the commander of the Israeli forces in Sinai did not activate a planned plan to repel the Egyptian crossing, and when the first tanks began to arrive at the front, the fighters of the Egyptian commando units were waiting for them with Sagger and RPG missiles.” The Israeli side did not have intelligence information about the crossing locations, the number of Egyptian forces, and their destination.”

The war took us by surprise

Regarding Israel’s shock, which was taken by surprise, Mishal says: “Before the Israelis understood what was happening, the army had suffered hundreds of deaths on the first day of the war. On that day, we received an urgent phone call calling us to enter the trench immediately. Above us we could hear the roar of low-flying planes heading from the canal to Sinai. At first we thought they were our planes, and later we understood that these were Egyptian Sukhoi planes. This was the beginning, and soon shells fell around us, and a tank unit next to us was directly hit, so we immediately fled into the trench, leaving one soldier to watch, and this poor thing was trembling with fear. He was calling us every minute, asking us to stay inside the trench. When we had to leave, we began to feel and understand what war was, and I heard the barracks commander, “Litov,” screaming over the radio as he said to the unit commander: “I have three wounded soldiers, and two wounded, and if you do not help me, the barracks will fall.” This was the first shock in the war. And so on the second day of the war; The calls for help and distress in every location were based on what we heard on the radio, which made me angry and frustrated. Also on the second day, four Egyptian planes attacked us from a MiG, and this was one of the most terrifying scenes for us. I ran away and stuck my body in the sand, wounding eight of our soldiers, and the rest became terrified, and some of them did not dare to return to the guns, and our planes were shot down. Three Egyptian fighters, but for me this was too late.”

Syrians on the walls

Regarding the fighting inside the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Mishal says, “The Israeli forces succeeded in repelling the Syrians in the north of the plateau, but were late in the south, but the Syrian forces returned and succeeded, on the third day of the war, in striking the depleted Israeli army, which suffered from a lack of ammunition, and convoys were hit.” From Israeli tanks, including them, and the Syrian soldiers reached a distance of dozens of meters from them.” Regarding the Israeli response, he adds: “The commander of Armored Unit No. 7, General Yanush Ben Gal, realized the danger and feared a more dangerous Syrian penetration, so he decided to focus all his forces, including artillery, against the Syrian forces, and appointed the commander of the 77th Ground Company, Avigdor Kahalani, as commander of the northern region in the Golan, which It was later known as the “Valley of Tears” due to the large number of victims on both the Israeli and Syrian sides. With reinforced forces, Kahalani succeeded in repelling the Syrian attack, after four bloody days of fighting. Later, the commander of the Northern Brigade in the Israeli army, Yitzhak Hofi, said that Kahalani and his forces saved Israel from death.

The battle on Mount Hermon

Nissim Mishal stops at the bloody battle on Mount Hermon, and says that without controlling “Hill 16,” it would not have been possible to recover Mount Hermon, which fell in the first days of the war to the hands of the Syrian army. Regarding this, he says: “Every second an Israeli soldier is injured. The radio communications network was crowded with reports of injuries, deaths, and wounded, and the voices of commanders rose, screaming for help. The battle seemed lost, and when dawn came, we discovered that dozens of dead and wounded soldiers were lying on the ground. Unit commander Yoed Zlebinsky took the initiative to gather the soldiers who were still able to fight, and renewed artillery fire towards the Syrians, causing them many injuries, and the Israeli army was able to regain control. On the top of Mount Hermon after 56 soldiers were killed and 80 other soldiers were injured.

 It is noteworthy that the newspaper “Haaretz” reviewed, among its very extensive reports, the bloody battle in the “Meadow of Tears” on October 9, 1973, and reported what the commander of the Israeli forces there at that place and time wrote in his war diary: “The situation is dangerous.” I am on the verge of despair, as the Syrians are sending large forces in order to reach Quneitra-Masada Street. The fighting was intense, and the Syrians were inflicting heavy losses on us, and the leaders were being killed one by one, and we were on the verge of losing control until Kahalani rescued us with the rest of his forces, and he succeeded in stopping the Syrian attack, in the midst of face-to-face fighting, and only 50/150 meters away, and sometimes clashes occurred with fists and light weapons. The war was cruel and painful for both sides.”

Haaretz recalls that the Syrians began the attack with artillery shelling, but they failed to move their tanks through the anti-tank ditch. But they were able to penetrate the Israeli defenses at night with the help of night vision devices. The next morning, the Syrians launched a second attack, and at one point, 40 Israeli tanks found themselves facing about 500 Syrian tanks. On the fourth day, the Israeli Seventh Armored Brigade received reinforcements when its number decreased to about 12 tanks and its ammunition ran out. The Syrians retreated for reasons that are still debated. Israeli military historian Martin Van Creveld said that Israel threatened Syria with a nuclear attack.”

Mishal: The Syrians retreated for reasons that are still controversial. Israeli historian Kveld said that Israel threatened Syria with a nuclear attack

This was confirmed by many Israeli sources, in recent days, by saying that the late Defense Minister Moshe Dayan almost collapsed, in the first days of the war, as he received news of disasters from Sinai and the Golan, until he took the initiative to propose to Golda Meir to use nuclear weapons, but she repulsed him and refused. Some commentators went on to say that Golda was “the only man” in the command room, in light of the shaking of confidence in the men among Israeli politicians and military personnel at the beginning of the war.

Shocking the Israelis

In his book, Mishal says that the major intelligence and military failure, and the huge numbers of dead and wounded on the Israeli side, all of this shocked Israeli society, after it became clear that Israel had fallen into the trap of deception by the brainchild of Anwar Sadat, despite successive indicators and warnings of the possibility of war breaking out.

Mishal points out that the aforementioned warnings included an ultimatum given by the late Jordanian King Hussein , who personally informed Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir of the intention of Egypt and Syria to launch an imminent war. Before that, Sadat himself had threatened war and the readiness to sacrifice a million soldiers in order to reclaim Sinai. He also says that Soviet military advisors left Egypt, one day before the war, but military intelligence, headed by General Elie Zeira, maintained its mistaken estimates that a war would not break out, and that the Egyptian army’s preparations were only part of an Egyptian military maneuver.