March 21st, 1968 - The Battle of Karema

Conflict: Arab-Israeli Wars

Combatants: Israelis vs. Jordanians and PLO

Location: Jordan

Outcome: Disputed

Continued attacks by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorists prompted Israel to respond with force. On March 21st of 1968, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched an attack on a PLO camp in the Jordan Valley. A battle ensued between the IDF and the Jordanian military involving artillery, armor, and airstrikes in addition to the infantry assault. The Jordanians claimed victory in driving off the IDF, but Israel had succeeded in destroying the PLO camp.

Jordanian artillery at Karema by an unknown photographer

Points of Interest:

• Between February 1970 and June 1971, the Jordanian Army and PLO terrorists engaged in sporadic small scale battles culminating in the driving of the PLO out of Jordan.

• On November 28 of 1971, three gunman from the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September assassinated the Jordanian Prime Minister, Wasfi Tal, while he was attending a meeting in Cairo, Egypt.

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.