IDF General Staff Discussions on the Question of Borders after the Six-Day War Presented, annotated, and introduced by Yitzhak Greenberg

Abstract

Six months after the Six-Day War, Chief of the General Staff Yitzhak Rabin initiated two discussions of the IDF General Staff concerning the possible borders of the State of Israel in light of its security needs. In addition to what is already known from other sources, these discussions shed light on the differing views of the members of the General Staff regarding this issue and other questions, such as whether the State of Israel should initiate measures aimed at reaching peace agreements, on which fronts Israel could make compromises, and which country should be given priority in advancing peace talks. The General Staff included chiefs of staff and major generals who would later become ministers and prime ministers: Yitzhak Rabin, Haim Bar-Lev, Ezer Weizman, Ariel Sharon, and Aharon Yariv. Two other major generals—Rehavam Ze’evi and Mattityahu Peled—went on to lead parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum: Ze’evi on the right and Peled on the left. An analysis of the minutes of these meetings allows us to examine whether the positions expressed by the members of the General Staff anticipated the views they would later hold in their governmental roles; whether the transition from the perspective of a military commander to that of a statesman led to a change in their positions regarding Israel’s borders; whether Ze’evi’s and Peled’s views were distinctive; and whether those views foreshadowed their future political paths toward parties at the two ends of the political spectrum.