Jordan marks 56th anniversary of Al Karamah Battle

AMMAN — Jordan marks the 56th anniversary of Al Karamah Battle Thursday, in which Jordanian soldiers repelled an Israeli attack on the town of Karamah, or “dignity” in Arabic, in the Jordan Valley.

His Majesty King Abdullah has received cables from senior officials and officers on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of Al Karamah Battle, which falls on 21 March.

HRH Crown Prince Hussein received similar cables on the occasion.

Eighty-six Jordanian soldiers lost their lives and 108 were wounded in the battle on March 21, 1968.

The Israeli raid was repelled with heavy losses as the Jordanian army launched an artillery barrage against Israeli tanks.

A total of 250 Israeli soldiers were killed and 450 were wounded.

The Jordanian army lost 13 tanks and 39 various vehicles, while Israel had 88 vehicles destroyed and seven fighter planes shot down.

The battle objective as announced by Israel was to destroy the garrison of Arab fighters in Karamah, while the real goal of the attack was to occupy the eastern highlands of the Jordan Valley in Balqa, 35 kilometres northwest of Amman, as Israel was attempting to close in on the capital to force the surrender of Jordan and to obtain new land.

In addition to occupying more land, Israel aimed to destroy the Jordanian army and affirm its superiority after winning the 1967 war.

In the fifth hour of the battle, Israel requested a ceasefire that was rejected by His Majesty the late King Hussein, who affirmed his rejection “as long as a single Israeli soldier is still on the eastern bank of the Jordan River”.

In his speech after the battle ended, King Hussein said that the battle had shown excellent planning and implementation of strategies on the part of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and intelligence agencies, which deprived the enemy of the element of surprise by predicting the attack.

After the battle, several senior Western military officers and press outlets expressed admiration for Jordan’s determination and heroism, which led to victory against a superior army.