AdamRed222
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On 8th June 1967, a US tactical research ship, USS Liberty, was attacked near the Sinai Peninsula by the Israeli air force. The air force supposedly mistook the ship for an Egyptian one, as the incident occurred during the Six-Day War. 34 crew members lost their lives during the attack. The US government accepted Israel's explanation for the attack and, in May 1968, the Israeli government paid $3.32 million in compensation to the families of the killed sailors.
However, several survivors of the attack, along with some military and intelligence officers, disputed Israel's explanation. Instead, they believed that the Israeli air force knew that the ship was American but attacked it anyway. According to several books about the incident, and a BBC documentary, "USS Liberty: Dead in the Water", the ship was attacked to prevent its crew from discovering the forthcoming Israeli attack on the Golan Heights, which would've violated a ceasefire. At the time, the USS Liberty was conducting an intelligence-gathering operation. There are also several details in dispute about the incident. For example, the ship bore Latin identification marks instead of Arabic ones, the Israeli air force immediately attacked the ship without making identification runs, and the Israelis have claimed that the ship did not have an American flag. However, American reports on the incident state that the ship did have an American flag before, during, and after the attack.
However, some arguments support the idea that the incident was just a case of friendly fire. For instance, the incident took place during the Six-Day War, and Israel was fighting against two Arab countries, and it was preparing to attack a third. Furthermore, during the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Israelis attacked a British frigate after mistaking it for an Egyptian one, and, several hours before the attack, the Israelis believed that a nearby unidentified ship, which was USS Liberty, had attacked the port of El-Arish, but this wasn't the case.
www.ebsco.com
However, several survivors of the attack, along with some military and intelligence officers, disputed Israel's explanation. Instead, they believed that the Israeli air force knew that the ship was American but attacked it anyway. According to several books about the incident, and a BBC documentary, "USS Liberty: Dead in the Water", the ship was attacked to prevent its crew from discovering the forthcoming Israeli attack on the Golan Heights, which would've violated a ceasefire. At the time, the USS Liberty was conducting an intelligence-gathering operation. There are also several details in dispute about the incident. For example, the ship bore Latin identification marks instead of Arabic ones, the Israeli air force immediately attacked the ship without making identification runs, and the Israelis have claimed that the ship did not have an American flag. However, American reports on the incident state that the ship did have an American flag before, during, and after the attack.
However, some arguments support the idea that the incident was just a case of friendly fire. For instance, the incident took place during the Six-Day War, and Israel was fighting against two Arab countries, and it was preparing to attack a third. Furthermore, during the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Israelis attacked a British frigate after mistaking it for an Egyptian one, and, several hours before the attack, the Israelis believed that a nearby unidentified ship, which was USS Liberty, had attacked the port of El-Arish, but this wasn't the case.
Israel Attacks the USS Liberty | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
<p>The attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli forces occurred on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, a conflict that began with Israel's preemptive strike against neighboring Arab states. The USS Liberty, an American surveillance ship, was mistakenly identified as an enemy vessel by Israeli...
