Mixed Armistice Commissions
Encyclopedia
The Mixed Armistice Commissions (MAC) is an organisation for monitoring the ceasefire along the lines set by the General Armistice Agreements. It was composed of United Nations
Military Observers and was part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
peacekeeping force in the Middle East
. The MAC comprised on four sections to monitor each of the four truce agreements, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel MAC
, the Israel/Syrian MAC
, the Israel/Lebanon MAC and the Egypt/Israel MAC. The various MACs were located on the cease fire lines and, through close liaison with headquarters in Jerusalem, were charged with supervising the truce, investigating border incidents, and taking remedial action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
(UNTSO), this became the premier UN peacekeeping organization in the Middle East. It was clearly given a bi-fold mission which reads as follows: "first, to observe and report on the truce which was established on June 18, 1948, and, secondly, to maintain the organization of the Mixed Armistice Commissions (MAC).
Included in each General Armistice Agreement
was a clause which provided for the creation of Mixed Armistice Commissions (MACs). The MACs were composed of an equal amount of representatives from the participating factions to the Armistices (one MAC for Israel and each of her bordering countries). UNTSO provided the chairman which was always its ranking member. In the same accord, UNTSO provided each MAC with a number of observers to detail the nature of complaints (regardless of which country who had lodged the grievance) in order to preserve the Truce. Logistic and administrative support grew within UNTSO as the observers were placed in remote locations. This requirement laid the foundation for UNTSO's existing support structure as we know it today.
UNTSO formed four separate Mixed Armistice Commissions (MACs), with five members in the case of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel MAC
and the Israel/Syrian MAC
with seven in the case of Egypt/Israel MAC and Lebanon/Israel MAC, of whom each Party to the Agreement designated two in the case of HKJ/I MAC and the I/S MAC with three designated from each party I/E MAC and I/L MAC and whose Chairman was to be the United Nations Chief of Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization or a senior officer from the Observer personnel of that Organization designated by him following consultation with both Parties to the Agreement, who cast the deciding vote in any violation investigation. The observers’ responsibilities consisted of investigating complaints brought by one or both parties, observe the ceasefires to theoretically supervise the execution of the provisions of the GAAs and to report to the UN. The partiality mechanism inherent in MAC voting soon damaged relations with both sides. UNTSO chairmen sided with one or other of the parties during an investigation, but they had no effective mechanism to sanction the guilty. UNTSO’s role was simply to supply the UN with “adequate and objective information of such kind as may be required, rather than to enforce agreements or make peace.”
The Military Observers (MOs’) recorded tabulations and handed down judgements resulted in nothing concrete, not even shaming the parties in the court of world opinion. UNTSO’s understaffed and unarmed investigators could not supervise, let alone enforce, the armistice agreements. Moreover, when the organization refused to consistently side with the Israeli version of events, its one common member obstructed the entire operation. For this reason, most Canadian MOs came to the region pro-Israeli, and departed pro-Arab. In spite of its questionable relevance UNTSO kept on, maintaining an international presence on the ground in Israel proper, nurturing a core group familiar with regional problems, and forming the proto-nuclei for inevitable future peacekeeping operations.
The MACs were very different from one another, bringing about four unique UNTSO peacekeeping missions. Disputes on the Israel-Syria Mixed Armistice Commission (ISMAC) centred around the most precious Middle Eastern commodity: water. Contentions in the HKJIMAC concerned the divided city of Jerusalem, the Mount Scopus
Israeli enclave in Jerusalem, Latrun
and infiltration across the armistice demarcation line. The infiltration by Palestinians was initially unarmed groups crossing to regain possessions, harvest their crops or visit relatives; later infiltrations became armed individuals and then progressing into small retaliatory raids. As Pasha Glubb
explained:-
Israeli infiltration being organised retaliatory raids by military units such as Qibya
and Nahhalin raids. Israel’s frustration with the UN and the other parties led to their withdrawal from ISMAC in 1951 and HKJIMAC in 1954. The functioning of the Israel Lebanon MAC remained smooth due to the more relaxed attitude of the Israeli patrols towards returnees and infiltrators. Disputes with Egypt, who banned Israel-bound shipping from the Suez Canal and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, pertained to the al-Auja DMZ. By 1955, Israel ceased attending the Egyptian MAC and stepped up raids into the Gaza Strip and Sinai to which Egypt retaliated by sponsoring the Palestinian fedayeen
(self-sacrificer) raids. The full-scale 1956 invasion of Egypt by British, French and Israeli forces
, The invasion followed Egypt's decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal
after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam
.The invasion demonstrated UNTSO’s irrelevance in the process.
Jerusalem.
The Israel/Lebanon Mixed Armistice Commission (ILMAC) maintained its headquarters at the frontier post North of Metulla and the Lebanese frontier post at En Naqoura.
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel
Mixed Armistice Commission (HKJIMAC) maintained its headquarters (HQ) in the Jerusalem, after the "Barrel Incident" the HKJIMAC HQ was moved into the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) close to the Mandelbaum Gate
.
Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission
(ISMAC) maintained its headquarters at the Customs House near Jisr Banat Yakub and at Mahanayim.
Israel/Egyptian Mixed Armistice Commission maintained its headquarters at El Auja
Demilitarisation Agreement of 7 July 1948 the agreement was initialled by Franklyn M Begley a UN official, the local Jordanian commander and by the Israeli local commander
Mount Scopus Demilitarisation Agreement of 21 July 1948 Israeli and Jordanian local commanders with subsidiary agreement initialled by Franklyn M Begley and the local Jordanian commander but not by the Israeli commander.
" by the UN. 29 May 2008 being the sixtieth anniversary of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces being deployed.
area and later died in the Jewish Hospital at Afula. He was wounded while investigating an alleged violation of the truce provisions by Jewish forces.
(UNTSO), managed to arrange a local ceasefire. However, while attempting to reach the Palestinian Arab house in question and confer directly with the Jordanians, one of the officers detonated an anti-personnel mine, the explosion severely wounding both soldiers.
The day after the wounding of MOs Breault and Flint, a Jordanian mob attacked Swedish observer Lt.-Col. E.H. Thalin.
On 26 May 1958 at 1654 Local time Lieutenant-Colonel Flint was killed apparently by a single sniper round from Jordan while trying to evacuate wounded Israelis from an Israeli police patrol, After Lt.-Colonel Flint had proceeded 40 to 50 metres towards the place where the body of the previously killed Israeli officer was situated, carrying a white flag, there was a single shot and he was hit by a bullet of apparently the same origin, as the one which had hit the Israeli policeman a few minutes earlier. An unwounded Israeli lying only two metres from Lt.-Colonel Flint shouted that the latter was not moving and that he could see the entrance hole of the bullet. An UNMO who was at a short distance saw the impact of the bullet and, as Lt.-Colonel Flint had fallen immediately, concluded that he must have been killed instantly.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Military Observers and was part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Its primary task was providing the military command structure to the peace keeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peace keepers to observe and maintain the...
peacekeeping force in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The MAC comprised on four sections to monitor each of the four truce agreements, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel MAC
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations organisation of observers which dealt with complaints from Jordan and Israel to maintain the fragile cease fire along the demarcation line between Israel and Jordan...
, the Israel/Syrian MAC
Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission
The Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations commission for observing the armistice between Israel and Syria after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as part of the Mixed Armistice Commissions...
, the Israel/Lebanon MAC and the Egypt/Israel MAC. The various MACs were located on the cease fire lines and, through close liaison with headquarters in Jerusalem, were charged with supervising the truce, investigating border incidents, and taking remedial action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Background
From the Arab Israeli conflict the United Nations inaugurated the United Nations Truce Supervision OrganizationUnited Nations Truce Supervision Organization
The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Its primary task was providing the military command structure to the peace keeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peace keepers to observe and maintain the...
(UNTSO), this became the premier UN peacekeeping organization in the Middle East. It was clearly given a bi-fold mission which reads as follows: "first, to observe and report on the truce which was established on June 18, 1948, and, secondly, to maintain the organization of the Mixed Armistice Commissions (MAC).
Included in each General Armistice Agreement
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
was a clause which provided for the creation of Mixed Armistice Commissions (MACs). The MACs were composed of an equal amount of representatives from the participating factions to the Armistices (one MAC for Israel and each of her bordering countries). UNTSO provided the chairman which was always its ranking member. In the same accord, UNTSO provided each MAC with a number of observers to detail the nature of complaints (regardless of which country who had lodged the grievance) in order to preserve the Truce. Logistic and administrative support grew within UNTSO as the observers were placed in remote locations. This requirement laid the foundation for UNTSO's existing support structure as we know it today.
UNTSO formed four separate Mixed Armistice Commissions (MACs), with five members in the case of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel MAC
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations organisation of observers which dealt with complaints from Jordan and Israel to maintain the fragile cease fire along the demarcation line between Israel and Jordan...
and the Israel/Syrian MAC
Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission
The Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations commission for observing the armistice between Israel and Syria after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as part of the Mixed Armistice Commissions...
with seven in the case of Egypt/Israel MAC and Lebanon/Israel MAC, of whom each Party to the Agreement designated two in the case of HKJ/I MAC and the I/S MAC with three designated from each party I/E MAC and I/L MAC and whose Chairman was to be the United Nations Chief of Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization or a senior officer from the Observer personnel of that Organization designated by him following consultation with both Parties to the Agreement, who cast the deciding vote in any violation investigation. The observers’ responsibilities consisted of investigating complaints brought by one or both parties, observe the ceasefires to theoretically supervise the execution of the provisions of the GAAs and to report to the UN. The partiality mechanism inherent in MAC voting soon damaged relations with both sides. UNTSO chairmen sided with one or other of the parties during an investigation, but they had no effective mechanism to sanction the guilty. UNTSO’s role was simply to supply the UN with “adequate and objective information of such kind as may be required, rather than to enforce agreements or make peace.”
The Military Observers (MOs’) recorded tabulations and handed down judgements resulted in nothing concrete, not even shaming the parties in the court of world opinion. UNTSO’s understaffed and unarmed investigators could not supervise, let alone enforce, the armistice agreements. Moreover, when the organization refused to consistently side with the Israeli version of events, its one common member obstructed the entire operation. For this reason, most Canadian MOs came to the region pro-Israeli, and departed pro-Arab. In spite of its questionable relevance UNTSO kept on, maintaining an international presence on the ground in Israel proper, nurturing a core group familiar with regional problems, and forming the proto-nuclei for inevitable future peacekeeping operations.
The MACs were very different from one another, bringing about four unique UNTSO peacekeeping missions. Disputes on the Israel-Syria Mixed Armistice Commission (ISMAC) centred around the most precious Middle Eastern commodity: water. Contentions in the HKJIMAC concerned the divided city of Jerusalem, the Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
Israeli enclave in Jerusalem, Latrun
Latrun
Latrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley in Israel overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
and infiltration across the armistice demarcation line. The infiltration by Palestinians was initially unarmed groups crossing to regain possessions, harvest their crops or visit relatives; later infiltrations became armed individuals and then progressing into small retaliatory raids. As Pasha Glubb
John Bagot Glubb
Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC better known as Glubb Pasha , was a British soldier, scholar and author, best known for leading and training Transjordan's Arab Legion 1939-1956 as its commanding general...
explained:-
Some deep psychological urge which impels a peasant to cling to and die on his land. A great many of these wretched people are killed now, picking their own oranges and olives just beyond the line. The value of the fruit is often negligible. If the Jewish patrols see him he is shot dead on the spot, without questions. But they will persist in returning to their farms and gardens.
Israeli infiltration being organised retaliatory raids by military units such as Qibya
Qibya
Qibya is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, located northwest of Ramallah and exactly north of the large Israeli city of Modi'in. It is part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, and according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 4,901 in...
and Nahhalin raids. Israel’s frustration with the UN and the other parties led to their withdrawal from ISMAC in 1951 and HKJIMAC in 1954. The functioning of the Israel Lebanon MAC remained smooth due to the more relaxed attitude of the Israeli patrols towards returnees and infiltrators. Disputes with Egypt, who banned Israel-bound shipping from the Suez Canal and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, pertained to the al-Auja DMZ. By 1955, Israel ceased attending the Egyptian MAC and stepped up raids into the Gaza Strip and Sinai to which Egypt retaliated by sponsoring the Palestinian fedayeen
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...
(self-sacrificer) raids. The full-scale 1956 invasion of Egypt by British, French and Israeli forces
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
, The invasion followed Egypt's decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam
Aswan Dam
The Aswan Dam is an embankment dam situated across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. Since the 1950s, the name commonly refers to the High Dam, which is larger and newer than the Aswan Low Dam, which was first completed in 1902...
.The invasion demonstrated UNTSO’s irrelevance in the process.
Headquarters
The overall headquarters of the UNTSO after moving from Cairo to Haifa ended up in Government HouseGovernment House
Government House is the name of many of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by...
Jerusalem.
The Israel/Lebanon Mixed Armistice Commission (ILMAC) maintained its headquarters at the frontier post North of Metulla and the Lebanese frontier post at En Naqoura.
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Mixed Armistice Commission (HKJIMAC) maintained its headquarters (HQ) in the Jerusalem, after the "Barrel Incident" the HKJIMAC HQ was moved into the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) close to the Mandelbaum Gate
Mandelbaum Gate
Mandelbaum Gate is a former checkpoint between Israeli and Jordanian sectors of Jerusalem, just north of the western edge of the Old City along the Green Line...
.
Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission
Israel/Syria Mixed Armistice Commission
The Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission was the United Nations commission for observing the armistice between Israel and Syria after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as part of the Mixed Armistice Commissions...
(ISMAC) maintained its headquarters at the Customs House near Jisr Banat Yakub and at Mahanayim.
Israel/Egyptian Mixed Armistice Commission maintained its headquarters at El Auja
Local Area Commanders agreements
Mount ScopusMount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
Demilitarisation Agreement of 7 July 1948 the agreement was initialled by Franklyn M Begley a UN official, the local Jordanian commander and by the Israeli local commander
Mount Scopus Demilitarisation Agreement of 21 July 1948 Israeli and Jordanian local commanders with subsidiary agreement initialled by Franklyn M Begley and the local Jordanian commander but not by the Israeli commander.
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
29 May has been designated as the "International Day of United Nations PeacekeepersInternational Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
The "International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers", May 29, is "a day to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication, and courage and to honor the memory of those who...
" by the UN. 29 May 2008 being the sixtieth anniversary of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces being deployed.
Sixty years ago on that date, the United Nations Security Council established the first peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), based in the Middle East. In 2001, the General Assembly proclaimed 29 May as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to pay tribute to the men and women who serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations and honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.
First casualty
On 6 July 1948 the UN observers had their first casualty with the death of the French Observer Commandant Rene Labarriere, he was wounded near the AfulaAfula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
area and later died in the Jewish Hospital at Afula. He was wounded while investigating an alleged violation of the truce provisions by Jewish forces.
Mount Scopus Incidents
On 24 July 1956 in the disputed armistice line of Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus demilitarized zone, Jordan’s Arab Legion occupied a house close to what was claimed as Jewish property on Mount Scopus. Israeli fire from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was soon brought to bear on the Jordanian position; a protracted fire-fight ensued. Canadian officers Major Marcel Breault and Major George Flint who were serving as observers with the United Nations Truce Supervision OrganizationUnited Nations Truce Supervision Organization
The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Its primary task was providing the military command structure to the peace keeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peace keepers to observe and maintain the...
(UNTSO), managed to arrange a local ceasefire. However, while attempting to reach the Palestinian Arab house in question and confer directly with the Jordanians, one of the officers detonated an anti-personnel mine, the explosion severely wounding both soldiers.
The day after the wounding of MOs Breault and Flint, a Jordanian mob attacked Swedish observer Lt.-Col. E.H. Thalin.
On 26 May 1958 at 1654 Local time Lieutenant-Colonel Flint was killed apparently by a single sniper round from Jordan while trying to evacuate wounded Israelis from an Israeli police patrol, After Lt.-Colonel Flint had proceeded 40 to 50 metres towards the place where the body of the previously killed Israeli officer was situated, carrying a white flag, there was a single shot and he was hit by a bullet of apparently the same origin, as the one which had hit the Israeli policeman a few minutes earlier. An unwounded Israeli lying only two metres from Lt.-Colonel Flint shouted that the latter was not moving and that he could see the entrance hole of the bullet. An UNMO who was at a short distance saw the impact of the bullet and, as Lt.-Colonel Flint had fallen immediately, concluded that he must have been killed instantly.
Captain Jack Holly, USMC.
Captain Jack Holly, USMC joined UNTSO in May 1973, several months before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. In the period just after the Yom Kippur cease fire was declared, Captain Holly and his OP partner, an Irish UNMO, were on post high on the elevated ridges of Mt. Hermon. Late one evening, an over-enthusiastic Arab soldier burst on the scene and forced them out of their racks. The Arab soldier commenced a gun-point march toward Damascus with both Holly and the Irish UNMO wearing only their skivies. Under the security of darkness, the Arab soldier marched them barefoot over very rocky terrain. They passed an Israeli strong point, went through Syrian lines, and then walked half way to Damascus. Once the Syrian Government realized the situation, both the Irish and U.S. Marine UNMO were returned to UN custody. Nevertheless, their feet were severely damaged. Captain Holly was in a convalescent status for a prolonged period and the Irish UNMO experienced a nervous breakdown in addition to tremendous physical problems.See also
- 1952 Beit Jala raid1952 Beit Jala raidThe Beit Jala Raid was an Israeli attack on Beit Jala, an Arab town on the border between Jordan and Israel on January 6, 1952. Seven Palestinian Arab civilians were killed in the attack...
- Mount ScopusMount ScopusMount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
- Nahalin reprisal raid March 28, 1954
- Qibya massacreQibya massacreThe Qibya massacre, also known as the Qibya incident, occurred in October 1953 when Israeli troops under Ariel Sharon attacked the village of Qibya in the West Bank. Sixty-nine Palestinian Arabs, two thirds of them women and children were killed. Forty-five houses, a school, and a mosque were...