The Outcome
Before he could complete his objective Allon was instructed by David Ben-Gurion to withdraw from Egypt immediately. The British Government had threatened to invoke the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of Friendship and become directly involved. Under protest but at Ben-Gurion's insistence, the Israelis withdrew. On January 3rd they launched an attack on the Egyptian defences at Rafah with the same objective of trapping the Egyptian army. After three days of fighting around Rafah the Egyptian government announced, 6 January 1949, that they were willing to enter armistice negotiations. On the same day the Israeli Air Force shot down five RAF Spitfires on patrol in the area, killing two pilots and taking two prisoner. The British moved reinforcements to Akaba. Despite protests from the army Israel accepted the cease-fire on 7 January.
In the final Armistice Agreement al-Auja was made a de-militarized zone.
Read more about this topic: Operation Horev
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