Revealed: Israel's Last-Minute Nuclear Decision During the Six-Day War

As we mark 50 years since the Six-Day War, a startling and previously unknown fact has come to light: just before war broke out, Israel prepared a nuclear device and planned to detonate it on a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, in case of defeat.

The 'New York Times' revealed this information recently. 'Yedioth Ahronoth' also noted that they were aware of the plan after the man behind it—Brigadier General (ret.) Yitzhak Yaakov (Itza), of blessed memory—had spoken about it roughly 16 years ago in an interview with nuclear policy researcher Dr. Avner Cohen and journalist Dr. Ronen Bergman.

In a recorded conversation shared by Dr. Cohen with the New York Times, you can hear Itza say, "You have an enemy, and he says he's going to throw you into the sea, so you believe him. And how can you stop him? Only by scaring him. The goal was to create a new situation on the ground, one that would force the major powers to intervene or make the Egyptians stop and say, 'Wait, we didn't mean this'. In short, the goal was to change the picture."

Itza further shared that the blast site chosen was a mountaintop about 12 kilometers from an Egyptian base. According to the plan, a small paratrooper force was to create a distraction of the Egyptian army in the area, allowing the team to prepare the nuclear blast. Following this, two large aircraft were expected to land and bring the explosives, which, if detonated, would certainly have caused major damage. It was estimated that the mushroom clouds would have been visible as far away as Cairo.

In interviews revealed later, Itza expressed fear that he and his team might not survive the explosion, yet remained determined that Israel should proceed with the blast, even after winning the war.

It's important to note that after exposing these details, Itza was arrested and accused of leaking Israel's atomic secrets to a journalist. However, upon trial, he was convicted of a lesser offense.