Sam Katz – författare

The Lebanese Civil War of 1975-76 caused 80,000 dead and totally split the country along factional lines.An estimated 50 different militias came into existence, and acts of violence were both individual and collective. In the midst of this explosive atmosphere, cross-border conflict between Israel and Lebanon intensified, culminating in Operation Peace for Galilee - the invasion of Lebanon. This book offers a day-by-day account of the invasion and the subsequent siege of Beirut, an operation that resulted in both the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel claiming victory.Numerous photographs and colour plates portray the uniforms and equipment of the Israeli, Palestinian and Multi-National forces.

Following the devastation of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) underwent significant structural and tactical changes in their battle doctrine.In only a few years the IDF evolved into a truly modern fighting force, much better prepared to confront the Palestinian attacks that were to follow. Written by an ex-soldier of the IDF, this richly illustrated book chronicles the history of the IDF from the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War to the late 1980s, and covers the various units of the IDF including the Paratroop and Infantry Branch, the Engineering Corps and the Armoured Corps.

The Six-Day War drastically altered the political and military complexion of the Middle East: three Arab armies lay in ruin, while Israel became a regional giant.The Arab response to defeat was a desire to fight back, and the process of regrouping to launch the 1973 war was the nearest the Arab world would come to true unity. This book examines the post-1973 development of the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, as well as the Palestinian guerrilla groups.Backed by photographs and colour illustrations, this book also details the special military and political roles of the armies' elite units.

In 1947, when the UN partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, the war that would result in Israel began.Throughout the First Arab-Israeli War, the PAL'MACH (Hebrew abbreviation for 'Strike Companies') spearheaded Israel's forces. Disbanded in 1949, the PAL'MACH was replaced by other specialist units, including paratroop forces, the GOLANI Infantry Brigade, the Naval Commandos, and territorial and other reconnaissance commando formations.An acknowledged expert on the Israeli Defence Forces, Samuel Katz presents an overview of these IDF elite units, including the mysterious SAYERET MAT'KAL, a highly classified elite unit whose exploits involve the 1972 raid on a hijacked Belgian Sabena Boeing 707.