Narkiss appears in the famous photograph of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan flanked by Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin taken in the Old City of Jerusalem shortly after its capture from Jordanian forces.

In April 1948, Narkiss headed the assault on Katamon with the Fourth Battalion of the Harel Brigade, during which time they captured the monastery at San Simon — a key strategic position.

Following the final departure of the British in May 1948 and the Israeli Declaration of Independence, Narkiss was appointed to assist those besieged in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

Narkiss' unit, dubbed a "diversionary force," succeeded in penetrating Zion Gate, bringing in supplies and evacuating the wounded from those under siege.

When military reinforcements failed to appear, however, Narkiss ordered his men to retreat, with the Old City falling to Jordanian forces shortly thereafter.

While Operation Inferno achieved most of its objectives, namely uprooting Fatah from their headquarters at Karameh in Jordan, it failed to capture Yasser Arafat.

As a result, Narkiss was quietly relieved of his command, and instead went on to hold key positions in the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization.