CITATION: Six Day War. n.d. Web. 29 April 2012.
The Egyptian president, Gamel Abdel Nasser, was very humiliated after losing the Suez- Sinai war in 1956. He planned to take revenge by gathering other arab countries as allies and launching an attack on Israel. He demanded that the UN troops should be removed from the areas surrounding Israel, the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank. Instead he placed Palestinian troops there. Israel got a warning of these plans and before Nasser’s army could attack they launched an attack on Egypt as Israel wanted the war to be on Arab grounds. On the very first day the Egyptian air force suffered a crushing defeat as 90 % of their planes were destroyed. Besides this the Egyptian army units in the Gaza strip and the Sinai Peninsula were defeated. Nasser convinced King Hussein of Jordan to ally with him even though Isreal had warned Jordan to stay away from the war. He sent his army to attack Jerusalem, but they were defeated the next morning. The same day, Israel also took control over the ‘ Wailing Wall’ which is the holiest Jewish landmark. This was the first time in over 2000 years that such a thing happened and was an important development. In three days Israel planes had taken control of the skies and even their land troops were completely in control. This war proved the superiority of the Israeli side and within six days the arabs were completely defeated. Cease fire agreements were made with Syria and Jordan on the sixth day.
Rhea Kakar's List: The Six Day War - 1967 War
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Apr 15, 12
The Six-Day War in 1967 was another war in a series of conflicts between Israel and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. This war once again proved the superior military strength of Israel and firmly established its strong position in the Middle East. After a period of continued stress and tension between Israel and the Arab countries around it, Israel decided to go ahead with a preemptive surprise attack on Egypt. Although Egypt and its allies were preparing for this war, they were caught by surprise and suffered heavy losses and eventual defeat. This was humiliating for the Arab countries as they were confident that they would be able to win the inevitable war because of their collective strength. The sweeping victory of the Israelis in the Six-Day War in June, 1967 proved to be a tipping point in the Arab-Israeli conflict due to their major geographical and political gains.
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Apr 30, 12
EXPLANATION: (GCSC BOOK AND CLASS NOTES)
- In 1964, leaders of the ARab states decided to set up the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation). The purpose for this organization to win back all the land that was lost in the 1948 war.
- In 1965, Fatah, a guerilla group part of the PLO, carried out its first raid on Israel and continued to carry on raids over the next few years.
- Since Israel's victory in the 1956 war, Israel had become more modern and advance. They irrigated their deserts and developed new industries to develop their economy. Additionally, Israel invested heavily in their military in order to be able to defend themselves.
- Being such a new country, this major militarization was only possible with foreign help. Most of the aid that Israelis received was from the United States.
- The US government felt that Israel deserved support since all countries around it were against them.
- Fatah had its bases in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, and all these three countries bordered Israel too. Israeli villages were often victims of the guerilla attacks that were staged by Fatah based in these three bordering countries.
- The governments of these countries tried to restrict these uprisings as they were scared as to how Israel was planning to defend themselves.
- The Syrian government was an exception to this. They were extremely supportive of the PLO and their cause. They supplied arms and men to the PLO army to continue their raids against Israel.
-The only neighboring country from which Israel was not attacked was Egypt...and this was because the UN troops had been placed on the border between Egypt and Israel after 1956 to prevent violence between these two countries.
- The Syrians accused the Egyptians of hiding behind the protection of the United Nations. This was untrue and hurt the Nasser, as he wanted peace for his countries betterment and prosperity.
-However, he still wanted his status as the hero and leader of the Arab world to maintain, so he signed an alliance with Syria which stated that if one of the Arab states were attacked that Egypt would step in and defend its Arab brothers against Israeli forces.
- In mid May Nasser requested that the UN remove their troops from the Egyptian-Israeli border to prove Egypt's independence and strength as a nation.
- In Egypt, Nasser presented a speech in which he demanded that Israel allow Palestinians to return to their rightful land and that they should give up the land that they conquered in the 1948 war. He thought that Israel would listen to them and was hoping to win without a war. However, war broke out soon later.
- The Israeli's were afraid that the 1948 war would repeat itself. They did not want to be attacked on surprise by surrounding Arab states. This fear lead them to strike a preemptive attack. The Israli air force took off and attacked Arab planes on the ground and it took them only a few hours to almost completely destroy the air forces of these countries. This set the most likely outcome of the war on the first few hours of fighting.
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Apr 29, 12
-In 1965 Fatah launched attacks on the Israeli water projects. The Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkel issued a warning to Jordan to keep a check on such activities by the guerillas but the attacks continued.
- Israel then launched counter attacks on Jordanian villages where there was suspected terrorists and also on Syria where such guerilla activities had started.
- November 1966 Israel launched a major attack against the Jordanian village of Samu, as they suspected Palestinian terrorists to be hiding there.
- Many Jordanian civilians died or were wounded. The arab states were furious and many demonstrations took place in protest. The Palestinians in Jordan wanted King Hussein to supply arms to the villages along the border. Arab states wanted King Hussein to take a stronger stance against Israel.
- UN Security Council voted to censure Israel.
- On April 7, 1967, Syrian pilots, flying Russian MIG jets fought with Israeli planes. Six MIG’s were shot down and their capital, Damascus, was in danger.
- Now they urged Egypt to support and ally with them. This was the beginning of a series of events which would ultimately lead to the third Arab Israeli conflict.
CITATION: Worth, Richard. Israel and the Arab states. New York: F. Watts, 1983. Print. 41.
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Egyptian President, Gamel Abdel Nassar, was still angry about Egyptian defeat in the Suez-Sinai War in 1956. His feelings caused him to gather his allies and plan an invasion on Israel. He ordered the removal of all United Nations troops from areas surrounding Israel, the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and West Bank, and replaced them with Palestinian troops. On June 5, 1967, before Nassar had a chance to command his troops to attack, Israel attacked Egypt. Israel had foreseen an attack and wanted the war on Arab soil, instead of their own. On the first day of war, over 90% of Egyptian aircraft were destroyed and Egyptian units in the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula were defeated. After Israel warned King Hussein of Jordan not to get involved, he was convinced by Nassar that they would be successful together. He sent in troops to attack Israeli forces in Jerusalem, but was defeated by the next morning. By the same morning, Israel had also taken control of the “wailing wall”, which is the holiest Jewish landmark, for the first time in 2000 years. Within just three days, Israel had complete control of the skies and was easily able to support their troops fighting on land. It was clear that Israel was a dominating force, and it was able to defeat all of its rivals by the sixth day when it signed cease-fire agreements with Syria and Jordan.
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CITATION: Six Day War. n.d. Web. 29 April 2012.
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The outcome of the Six-Day war was an unexpected one. The Arab nations, who had planned an attack with full confidence that they would win the war, were surprised by Israel’s quick, successful tactics. Leaders went back to their counties embarrassed that they were defeated by a country before viewed as inferior. It was also a war lost by the Soviet Union to the United States. It made it apparent to the Soviets that U.S. weapons could defeat them. Egypt and Israel continued their fighting for over a decade in events such as the War of Attrition and the Arab-Israeli War in 1973. They did not make any formal end to their feuding until they signed the Camp David Accords in 1979.
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CITATION: Six Day War. n.d. Web. 29 April 2012.
Israel’s victory in the Six-Day war was one that shocked the other confident Arab nations as they viewed Israel as a new and weak country. Israel’s quick and tough strategy surprised leaders of the Arab nations, who had planned the attack on Israel because they were confident that they could win. Not only was the 1967 a victory for the Israeli’s, but also a U.S. victory against the Soviets. Through the Arab-Israeli cause, the United States proved to the Soviets that their weapons could defeat the Soviet weapons easily. Egypt and Israel continued their disputes through other wars and did not come to a conclusion of peace till they signed the Camp David Accords in 1979.
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Apr 29, 12
- Nasser started moving his military units into Sinai in May 1967. To please his critics in the Arab world he called on UN Secretary General U Thant to withdraw some of the troops around the Gaza Strip and move them inside it. But U Thant said that either the whole force remains in position or they all must go. As Nasser could not lose force, he had to tell the secretary general to withdraw the entire military forces. Egyptian armed forces took over the positions in Gaza and Sharm al Sheikh.
- The Six-Day war clearly depicted the superiority of the Israeli forces over the Arabs. The Israeli army was well trained and their bold attacks and good planning totally confused the Arab side. The Arab soldiers on the other hand were not so educated or trained. They had little planning or leadership. This resulted in their absolute defeat. The Arab side also lost many more soldiers than the Israeli side.
CITATION: Worth, Richard. Israel and the Arab states. New York: F. Watts, 1983. Print. 43,48.
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Apr 15, 12
SIGNIFICANCE: (GCSC BOOK AND NOTES)
- The Israelis won a extremely rewarding military victory in the Six Day War. The Arabs had lost near 15,000 men while the Israelis lost a mere fraction of that with a less than a thousand casualties. Although the Arabs had the advantage of a larger army, their air forces were destroyed early on in the war which showed Israeli agility and strength.
- Arabs were equipped with Soviet weapons, but Israeli had the best and most modern US weapons.
- Above all, the Israelis were fighting passionately for the survival of their nation.
- The hope of Arab countries was destroyed. They felt betrayed by the western powers as they believe their aid to Israel was a major reason as to why Israel won such a quick victory. Rich Arab countries such as Saudi and Kuwait agreed to pay money to Egypt and Jordan, which were the two countries that suffered the greatest losses in the war.
- The Arab countries continued to be reluctant to accept Israels existence as a state.
- As a result of the Six Day War, Israel gained five territories: The West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem.
-Gained the Old City for the first time. This had the "Wailing Wall", the most sacred site for the Jews.
UN Resolution 242: it was sponsored by Britain.
the basic premise was “land for peace”
Israel should withdraw from territory conquered in 1967 war.
-There should be a recognition of territorial integrity (stop messing around with borders)
-just settlement to refugee problem
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In the spring of 1967, the Soviet Union misinformed the Syrian government that Israeli forces were massing in northern Israel to attack Syria. There was no such Israeli mobilization. But clashes between Israel and Syria had been escalating for about a year, and Israeli leaders had publicly declared that it might be necessary to bring down the Syrian regime if it failed to end Palestinian commando attacks against Israel from Syrian territory.
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CITATION: Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict A Primer. n.d. Web. 29 April 2012.
The Syrians were misinformed by the Soviet Union that Israeli forces were mobilizing their troops on the Syrian border to attack the Syrians. However, this was not true. Even though Israel and Syria had minor violent breakouts, Israel was not mobilizing their troops. This was misinterpreted by the Israeli leader when they made a public announcement regarding Syria’s failure to end the Palestinian commando attacks against Israel from Syrian soil.
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Apr 29, 12
The Soviet Union helped to initiate the third Arab Israeli War by telling Egypt that Israel was preparing an attack on its ally Syria and also by telling the Egyptians that it would control the United Nations if a war broke out.
CITATION: Ross, Stewart. The Arab-Israeli conflict. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1996. Print. 39.
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Apr 29, 12
- Israel won the Six Day War, and this created a new political scenario in the region. Israel, which started with a small piece of land, now had occupied vast areas of land like the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. This made it three times its size. This increased the Palestinian refugee problem and about 300,000 Palestinians got forced into neighboring Arab countries. Israel established military rule in these occupied areas to control the 1.5 million Arab population in these areas. Most of the Palestinian protests and attacks on Israel were coming from Israeli occupied territories and Palestinian refugee camps on the border.
- The Palestinians were very disappointed with the Arab leadership. They lost faith in the Arab nations to defeat Israel. Therefore they set up their own political group known as the PLO which after 1968 came under the control of Fatah and Yasser Arafat (1924-2004). The PLO’S activities got very violent towards Israel and its supporters.
- In 1967 the Arab states had started forming agreements with each other to protect themselves against an attack by Israel. The Palestinian attacks on Israel from Syria became more frequent. Egypt decided to support Syria against an attack by Israel. Jordan and Egypt also decided to protect each other and Iraq also joined in with them.
CITATION: Pendergast, Tom, Sara Pendergast, and Ralph Zerbonia. Middle East conflict Almanac. Detroit: U·X·L, 2006. Print. 118, 120.
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Apr 29, 12
"But Israel insisted that it should not, and would not, simply return to the pre-war situation — the dangerous combination of precarious armistice lines and aggressive neighbors that had prevailed for 19 years. Territory would only be returned as a result of direct negotiations leading to a peace agreement. And even then, Jerusalem and portions of the West Bank would, for reasons of national security as well as Jewish history and culture, remain under Israeli sovereignty. "
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But Israel insisted that it should not, and would not, simply return to the pre-war situation — the dangerous combination of precarious armistice lines and aggressive neighbors that had prevailed for 19 years. Territory would only be returned as a result of direct negotiations leading to a peace agreement. And even then, Jerusalem and portions of the West Bank would, for reasons of national security as well as Jewish history and culture, remain under Israeli sovereignty.
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CITATION: "The Six-Day War." The Six-Day War. Web. Apr. 2012.
Even though there was a lot of international pressure on Israel to return the occupied territories during the war it refused to do so. They felt that they did not want to return to the unstable conditions that had existed for the last 19 years. They wanted a peace agreement and direct negotiations. However, they refused to return Jerusalem and portions of the West Bank as they felt it was a rightful part of the Jewish culture and history and also for reasons of national security.
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Not long after the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 242, Jordan and Israel accepted the resolution.Israel's position was that in order to implement 242, the parties would have to meet face-to-face and negotiate a peace treaty. To that effect, Israel's foreign minister explained that the resolution was "not ... a substitute for specific agreement, but ... a list of principles on which the parties could base their agreement."
Egypt, too, noted its acceptance of Resolution 242 — or more precisely, its own interpretation of the Resolution, which Nasser claimed required Israel to withdraw from all of the territories occupied in the Six Day War. Still, Egypt stubbornly refused to negotiate with Israel the terms of any peace agreement. (In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban protested that "peace cannot be advanced by recitations [by Egypt that they accept Resolution 242] accompanied by refusal to negotiate viable agreements.")
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CITATION: "The Six-Day War." The Six-Day War. Web. Apr. 2012.
Soon after the war the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 242 to bring about peaceful negotiations. Jordan and Israel accepted the resolution. Israel wanted that the resolution should be used as a basic set of principles and rules and then a peace agreement should be drafted during a face-to-face meeting. Egypt also accepted the resolution but they had their own interpretation of it. They claimed that Israel should return all the occupied territories during the Six Day War. They also refused to have any negotiations for a peace treaty with Israel. The Israeli foreign minister protested this stance and claimed that peace can not be established without negotiations and a mutual agreement.
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Apr 15, 12
The Arab Israeli conflict has been a pressing issue in world politics for decades, and still continues to be unresolved. There were a series of wars which impacted the situation in various ways. The 1967 war was definitely the most beneficial to the Israeli's. They achieved a brilliant military victory which shocked the previously confident Arab nations. Israel also gained political strength, as their strength as a nation was evident. They gained land around them which helps them defend their country against their neighbors, by gaining Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan heights as well as East Jerusalem which is the most holy site for the Jewish people. Although the 1967 Six-Day War was not the first war that occurred between Israel and the neighboring arab countries, it was one of the most significant as it created extremely important changes in the geography of the Middle Eastern world, it also showed the superiority of United States against the Soviet Union as the Cold War was happening simultaneously, and showed the growing strength of the newly formed state of Israel.
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Apr 30, 12
"Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict A Primer". n.d. Web. 29 April 2012.
Pendergast, Tom, Sara Pendergast, and Ralph Zerbonia. Middle East Conflict Almanac. Detroit: U·X·L, 2006. Print.
Ross, Stewart. The Arab-Israeli Conflict. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1996. Print.
"Six Day War". n.d. Web. 29 April 2012.
Worth, Richard. Israel and the Arab states. New York: F. Watts, 1983. Print.
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