Six Day War

Six Day War (5–10 June 1967) The immediate causes of the war were Egyptian pressure on the UN Emergency Force in Sinai to withdraw from the Israeli frontier, and a build-up of Egyptian forces in Sinai during May 1967. At the same time Egypt launched a new naval blockade in the Gulf of Aqaba off the Israeli port of Eilat. Meanwhile, Israel was encircled as Jordan, Syria, and Egypt concluded a defence agreement, while Iraqi troops were stationed in Jordan, close to Israeli territory. Brilliant use of weaponry and paratroops brought Israeli troops to the Suez Canal within two days, encircling the Egyptian Sinai army. Following the shelling of Israeli targets by Syria and Jordan, the war widened. Eastern Jerusalem was seized and the whole of the West Bank was cleared of Jordanian troops. In the north (9–10 June) Israeli tanks occupied the Golan Heights, captured Kuneitra, and advanced thirty miles into Syria. In pre-emptive air strikes the Egyptian air force was destroyed on the ground, while other airfields in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan were also bombed. Jordan accepted a UN cease-fire on 7 June, Egypt on 8 June, Syria on 9 June, and Israel on 10 June. The war was over. Israel now occupied the whole of Sinai, including the Gaza Strip, and Israeli troops remained established on the east bank of the Suez Canal until the Yom Kippur War. In some respects, however, the Israeli victory had ambiguous consequences. In particular, Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip transformed the problem of self-determination for the Palestinian people from one that concerned Arab countries and Israel alike to one of exclusively Israeli concern. Instead of dividing the Arab countries, the ‘Palestinian problem’ now united them against Israel (see Palestine).