Six Day War Essay Research Paper

Six Day War Essay, Research Paper

The six-day, Arab-Israeli War of 1967, was an important event in modern Middle East history. This paper will analyze the causes of this “definitive event” which include: military and diplomatic encounters, terrorist attacks against Israel, blockades of Israel s ports by Arabs, and most importantly the impact of Russian/Communist and Western policies and participation in the region. The Israeli s had had a strong victory against the Arab states in 1956, and this had strengthened their self-assurance However, the Six-Day War in June 1967 demonstrated to the Israeli s that watchfulness was still essential. The success of Israel in this war was beyond all normal expectations. Israel went to war on June 5 for sheer survival. On that date, Israelis crossed into the Sinai and won the war in less than a week. The Israeli Cabinet had by then determined that nothing would come of peaceful efforts to end aggressions being committed against the small nation. Israelis were certain that the Arabs were preparing to commit mass murder, and they acted first.

It is difficult to pinpoint any one event that made hostilities inevitable. The closing of the Straits of Tiran and the attempted strangulation of the southern port of Eilat made war certain. The problem was apparent by May 13. On that date, unfounded reports reached the governments of Egypt and Syria that the Israelis were moving between eleven and thirteen brigades towards the Syrian border. Nasser believed this report and determined to show force and deter the anticipated Israeli attack on Syria.

The roots of this conflict reach back centuries, but there were many immediate causes of this war. In a sense it was a result of a whole series of miscalculations and misjudgments on the part of President Nasser of Egypt. Nasser had been warning repeatedly since the end of the 1956 war that it was dangerous to take action against Israel that might begin a drift toward war before Egypt was even prepared and circumstances were right. Nasser did precisely what he had cautioned against in spite of the fact that he admitted more than once just before May 1967 that these conditions were not ripe. He allowed himself to be backed into a position where he was begging for a showdown, and by that time he had convinced himself that the necessary strategic and diplomatic conditions had been created within a space of two weeks. One of the most important factors prompting him to press his initiatives was the nature of the Israeli response to his moves. This response was marked by timidity and hesitation, in contrast to everyone’s expectations. It was the Russians who passed the lie to Cairo concerning the Israeli brigades. Actually, the Israelis had no more than a company consisting of 120 men in this particular area, waiting to ambush Syrian saboteurs. The United Nations confirmed that there were no troop movements on May 19. However, the Russians, who were alarmed by the possibility that Israel might carry out a punitive raid on Syria, wanted Nasser to commit his forces in the Sinai to deter Israelis from making such an attack. The allegations were completely fabricated.

The Russians at this time provided unlimited diplomatic support for the Egyptian blockade of the Suez Canal aimed at Israeli ships, for Syrian efforts to divert the headwaters of the Jordan, and for Syrian attacks along the de-militarized zone. This was in part a reflection of Moscow s concern for the demise of Socialist regimes elsewhere: in Algeria, Indonesia, and Ghana. Unrest was mounting against the government in Syria, and Moscow assumed that Washington was manipulating events behind the scenes.

Clearly, there was an unstable equilibrium maintaining in this region at the time, and this had been true since the end of the war in 1956. Still, the two main antagonists, Egypt and Israel, had not resorted to force against one another for ten years. The new element, as noted, was injected into the conflict from the outside. During the period after 1956, it was possible to discern what conditions were necessary to bring on another conflict, and there were five such conditions: 1) a continuing campaign of Arab terrorism against Israel accompanied by Israeli military retaliation: 2) a significant imbalance in the level of arms available to both sides; 3) blockade of the Straits of Tiran to prevent shipping from the Israeli port of Eilat; 4) Arab military pacts and troop movements encircling Israel; and 5) a marked shift in the policies of the Communist and western powers concerning Israel and the Arab states. The danger of conflict reaches a boiling point when all five of these influences come together.

The most disturbing new element in the conflict was the Soviet Union, for all the other elements had been present before and had receded as the Soviets advanced. During the early sixties, the old pattern of raids and reprisals in the area had started once again. A battle was also taking place in the United Nations between the Soviet ‘Union and Western powers over this same issue. By 1965, the formation of another Arab-Israeli war was clearly taking shape.

The crisis that eventually led to the war built up for six months prior to the start of hostilities. Terrorist activities directed against Israel had increased in October and November of 1966. Syria and Egypt signed a defense agreement in November. The Israeli