We explain what the Six-Day War was, its causes and consequences, and its relationship to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In 1967, the Israeli army invaded Egypt in a surprise attack and began the Six-Day War.
What was the Six-Day War?
The Six-Day War was an armed military confrontation between Israel and Egypt, within the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israeli army launches surprise airstrike on Egypt On June 5, 1967, six days later, Israel achieved victory. As a result, the State of Israel took possession of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
From this military confrontation, both The United States and the Soviet Union began to become directly involved in Middle East conflicts.Since then, the polarization of the Cold War began to influence the political future of the region.
Background to the Six Day War
The Six-Day War broke out within the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which began with the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 on the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine. Since then, Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq were in conflict with Israel and disputed control over different regions.
The first Arab-Israeli war (1948-1949) ended with Israel’s victory and its occupation of almost 80% of the former Palestinian territory (instead of the 55% suggested by the United Nations). The result was the forced expulsion of the Arab population from Palestine and their migration as refugees to neighbouring countries.
In 1956, when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal to the benefit of his country’s economy and to the detriment of foreign economic interests, the State of Israel supported the United Kingdom and France and facilitated their invasion of the peninsula. Sinai (Egyptian territory).
The US government condemned the invasion and the UN intervened. Finally, after a series of negotiations, the foreign troops withdrew from the peninsula, which was then occupied by the United Nations Emergency Forces.
Peace between Israel and its neighboring countries was unstable. In the following decade and within the framework of the Cold War, some Arab countries decided to strengthen their relations with the USSR, while Israel became the strategic ally of the United States in the region.
Development of the Six-Day War
On May 18, 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser asked UN Secretary General U Thant for the withdrawal of Emergency Forces troops from Egyptian territory. In turn, he began to remilitarize the region and its border with Israel. In this environment of increasing tension, Egypt received support from the Soviets and neighboring Arab countries. (Syria, Iraq and Jordan), while The United States publicly supported Israel.
On June 5, 1967, Israel launched Operation Focus: a surprise air attack that destroyed 286 Egyptian warplanes and 130 aircraft stationed at bases in Jordan, Syria and Iraq in two days. This allowed ground troops to advance on Egypt quickly and effectively. On June 7, the Israeli army occupied the Egyptian area of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, on June 8 it reached the Suez Canal and on June 9 it completed its conquest of the Sinai Peninsula.
At the beginning of the attacks, beyond the public support it proclaimed, the United States declared itself neutral before the UN, but at the same time carried out negotiations with its ally Israel to control the development of the war.
For its part, the USSR feared that this possible defeat would affect its political influence in the region and that the loss of military resources would, in turn, lead to the downfall of the regimes in Egypt and Syria, which were its main allies. Therefore, the USSR demanded that the UN order an end to hostilities.
Finally, The ceasefire was scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 10.. Israeli troops took a few more hours to finish occupying two strategic territories in the north of the region: the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, from the top of which Damascus, the capital city of Syria, can be seen directly.
Outcome of the Six Day War
With the occupation of the new territories, The State of Israel went from having about 20,000 square kilometers to 102,400 square kilometersDespite demands from the UN and opposition from major powers, the Israeli parliament agreed on June 23 to annex the Arab zone of the city of Jerusalem.
In August 1967, the Arab countries met in conference to determine the policy to follow regarding the Israeli victory of the Six-Day War. On September 1 they issued the Khartoum Declaration in which they established their policy towards Israel, known as the resolution of “the three no’s”: No to peace with Israel, No to the recognition of the State of Israel, No to negotiations with IsraelThis policy remained active until the second Arab-Israeli war (1973).
On November 22, 1967, the UN issued Resolution 242, which stipulated that Israel must withdraw from the territories occupied during the Six-Day War and affirmed the right of every nation in the region to live “in peace within secure borders.”
Israel’s victory in 1967 triggered an essential aspect of the Arab-Israeli problem that remains to this day: the situation in the occupied territories of Gaza, the West Bank and the Arab part of Jerusalem.
UN Declaration on the Conflict in the Middle East
During the Six-Day War, the UN opposed the Israeli occupation of Egyptian territories and protested against the acquisition of territories through war. At the end of the conflict, the UN Security Council demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories to Egypt. This declaration legitimized Egyptian claims but did not achieve a real change in Israeli policy.
UN Security Council Resolution 242
November 22, 1967
The Security Council,
Expressing its continued concern over the grave situation in the Middle East.
Insisting on the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territories by means of war and on the need to work for a just and lasting peace, in which all States in the area can live in security.
Insisting further that all Member States, by accepting the Charter of the United Nations, have undertaken to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,
1. Affirms that compliance with the principles of the Charter requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which includes the application of the following two principles:
a) Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories they occupied during the recent conflict.
b) Termination of all situations of belligerency or allegations of their existence, and respect for and recognition of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized borders and free from threats or acts of force.
2. Further affirms the need to:
a) Guarantee freedom of navigation through the international navigation routes of the area.
b) Achieve a fair solution to the refugee problem.
c) Guarantee the territorial inviolability and political independence of all States in the area, adopting measures that include the creation of demilitarized zones.
3. Requests the Secretary-General to designate a Special Representative to the Middle East to establish and maintain contacts with interested States in order to promote agreement and assist in efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted solution, in accordance with the provisions and principles of this resolution.
4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council as soon as possible on the progress of the Special Representative’s efforts.
Approved unanimously in the 1382nd. session.
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References
- Beinin, J., & Hajjar, L. (2014). Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Middle East Research and Information Project.
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023). “Six-Day War.” Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/
- Palmowski, J. (2000). “Israel” and “Six Day War”. A dictionary of twentieth-century world history. Oxford University Press.
- Van Dijk, R., Gray, W.G., Savranskaya, S., Suri, J., & Zhai, Q. (Eds.). (2013). “Six Day War”. Encyclopedia of the Cold War. Routledge.
- United Nations Security Council (November 22, 1967). Resolution 242. Available at: https://digitallibrary.un.org/