10/09/2008
On 15 May 1967, Israel celebrated its 19th Day of Independence. Tension on the border with Syria had risen incessantly, sabotage was being committed in Israel's territory by terrorists from across the lines, settlements were being shelled by Syrian guns entrenched on the Golan Heights.
Israel's Government heard the first news of large Egyptian troop movements, in the direction of the Suez Canal and Sinai peninsula. Egypt's fortunes at that time were at a low ebb. It was still entangled in the Yemen war, with little success, and consequently suffered from loss of prestige. The Israelis did not yet know that the Soviet Union was urging Egypt to take an active stand alongside Syria against what was described as an impending Israeli aggression against Syria. An Egyptian parliamentary delegation, headed by Anwar Sadat, which visited Moscow on May 11-12, where they were warned that Israel had concentrated eleven to thirteen brigades along the Syrian border in preparation for an assault within a few days, with the intention of overthrowing the revolutionary Syrian Government. Similar information may have been given to Egypt by the Soviets somewhat earlier. There was, of course, not a grain of truth in the story, as the Soviets knew very well.
On 16 May Radio Cairo declared: "The existence of Israel has continued too long. We welcome the Israeli aggression we welcome the battle we have long awaited. The peak hour has come. The battle has come in which we shall destroy Israel." On that day, Egypt asked for the withdrawal of the UN Emergency Force from Sinai and the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel decided on partial mobilisation, but was still hopeful that a dangerous escalation could be averted by stepped-up diplomatic efforts. At the opening of the summer session of the Knesset on 22 May Prime Minister Eshkol emphasised Syrian aggression and incitement and called for a lessening of tension and the preservation of peace.
By 20 May Nasser had massed over 80,000 men and 900 tanks in Sinai, facing Israel. On 23 May, Nasser proclaimed the closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli and Israel-bound shipping. He was fully aware that Israel regarded the closure as an act of aggression justifying Israel's invocation of the right of self-defence. War frenzy swept Egypt and almost the entire Arab world. Nasser was at the zenith of his popularity, the hero of battle who would lead the Arabs to victory. On 29 May he delivered a speech proclaiming that he would erase the Arab defeat of 1948. On 30 May, King Hussein of Jordan visited Cairo unexpectedly, committed himself to take part in the war that loomed and placed his forces Under an Egyptian commander, General Riad. Iraq followed suit. During a visit to Moscow, Egypt's War Minister was assured of Soviet support by Prime Minister Kosygin.
Israeli foreign Minister Abba Eban left Jerusalem on 24 May for Paris, London and Washington. In Paris, President de Gaulle suggested that the Big Four should work together for a de-escalation of the tension and decide on a solution to the questions of navigation through the Straits, the problem of the Arab refugees and the "conditions of proximity of the interested States". He urged that Israel should not be the first to open fire. President Lyndon Johnson and Prime Minister Harold Wilson assured the Israeli Foreign Minister of their support for free passage through the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba, but added that they needed some time to enlist the participation of other States and to assure the necessary approval by Congress and Parliament. The Foreign Minister returned to Jerusalem on the evening of 27 May. After a long and anxious session, the Government decided to give further chances to diplomatic efforts to prevent war.
Within a few more days, it was considered that there were no chances of resolving the crisis by international action. Therefore, Israel finished mobilisation and prepared for war. On 4 June, the Cabinet authorised the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence to decide on appropriate steps to defend the State.
On the following morning, 5 June, the Israel Air Force attacked Arab air forces and airfields and destroyed 400 enemy aircraft in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, most of them on the ground. The Egyptian air force was virtually destroyed in a lightning action lasting less than three hours. At the same time, the Israel Defence Forces moved against the Egyptian columns massed in Sinai. The Southern Command, composed of three divisions, faced seven Egyptian divisions and about 1,000 Egyptian tanks. In four days of battle, Israel occupied the entire Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip, reached the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and opened the Straits of Tiran. On 8 June, Egypt accepted a ceasefire and, that evening, fighting ceased in Sinai.
On the morning of 5 June, Prime Minister Eshkol despatched a message to King Hussein of Jordan, urging him to refrain from joining the war. The message was not answered, but, in the later hours of the forenoon, Jordan opened fire along the entire armistice line with Israel, shelling Jerusalem with especial violence. At noon, Jordanian soldiers occupied the United Nations headquarters. In the afternoon, Israel opened its counterattack, and two days later, after swift fighting, had taken the Old City of Jerusalem and the entire West Bank. On the evening of 7 June, Jordan accepted the ceasefire and fighting stopped.
Syria had taken part in the fighting with planes and artillery, continuously shelling Israeli villages near the border and attacking some of them with infantry and armour. At noon on 9 June, the Israel Defence Forces, now freed from other fronts, attacked the Syrian army entrenched on the Golan Heights. In fierce righting during that and the following day, they stormed the Heights and occupied the town of Kuneitra on the afternoon of 10 June. At 1630 GMT, a ceasefire became effective on the Israel-Syrian front.
The Six Day War was over. Israel's casualties amounted to 759 dead and about 3,000 wounded. Arab casualties came to about 15,000. Israel, delivered from the peril to its very existence, was now determined not to move from the new ceasefire lines until permanent peace was established.
The Arab States did not listen to Israel's call for peace. They resolved, at a summit meeting in Khartoum between 29 August and 1 September, upon a policy of three nays: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel. Israel advocated direct negotiations between the parties, without prior conditions, aimed at forging binding peace agreements. Until peace was made, the Israel Defence Forces would be deployed on the new ceasefire lines, and the areas occupied in the Six Day War would be administered by an Israeli Military Government. Jerusalem was reunified at the end of June, and the whole city was thus brought under Israeli law.
