War of the six days. Also known in Arab historiography as “War of June 1967”. It was a war that took place between 5 and October of June of 1967 , and confronted Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan and Syria . The Arab states of Iraq , Saudi Arabia , Sudan , Tunisia , Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and weapons. At the end of the war, Israel took back East Jerusalem and took control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip ,West Bank and the Golan Heights .
Summary
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- 1 Background
- 2 War development
- 3 Results of the war
- 4 consequences
- 5 Sources
Background
In 1964 , Israel completed the transfer of water from Lake Tiberias ( Sea of Galilee ) to the Negev following the Johnston plan assigned Israel 40% of the waters of the Jordan , and Syria and Jordan the rest. With this plan he irrigated an important part of the Negev desert. However, the Arabs protested and Nasser took advantage of this circumstance to convene a meeting of Arab countries seeking reconciliation between them. The division of Islam was grave: Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia vied to lead the Arab world, while infighting and continuous coups d’état frustrated the possibilities of development.
During 1966 the border tensions increased in tone, with the intervention of the aviation and battle tanks. In the first months of 1967, border incidents were almost daily and the war drums began to beat when on May 19 Nasser demanded the withdrawal of the UN interposer forces . Nasser was preparing for an imminent confrontation, mobilized 80,000 men, armed the Palestinians in Gaza, signed a pact with Iraq and Jordan, and on the 22nd of the same month he announced the blockade of Israeli ships from the Gulf of Akaba. Israel considered these events as a cause of war.
In Israel a war government was formed that included General Moshe Dayan , one of the architects of the 1948 campaign and a member of the Rafi party, the Mapai split from Ben Gurion, and Menahem Begin , leader of the Herut party, main representative of the right.
War development
In the early morning of June 5, 1967, all but a dozen Israeli planes took off and headed for their targets: Egypt’s 19 most important air bases (RAU). Following a route that avoided the radars directed towards the east and in low flight, they reached and destroyed all their targets. Before long, 80% of the Egyptian air force was destroyed without ever having taken off from its bases. In new departures they did the same with the aviation of the other neighboring countries. In less than 24 hours the Arab aviation had lost 416 planes; and Israel only 26.
The main stage of the land battle was the Sinai Peninsula. It lasted three days and was carried out by tanks, although the aid of the aviation was decisive for the speed of victory. The Israelis kept the other fronts low and mainly engaged in this battle. The first action took place in Gaza and El Arish: the clash was bloody and lasted one day. These forces, now almost without opposition, headed towards the canal. The second front opened in the center; where also the victory was quick. The third flank went south, to occupy the coast of the Gulf of Akaba, and reached Sharm el Sheik, at the southern tip of the Sinai, with little resistance.
On the 9th, all Israeli forces had reached the Suez Canal . The Egyptians lost 600 tanks plus 200 left in perfect condition, and significant amounts of materiel, including Sam-2 surface-to-air missiles.
On the Jordanian and Syrian fronts the resistance was tougher. House-to-house fighting was fought in Jerusalem for two days until it was occupied. In the rest of the West Bank the Jordanian resistance was also tenacious and, despite the fact that King Hussein had called for an armistice, the Israelis continued fighting until they occupied the entire west bank of the Jordan. On the 8th the Jordanian army, defeated, withdrew.
The Syrian border was heavily fortified by nature and by the Syrian army. Which resisted until the 10th. The Iraqi forces did not arrive in time to intervene, only its aviation carried out any action.
At the UN, the Security Council met urgently to agree to a ceasefire. Little by little all the belligerent countries were accepting it and, throughout the 10th, their war activity ceased. Although later there were still various incidents, such as the sinking of an Israeli destroyer and the bombing of the Port Said refinery.
War results
Territories occupied by Israel after the war
In less than six days; at a cost to Israel of 777 dead and 2,586 wounded, many of them officers, and 17 prisoners, mostly pilots who were later exchanged, and at a cost to the Arab Armies of some 15,000 dead and 6,000 prisoners, plus a large number of missing.
Israel, at the end of the short war, had 68,672 km 2 of territory that was previously in the hands of the Arabs or what was equal to about 1,115 km 2 in the Golan Heights, 5,870 in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), 360 in the Gaza Strip, and 61 175 in the Sinai Peninsula.
Consequences
The end of the 1967 war represented a trauma for the Arab world and created expectations of possible and imminent negotiations, in which Israel could act from a position of strength, but to which the Arab countries, also in difficulties, did not accept. they lent, and on the contrary they would soon begin harassment against the new positions of the Israeli forces.
Israel’s victory in 1967 initiated the essential element of the Israeli-Palestinian problem to this day: the situation in the occupied territories of Gasa, the West Bank and the Arab part of Jerusalem.
