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Six-Day War
Middle East [1967]
Prior to the start of the war, attacks conducted against Israel by fledgling Palestinian guerrilla groups based in
Syria,
Lebanon, and
Jordan had increased...
May 14, 1967, Nasser mobilized Egyptian forces in the
Sinai; on May 18 he formally requested the removal of the UNEF stationed there; and on May 22 he closed the
Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, thus instituting an effective blockade of the port city of
Elat in southern Israel.
On May 30,
King Hussein of Jordan arrived in
Cairo to sign a mutual defense pact with Egypt, placing Jordanian forces under Egyptian command; shortly thereafter,
Iraq too joined the alliance.
In response to the apparent mobilization of its Arab neighbours, early on the morning of June 5, Israel staged a sudden preemptive air assault that destroyed more than 90 percent Egypt’s
air force on the tarmac. A similar air assault incapacitated the Syrian air force. Without cover from the air, the Egyptian army was left
vulnerable to attack. Within three days the Israelis had achieved an overwhelming victoryon the ground, capturing the Gaza Strip and all of the
Sinai Peninsula up to the east bank of the
Suez Canal.
An eastern front was also opened on June 5 when Jordanian forces began shelling West Jerusalem—disregarding Israel’s warning to King Hussein to keep Jordan out of the fight—only to face a crushing Israeli counterattack. On June 7 Israeli forces drove Jordanian forces out of East Jerusalem and most of the
West Bank. Photos and films of Israeli troops taking control of the Old City of
Jerusalem have proved to be some of the war’s
iconic images.
The
UN Security Council called for a
cease-fire on June 7 that was immediately accepted by Israel and Jordan. Egypt accepted the following day. Syria held out, however, and continued to shell villages in northern Israel. On June 9 Israel launched an assault on the fortified
Golan Heights, capturing it from Syrian forces after a day of heavy fighting. Syria accepted the cease-fire on June 10.
Six-Day War is a brief Arab-Israeli war that took place June 5–10, 1967. After months of escalation, Israel conducted a preemptive air assault demobilizing its neighbors’ air force capabilities, allowing it a quick and decisive victory. The war had lasting impact on diplomatic engagement between...
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