On this day, the nation of Israel was tested as it fought for its survival against a coalition of its neighbors. These Arab countries sought to prevent the formal creation of a Jewish state in the region. Rather than accept this threat, the Israelis bravely resisted for almost a week and stunned the world by overpowering this coalition and claiming victory in what became called the Six-Day War.
Preemptive Strike
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War or the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, was a brief yet transformative conflict fought from June 5 to June 10, 1967, between Israel and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt (then the United Arab Republic), Jordan, and Syria.
For many years, Israel found itself at odds with its neighbors who refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of their country, believing that this region should belong to them. This led to a series of wars and skirmishes fought intermittently for the past few decades.
The war’s origins lay in longstanding tensions and hostilities following the Suez Crisis of 1956, which had already heightened regional instability. Since the Suez Crisis, there have been a series of skirmishes fought between the Israelis, Egyptians, and Palestinians throughout the 60s.
In the months leading up to the war, Egypt began massing troops in the Sinai Peninsula, closing the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and forming a military alliance with Jordan and Syria. Israel, feeling increasingly encircled suspected that war was on the horizon.
Rather than let the Arab forces invade, they launched preemptive air strikes on June 5, 1967, targeting Egyptian airfields. The surprise worked and the Israelis managed to achieve air superiority. Over the following six days, Israeli forces rapidly advanced on multiple fronts, capturing the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
In less than a week, the war was over with Israel claiming victory. This resulted in the Middle East being redrawn with new territories being added to Israel. While initially a win, this also created serious issues with population displacement that led to the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict today.
Shortly after the war, US President Lydon Johnson commented on the war.
“If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other, it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Straits of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent, maritime passage must be preserved for all nations.”
Lyndon B. Johnson, Former US President.
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