The 1967 Six-Day War began when Israel launched surprise air strikes against Egypt to preempt an imminent Egyptian attack. Israel quickly gained control of the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Over 250,000 Palestinians fled or were displaced from the newly occupied territories. The war was another military defeat for the Arab states but strengthened Palestinian nationalism and turned many Palestinians to more radical groups like the PLO. The territorial changes from the war formed the basis of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

1. Arab Israeli Conflict: the 1967 Six
Day War
Laurence Williams

2. What is this war about?
• ISLAM • JUDAISM
VS

3. WHERE
• The land of Palestine

4. The underlying problem: why is
Palestine so important to these two
religions?
• Judaism:
• Up until the expulsion of the Jews by the Roman Emperor
Hadrian in AD 135, the land of Palestine had been an important
cultural and spiritual centre for Judaism for the past 2000 years.
• After their expulsion Jews were scattered all across the world,
with no homeland.
• Islam:
• Palestine was the place of the emergence of this religion and the
place of birth of Mohammed the prophet.
• Mohammed dies in Jerusalem and after the re-capture of the
city from the Byzantines (AD 637), Jerusalem became one of the
most important centres of Islamic faith.

5. • In 1518 Palestine was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire and it remained part of it
until the fall of the ‘sick man’ of Europe in
1917.
THIS IS WHERE WE BEGIN.

6. LONG TERM CAUSES
• ZIONISM VS ARAB NATIONALISM

7. Zionism
• As a result of mistreatment (especially Russia),
Jews formed movement known as ‘Lovers of
Zion’.
• Their aim was to return and settle in Palestine.

8. WORLD WAR ONE
• War brought Britain into alliance with Arabs
who wanted to be free from Ottoman Empire
rule.
• Hussein-McMahon letters: Arab revolt in
exchange for help in forming Arab state.
• Balfour Declaration: help Zionists create a
‘national home’.

9. POST WAR MANDATES
• Peacemakers at Paris Peace Conference
decided that Arabs should have the right to
national self-determination.

11. Peel Partition 1937
• Although Jewish settlers
owned 5% of the land, Peel
suggested to give half the
country to a new Jewish
state.
• Arabs were outraged and this
led to the Arab Rebellion of
1937-39.
• A result of this rebellion was a
change in British immigration
policy; the White Paper was
introduced in 1939.

12. WORLD WAR TWO & HOLOCAUST
• The threatened Jewish revolt did not happen primarily
because of the outbreak of WW2- many Jews fought
on Britain’s side in the war against Germany.
• By the end of the war, around 6 million Jews had been
killed – after this many were sympathetic towards the
Jewish population.
• A key player was the USA’s President Truman who in
1946 demanded that 100, 000 Jews should be allowed
into Palestine at once.
• This severely aggravated tensions between Arabs and
Israelis.

13. UN PARTITION PLAN 1947
• Britain was in an
impossible position
after WW2, violence
between Jews and
Arabs was increasing.
• UN STEPS IN
• The date of the
partition was May
1948, six months from
then.

14. CIVIL WAR IN PALESTINE
• Began May 1948 ended July.
• Arab league could not match the strength of
the Jews.
• A series of armistice agreements brought the
war to an end.
• Israelis: ‘Year of Liberation’
• Palestinians: ‘Year of Catastrophe’

16. Changes in the Arab World 1950s
• A series of military take-overs, most significant
one being Colonel Nasser in Egypt
• Emergence of the Fedayeen.
• Economic Warfare: boycott of Israel’s trade

17. SUEZ-SINAI WAR OF 1956
• President Nasser wanted to avenge Egypt’s
defeat to Israelis in 1948.
• Nasser was building up a modern, well-
equipped army, aided by the USSR.
• Aswan Dam Project

18. Effects
• Israel war victory (aided by British & French).
• In the long run, the war strengthened the
Arab states and Nasser’s reputation as a
leader of the Arab world increased and pro-
Western governments turned against Britain
and France.
• A United Arab World under Nasser’s control
and influenced by the USSR emerged.

19. Reshaping of the Middle East 1960s
• Increasing nationalism in both Israel and Arab
countries.
• 1964: Palestinian Liberation Organisation
• Palestinian National Liberation
Movement, aka FATAH

20. TRIGGERS
• Soviets provided false information about Israeli
mobilisation.
• Nasser put Egypt’s armed forces on alert and
moved 100, 000 troops to Sinai.
• 16th of May Nasser ordered UN Emergency force
to leave Egyptian territory.
• May 28 Jordan and Egypt Defence Pact.
• Nasser declared his intention to strike Israel.
• Israelis struck pre-emptively on the 5th of June, to
start a war, which they saw as inevitable.

21. Summary of Causes:
• Social/Religious differences and Territorial
• Nationalism
• Militarism
• Foreign Involvement

23. Nature
• At breakfast time Monday, 5th of June, Israeli
forces were given orders to bomb Egyptian
airfields. By the end of the day Israel controlled
the skies in the Middle East.
• Egypt had been forced all the way back to the
Suez Canal- defeat within 3 days.
• Within three days of the war West bank and city
of Jerusalem completely captured.
• 9th of June: attacked Syria
• UN-sponsored ceasefire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHJFbh2S
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24. Role of Technology/Tactics
• Balanced armies numerically, but not skill-
wise.
• Element of surprise was another key factor.
• Foreign involvement: USSR vs USA battle
between spheres of influence.

25. Effects 1
• Around 250,000 Palestinians fled from the
‘occupied territories’ and this added to the
huge population of refugees in Jordan.
• The Palestinians lost much faith in the ability
of the Arab states to defeat Israel. Many
turned to the radical military guerrilla group-
Fatah.

26. Effects 2
• For those who stayed, Israeli rule meant restrictions on
lives, including heavy policy surveillance.
• Egypt-Israel begin ‘War of Attrition’ in 1968 and ends in
1970 as both sides realise that neither could win,
resulting in a ceasefire.
• Many guerrilla attacks on Israel by Arab extremist
group- Fatah. Black September Organisation
assassinated the Prime Minister of Jordan in 1971. The
following year, the same terrorist group, kidnapped
eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games.

27. Effects 3
• Yom Kippur War of 1973 initiate by Egyptian
and Syrian forces in an invasion plan of Sinai
across the Suez Canal.
• Israel-Lebanon War of 1978

28. In what ways can we compare and
contrast this war to other 20th century
wars?
• BRAINSTORM:
• World War One
• World War Two
• Your Own War