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In the spring of 1967, Nasser began to threaten to go to war with Israel. In May he demanded that the United Nations Emergency Force leave Sharm al-Shaykh, and moved Egyptian troops to occupy the strategic port town. Nasser then closed the strategic Straits of Tiran, cutting Israel off from the Red Sea. Israel considered these moves acts of war and prepared for combat.
UNEF Swedish advance camp, 30 kms east of El Arish, shows two soldiers at work at the motor camp site, 1957.
During the previous year, Israel had suffered increasing terrorist attacks by Palestinian groups in Syrian and Jordanian territories and had aggressively retaliated against Syria and Jordan. The Israeli government felt itself surrounded by hostile forces.
David Zalmanovitz and his wife Miriam standing in front of their house at Moshav Givat Yeshayahu damaged by Fatah terrorists from Jordan., 1965. (left)
Ambushed Egged bus from Eilat to Beer Sheva, 1954. (right)
Ambushed Egged bus from Eilat to Beer Sheva, 1954. (right)
On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a surprise attack against Egypt. Six days later, Israel had defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and captured Gaza Strip, the Sinai peninsula, Golan Heights, and West Bank. Israel proclaimed a united Jerusalem as its capital, which outraged Arabs and Muslims, for whom Jerusalem is the third holiest city.
Israeli armored forces advance toward the Egyptian border at the start of the conflict, 1967.
More than 300,000 Palestinian refugees fled into neighboring Arab countries. Another 1.5 million remained in Gaza Strip and West Bank, known since as the Occupied Territories. Immediately after the war, Israel destroyed three Arab villages. Soon thereafter, Israel began confiscating Arab lands to build Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the conquered areas.
Palestinians in the Jordan Valley. More than 90 per cent of those who left their homes in 1967 fled to the Kingdom of Jordan
Situation 1967: You are a member of the United Nations. Which of the following responses to the 1967 war do you think most fairly addresses the concerns of all groups involved?
CHOICE A: Support Israel against its hostile Arab neighbors by recognizing Israel's capture of the Occupied Territories.
CHOICE B Pass a resolution condemning the acquisition of land through military conquest, refuse to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and demand the return of the Occupied Territories.
CHOICE C: Send peacekeeping forces into the Occupied Territories to act as a buffer between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians, as well as to guard the borders against further fighting.
CHOICE D: Establish an international commission to study the situation in Israel/Palestine, and devise a plan to bring peace to the region.
Discuss with your group to make a collective decision. The editor will write down your group's the justification, the person in charge of data entry will place your group's decision in the poll, and the presenter will prepare to discuss your group's response to the class.
Syria, 1967. A camp administered by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for homeless Palestinian Arab refugees near Damascus.
1967 - The Outcome - Complete your response before viewing below
1967 - The Outcome - Complete your response before viewing below
Actual Decision: Option 2 - Pass a resolution condemning the acquisition of land through military conquest, refuse to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and demand the return of the Occupied Territories.
On November 22, 1967, the General Assembly passed Resolution 242 which condemned the Israeli invasion and occupation and refused to acknowledge Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Resolution 242 stressed the “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every state in the area can live in security.” It also called for the Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the war and for a “just settlement of the refugee problem." Syria and the Palestinians denounced Resolution 242 because it made no mention of a Palestinian state. Israel accepted Resolution 242 but interpreted the open-ended language to mean they could retain nearly all the Occupied Territories as essential to maintaining secure borders.
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