For hundreds of years the Middle East has and the Arab World have been at conflict with one another. The Six Day war between Israel and the rest of the Arab world was one of the more defining wars of modern times. The repercussions of the Six Day War ultimately shaped the look and power of the Middle East.
On June 5th of 1967, Israel launched an attack against its neighboring states; Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Many believe this war was a continuation of two earlier wars. In 1948 Israel fought against its neighbors over the Arab rejection of Israel. Then in 1956 there was a conflict over an Egyptian blockade of shipping to Israel. In June of 1967 Israel felt it had to defend itself from an imminent Arab attack from Egypt and Syria. The Israeli attack also included action against Iraq and Jordan.
In May of 1967, Egypt ordered the United Nations Emergency Forces to leave the Egypt-Israeli border. This peace keeping force had been in place since 1957. Then later that month Egypt announced it was going to put a blockage in the Tiran Strait which would cut off free trade to Israel. During this same time period, Syria moved many of its military troops to the border in the Golan Heights region causing many small border skirmishes and clashes.
Seeing these events pushed Israel into a difficult spot. They could see the tension building between them and their Arab neighbors. Israel felt backed into a corner. Did they wait to see what would happen through time and diplomatic means, or did they see enough cause to strike first in a preemptive and defensive attack against their Arab neighbors. One historian made the following statement:
"Never in human history can an aggressor have made his purpose known in advance so clearly and so widely. Certain of victory, both the Arab leaders and their peoples threw off all restraint. Between the middle of May and fifth of June, world-wide newspapers, radio and, most incisively, television brought home to millions of people the threat of politicide bandied about with relish by the leaders of these modern states. Even more blatant was the exhilaration which the Arabic peoples displayed as the prospect of executing genocide on the people of Israel ... In those three weeks of mounting tension people throughout the world watched and waited in growing anxiety--or in some cases, in hopeful expectation--for the overwhelming forces of at least Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq to bear down from three sides to crush tiny Israel and slaughter her people."
- Samuel Katz, Battleground: Fact and fantasy in http://www.peacefaq.com/sixdaywar.html
With this, Israel made the justifiable decision to strike the first blow in a defensive attack.
In the first hours of this strike, Israel gained control of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Leading up to this event Israel had asked Jordan to not join in the conflict. However, Jordan sided with Egypt and Syria and attacked Israel. By doing so, Israel lost control of the West Bank and the east side of the City of Jerusalem.
The results of the Six Day War are still evident in the Arab world today. There are ongoing conflicts between Israel and its Arab and Palestinian neighbors. There are continued fights over bor
ders and control over the Gaza Strip and West Bank. My mother traveled to Israel and saw how the border security and tensions exist between these countries. While most people and countries try to avoid war at all costs, the Six Day War was started by Israel in an attempt to protect itself from the imminent conflict from its neighboring states. (611)
This war between Isreal and Arabia seems extremely similar to the war between the US and Japan. Isreal launched a surprise attack on its neighbors, just as the Japanese did to the US, and the Egyptians cut off trade to Isreal stirring up further conflict, as did the US on Japan.
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