The "Six-Day War" between the Arabs and Israelis is also known as the "1967 Arab-Israeli War," the "Third Arab-Israeli War," and in Arabic, "an-Naksah" or "The Setback" (Six 1). The Arabs refer to the Six-Day War and "The Setback" for good reason. At the end of the war Israel has won possession of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, largely accomplished by out-powering the Arab air forces with their own (Six 1). Control of these areas remains a significant factor in the Arab-Israeli conflict that continues to this day. This analysis will discuss the personalities and events leading up to the Six-Day War and its impact on geopolitics of the time and to the present.
The main event precipitating the Six-Day War occurred in 1956 and is known as the Suez Crisis. The incident represented a military defeat for Egypt, but the nation won a political victory in that Israel, under heavy diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and U.S.S.R., was forced to withdraw its military presence in the Sinai Peninsula. After this war, Israel agreed to a UN peacekeeping force in the Sinai to keep the region a demilitarized zone and to "prevent Palestinian fedayeen guerillas from crossing the border into Israel" (Six 1). At this time, no Arab state had yet recognized Israel, while Syria was secretly funding guerrilla raids on Israel in the 1960s as part of its "people's war of liberation" (Six 1).
During the first half of the 1960s, backed by Soviet forces and in dominant control of oil and water supplies, the Arab states routinely attacked Israeli villages and farms. Arab states constructed the "Headwater Diversion Plan," so water would be diverted from the Banias Stream before it entered Israel (Six 1). Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir challenged Arab leaders to a dialogue of peace. She threw down the gauntlet of peace and challenged Arab leaders to meet with Israel...