DTIC ADA491618: The 1967 Six Day War Fundamentally Changed the Political Landscape of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

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TITLE: The 1967 SixDay WarFundamentally Changed the PoliticalLandscape ofthe Arab
Israeli Conflict
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AUTHOR: MajorJhake Elmamuwaldi USMC
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The 1967 Six Day War Fundamentally Changed the Political Landscape
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of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
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Elmamuwaldi iii
Preface
Theimpetus for thisresearchprojectwas anattempt to glean abetterunderstandingofthe
Arab-Israeli conflict,particularlyfrom the contextofhow the June 1967 SixDayWar shapedthe
political environmentofthatregion ofthe MiddleEast. Intheprocess I found thatthe scope of
the conflictis vast and complex. The Six DayWaras an eventthat shaped theMiddleEastis a
well researchedand discussedtopic withnumerous opinions. Most agree thatthe SixDayWar
had a significantimpactontheArab-Israeli conflictinthe MiddleEast. The fact thatpeacetalks
betweenthe Israelis andPalestinians centeronthe dispositionofthe occupiedterritories I felt
warrantedafurther examinationintohowthe SixDayWarbroughtthis situationinto existence.
Iwouldliketo acknowledge the patience ofmywifeJoannaandmysonJackson, who putuP.
withmylonghours ofseclusion and thelatenights. Iwould also liketo acknowledge the
assistancereceivedfrom the superb staffat Grays Research Centerwho helpedmetrackdown a
goodmanysources andprovided editorial assistance. Iwould also beremiss ifI didnotthank
the assistance, mentorship, and guidancereceived from Dr. Douglas E. Streusand, whom was
invaluableinhelpingmewrap mybrain aroundthis complexproblem and showed an
extraordinaryamountofpatience as Itriedto understand such animportant eventinthe Middle
East.
E1mamu w aIdi iv
Table ofContents
Page
DISCLAIMER ii
PREFACE iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v
INTRODUCTION 1
HISTORICAL CONTEXT 2
The SignificanceofPalestiIie 2
Communal Wars and theBritishMandate 2
TheFirstArab-Israeli Warof1948 4
The Suez-TripartiteWarof1956 4
The SixDayWar 5
THERESHAPING OF THEARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT 6
Israelis 6
Palestinians 10
TheRegional Impacts 11
Egypt 12
Jordan ; 13
Syria 15
TheUnited States and SovietUnion 16
CONCLUSIONS 19
CITATIONS AND FOOTNOTES 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY 24
Elmamuwaldi v
Executive Summary
Title: The 1967 Six DayWarFundamentallyChangedthe Political Landscape oftheArab
Israeli Conflict
Author: MajorJhakeElmamuwaldi, United States Marine Corps
Thesis: The 1967Arab-Israeli SixDayWarwas a watershedmomentthatre-shapedthenature
ofthePalestinian-Arab-Israeli conflict.
Discussion: Thelands ofPalestinehavebeenhistoricallycontested lands becauseoftheir
religious andin some cases strategic significance. Palestinehas passedthroughmanyhands over
the centuries, themostrecent occupants - the Israelishavebeenthemostdivisive. TheZionist
movementthat gavebirthto the lands ofIsrael settheArabs againstthe Israelis inwhathas
\
becometheArab-Israeli conflict. We can seetheresults ofthis conflicttodayinthenews, beit
historicpeacenegotiations at CampDavid orthe violence associatedwiththe occupation ofthe
Gaza Strip andtheWestBan1e Whenlooking atthe genesis ofthis conflict, itis easyto
recognizethehistorical roots ofthe conflict over suchreligiouslysignificantreal estate.
Nonetheless, despitethemillenniaold dispute overtheholylands. Therehas beenone eventthat
established anew framework for the conflictwe now seetakingplaceinIsrael andthe occupied
territories. This eventwas the 1967Arab-Israeli Six DayWar. The Six DayWarwas a
watershedmomentinthe courseofthe Arab-Israeli conflict andthepolitical impacts ofthis
eventfundamentally alteredthepolitical landscape for the Israelis, Palestinians, Arab states, the
United States, and SovietUnion.
Conclusion: The 1967 SixDayWarundoubtedly altered thepolitical landscapeoftheArab
IsraeliWar. On amicro level ithad alasting effectonthepolitics ofthe Israelis and the
Palestinians. Onamacro level, italtered theregional politics and diplomacyregarding Israel;
andsetthe stage for thelongterminvolvementoftheUnited States inthe conflict andthe loss of
influenceofthe SovietUnionintheregion.
Elmamuwalcli 1
INTRODUCTION
Theheadlinereads, "UnilateralWithdrawal: ANewPhaseinIsrael's Approachto the
Palestinian Question,,,l orthe articlereads, "Israelisplanto buildwall againstterrorism.,,2 These
arebut asmall sample ofthe contemporarystateoftheArab-Israeli conflict, whichhas existed
formorethan six decades. The conflictis complex. The scope ofthe conflict spans farbeyond
Israel, Palestine, andthe MiddleEast. Primarilyreferredto as theArab-Israeli conflict; ithas
also been calledthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Itis interestingto notehow the descriptive title
ofthe conflict so easilyvacillates betweentheArab-Israeli andPalestinian-Israeli conflict. Both
are accurate descriptions.~Whathas beenlostinthenews bulletins onthe conflictisthe
recognitionthatthere are two dimensions drivingthe conflict. The first is the interstate conflict
betweenIsrael and theArab states. Second andmostimportantly, thereis the inter-communal
conflicttakingplaceinIsrael andthe occupiedterritories betweenthe Israelis and the
Palestinians.3 Thefactors thathave goneinto forming this complex conflicthave theirbasis on a
setofevents that are dots on atimeline. Looking atthe timeline, itis evidentthattherehave
been"trigger" eventsthathavehad strategicimplications. The 1967Arab-Israeli SixDayWaris
one suchmoment. The SixDayWar was awatershedmomentthat altered the course ofthe
Arab-Israeli conflictbychangingthepolitical environmentfor the Israelis, the Palestinians, the
Arab countries ofEgypt, Jordan, and Syria, andthe ColdWar superpowers. To grasp howthe
SixDayWarhad suchasignificantimpactonthe conflict and thepolitics onamicro andmacro
level, itis firstnecessaryto understand thehistorythat gavebirthto the conflict.
\
Elmamuwalc1i 2
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Significance ofPalestine
To understandhowthe SixDayWar altered thepolitical landscape ofthe Arab-Israeli
conflict, itis firstnecessaryto examinethehistorical roots. Thehistoryofthe conflictbetween
the Israelis and Arabs inPalestineis much olderthanrecent events wouldindicate. TheDome of
the Rock, establishedbytheUmayyad caliphin691 serveto make Jerusalemone ofthemost
4
sacred cities in Islam- surpassed onlybyMeccaandMedina. This makes Jerusalem oneofthe
mostprizedpieces ofreal estatefor Israelis, Christians, andMuslims. Even as Zionist settlement
\
was takingplaceinPalestine, business, trade and employmentrelations remainedrelatively
neighborly. The emergence ofoppositionto Zionismpriorto World WarIwas inparta
s
responseto Zionistimmigrationand landpurchases. Therewas anunderlying concernthatthe
Zionistwouldmovein, take control, andthere wouldbeno room for·thePalestinians. TheArab
fears becamerealityas the Zionistmovement gainedmomentuminEurope and theUnited
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States. The fall ofthe OttomanEmpire following WorldWarIwouldchangethe status quo.
The 1917BalfourDeclarationandtheBritishMandate overPalestinewould serveto setthe
conditions for anew eraofconflict overPalestinebygivingZionist areasonto believethatEretz
Israel couldbecomerealitythroughthe British.7
CommunalWars and the BritishMandate
Inthelatterpart ofWorldWarI, the British defeatedthe OttomanarmyinJerusalem,
whichresultedinBritishcontrol ofPalestinein 1917. DuringNovemberofthat sameyear,
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ArthurBalfourdraftedthefateful BalfourDeclaration and despite the controversysurrounding
s
thedocument, reinforced theideaofaZionisthomelandinPalestine. The PalestinianArabs
also hadnational aspirations andfor the first timeinmanycenturies, itlookedpossible. Instead,
whattheArab Palestiniansreceivedwas the loss ofstatus as Muslims inthe OttomanEmpire and
theworldpowers focusing onthe establishmentofa"JewishNational Home.,,9 TheBalfour
Declaration and aninabilityto stop Jewishimmigration createdincreasingtensions between
Palestinians and Israelis. Duringthe 1920s and 30s, Palestinewas rockedby a series ofviolent
acts, including anti-Jewishriots, TheWailingWall incidents of1929, and the 1937Arab
Rebellion.lO These disturbances spawned a Britishinquiryto lookinto the Palestine"problem."
Inthe leadup to WorldWarII, itwouldbecomepainfullyevidentto the Britishthattheyneeded
to resolvethis situationso thatthey couldtumtheir attentionto thewarinEurope.11
FollowingWorldWarII, GreatBritainwas feeling economic andpolitical pressures over
its imperialholdings. The growingconflictbetweenArabs, Zionists, andthe British
AdministrationpressuredtheBritishinto terminatingitsmandate overPalestine onMay 15,
1948.12 Duringthe sameperiod, theUnitedNations Special Committee onPalestine (UNSCOP)
determinedthatthe BritishMandate should endwiththe establishment oftwo states inPalestine
- onePalestinian, theotherZionist.13 Forthe Arabs, aZionist stateinPalestinewas an
anathema. Israelis, who had seentheArab response to Zionismthroughviolent confrontation
undertheMufti14, also recognizedthepowderkegtheUNSCOP hadlit. This raisedthe stakes for
Arab and Zionistleaders, who becameincreasinglyconvincedthat Palestinewouldberesolved
1s
byarmed conflict. Thelevel ofviolenceinthe communalwarincreasedsignificantly as the
Britishprepared for theirwithdrawal from Palestine andthePalestinians and Israelis struggled
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for supremacyI6. OnMay14,1948, theBritishendedits mandateinPalestine, theArabs would
moveto establish control ofPalestine and initiate the 1948 Arab-IsraeliWar.I?
The FirstArab-IsraeliWar of1948
TheArab-IsraeliWarof1947-48 firmly establishedthe independentJewish state:18 For
theArabs, thewarwas an abysmal failure andwas giventhename the Palestinian Catastrophe.
TheIsraelis notonlysucceededin creatingtheir ownindependent state, they acquiredmore land
thendefinedbytheUNpartitionplan. Thewesternbank oftheJordan River, including
Jerusalem cameunderthe control ofTransjordan. Additionally, large segments ofthe
Palestinianpopulationbecamerefugees inJordan and the Gaza Strip. Giventhis outcome, itis
oflittle surprisethattensionbetweenthe Israelis andArabs remainedhigh and setthe condition
for the 1956 Suez-TripartiteWar.
The Suez-TripartiteWar of1956
Despite Israel's victoryin 1948, theviolenceinPalestine continued. Exacerbatingthe
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situationwerethe LavonAffair , thefedayeen raids into Israel from the Egypt controlled Gaza
strip, theheavy-handedretaliatorytactics usedbythe Israelis againstthe Palestinians, and the
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politicalbrinksmanshipbyEgyptianPresidentAbdul Nasser. Thenationalization ofthe Suez
CanalbyNasserinlateJulyof1956was the sparkthatignitedthe Israeli, French, and British
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invasionofEgypt. Galvanizedbythemilitaryagreements betweenEgypt, Syria, and Saudi
Arabiaandreassuredbysupportfrom France and GreatBritainviathe TripartiteAgreement.