Question

Attempt an essay on the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973.

Answer 1

The formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was never friendly to Israel. It came to be attached frequently by Palestinian guerrilla groups based in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Israel also made violent retaliation. In November 1966, Israel attacked the village of Al-Sami in the Jordanian West Bank. The death toll in this attack was 18. In April 1967 Israel started an air battle with Syria which resulted in the shooting down of six Syrian Mig fighter jets.

In his bid to show Egypt’s support for Syria, Nasser mobilised Egyptian forces in the Sinai, seeking the removal of UN emergency forces stationed there on May 18. On May 22, he closed the Gulf Aqaba to Israeli shifting. On June 5, Israel stoped a sudden pre-emptive airstrike that destroyed more than 90 percent of Egypt’s air force on the tarmac. A similar air assault was incapacitated the Syria air force. Within three ways, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and all the Senai Peninsula up to the East Bank of the Suez Canal. On June 7, the Israeli forces drove Jordanian forces out of East Jerusalem and most of the West Bank. The War ended when the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire.

Arab-Israel War of 1973

Egypt and Syria made a secret agreement in January 1973 to bring their armies under one command. Hafez al-Assad, the President of Syria was keen on retrieving Golan Heights. As Assad was aware that his country’s weapons were dated, he offered the Israelis a peace deal of they would withdraw from Sinai. Israel rejected the offer. Egypt and Syria then launched a sudden attack on the Yom Kippur religions holiday on 6 October 1973. Though Israel suffered heavy casualties, it could finally push back the Arab forces. But this time, due to UN intervention, Israel was forced to return to the 1967 position. Arabs gained nothing out of this war too.