10 - The 1967 Six Day War

Summary

It is not clear whether Egypt did in fact intend to invade Israel in June 1967. Egypt, however, mobilized its forces and moved them into Sinai near the border with Israel, placed the Jordanian army under Egyptian command, coordinated its military plans with other Arab States, demanded the removal of UNEF and closed the Strait of Tiran. These actions, combined with bellicose statements, it can be argued, gave Israel legitimate reason to apprehend that an attack was imminent. It might well be that the closing of the Strait of Tiran, was, in itself, an armed attack. Israel’s use of force was legitimate if it had, at the time, a reasonable belief that an Egyptian attack had taken place or was imminent. According to modern international law, Israel’s use of force was not legitimate if it was a preemptive strike to prevent the possibility of an Egyptian attack. Neither the UN Security Council nor the UN General Assembly took a position as to who was the aggressor in the Six Day War. As a result of the June 1967 Six Day War, the region’s strategic geography was drastically changed.