David v. Goliath

What Caused the 1967 Arab-Israeli War?

By: Ryan Webb

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In six days, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War dramatically changed the geopolitical structure of the Middle East, as Israel occupied the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Surrounded by hostile armies, the Israeli Defense Forces launched a preemptive strike that destroyed their adversary’s air power and paved the way for an overwhelming victory on the ground. Today, the region and the world continues to struggle over Israel’s occupation of these areas. Because the Arab states and the United Nations do not acknowledge Israel’s right to possess these territories, any peace settlement must likely resolve these land disputes. Even so, Israel’s stunning victory shattered the hopes of those who wanted to forcefully destroy the Jewish presence in the Middle East. Clearly, the war showed that conventional military power would not be effective against the Israeli state. However, this imbalance was evident prior to the war, and raises the question as to why this war occurred. Historians have used a variety of methodologies in analyzing the causes of the 1967 War that address personal, military, and political factors.