June 5 – 10 marks the 45th anniversary of the Six Day War

By Mark Mietkiewicz ~

June 5 – 10 marks the 45th anniversary of the Six Day War – a war that set into motion events that are still felt today. Although the Six Day War is well documented, the Web presents us with the ability to reread the same breaking news that gripped the world in June 1967. This sampling of stories is not intended to be a comprehensive history. Rather, it illustrates the gamut of emotions felt during that war and foreshadows the conflict that remains today.

June 4: War Could Be Hours Away
Sydney (Australia) Sun-Herald – The British Prime Minister, Mr. Wilson, yesterday warned that war could be only hours away. And, in Tel Aviv, today, the new Israeli Defense Minister, General Moshe Dayan, declared that Israel would fight and win its own battles, with Israeli troops. [http://bit.ly/6day39]

June 5: War in Mideast – Arab-Israel Feud Erupts
JERUSALEM (AP) – For the third time in 20 years, war broke out today in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Gunfire sounded in Israel and in three of its Arab neighbors-Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The Arabs, sworn to destroy Israel, were battling the Jewish state’s forces on two fronts, at Egypt’s Sinai frontier and on the Syria and Jordan borders. Each side accused the other of lighting the fuse for the explosion which, as in 1956, threatened to involve the major powers. [http://bit.ly/6day23]

June 6: Israel claims land and air successes as Britain and U.S. declare neutrality
(The Guardian) – Israel claimed early today that it had achieved victory in the air by destroying 374 Arab aircraft. … In Moscow the Soviet Government condemned Israel for an act of aggression and demanded that it should immediately and unconditionally stop all military action. … The American State Department declared US neutrality “in thought, word, and deed”… [http://bit.ly/6day24]

June 7: Ram’s Horn Signals A Victory  
JERUSALEM (UPI) – A Jew in a paratrooper’s uniform blew a triumphant blast on a ram’s horn at the Mandelbaum Gate today end signalled the fall of Jordan’s old section of the Holy City to Israeli forces. For the first time in 20 years Israelis prayed at their Wailing Wall. There was fighting, bloodshed, prayer and joy. Shortly after the old city with its shrines of Christendom fell to the Israelis and the sound of sharp fighting died away, Israel’s one-eyed Gen. Moshe Dayan rode into the town. He went to the Wailing Wall and offered prayers. Hundreds of troops, dirt-caked, sweaty, tired, stood silently in prayer at the wall which is the only remnant of the ancient temple of Jerusalem. [http://bit.ly/6day25]

June 8: Egyptians Crushed in Sinai Desert
(UPI) – Israel jubilantly declared victory over its Arab enemies Wednesday 60 hours after the first shots were fired in the Mideast war. The Jewish state then called for “permanent peace” in the Middle East. [http://bit.ly/6day26]

June 9: Arab Leader Blames West for ‘Setback’
(Milwaukee Journal) – President Gamal Abdel Nasser of the United Arab Republic announced his resignation in a speech, radio reports in Beirut, Lebanon, said Friday. … Nasser announced. his resignation with a bitter denunciation of the United States and Britain, again accusing them of providing aerial support for Israel’s armies in the Mideast war. “We cannot hide the fact that we have suffered a grave setback,” he added. . [http://bit.ly/6day27] (Note: from following day: Nasser stays on – “I am complying with the will of the people.”) [http://bit.ly/6day28]

June 10: Soviet Breaks Off Israel Relations
MOSCOW (UPI) – The Soviet Union today broke relations with Israel and threatened to take sanctions against the Jewish nation unless it immediately stops military operations against the Arab states. The Israeli ambassador was told to close his embassy and leave the country as soon as possible. Within an hour after the break was announced, hundreds of Russians staged demonstrations at the Israeli, United States and British embassies under the tolerant eyes of police. [http://bit.ly/6day29]

June 11: Six-Day Middle East War Apparently Comes To An End
CAIRO (AP) – The six-day Middle East war apparently came to an end Saturday night with Israeli forces in control of all the land between the Suez Canal and the eastern shore of Galilee. But the Soviet Union and Syria told a U.N. Security Council meeting that Israel had continued hostilities for several hours beyond the 12:30 p.m. EDT cease-fire Syria  and Israel had pledged to observe. Israel insisted hostilities had stopped completely.  [http://bit.ly/6day30]

June 12: Revenge or peace: the choice
(The Guardian) – Now comes the bargaining, and it will be hard bargaining. So hard that a settlement may never be reached. The Arab governments, with strong Soviet backing, will refuse Israel’s minimum demands. The Israelis, after total victory in the war, will not water down their requirements. Thus a deadlock is likely. … we should be foolish to count on such a quick settlement. [http://bit.ly/6day31]

June 13: Russians Pushing to Dislodge Israel
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (AP) – The Soviet Union requested today an emergency special session of the General Assembly to press its demands that Israel withdraw from occupied territory in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. … The Soviet Union has a resolution pending before the council that demands Israel “remove all its troops on the territory of those states and withdraw them behind the armistice line” fixed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. [http://bit.ly/6day-12]

June 14: Wailing Wall Opened For Holiday
JERUSALEM (London Express) – Today is a great day for tens of thousands of Israelis. On the occasion of the Jewish feast of Shavuot (feast of weeks or of first fruits), a gate of Jerusalem’s old walled city will be opened to the public for the first time in almost 20 years. They will pray at the Walling Wall built of huge rock chunks, the last remnant of the biblical Second Temple. … For the past three days, bulldozers have worked feverishly to clear the site of ungainly structures and rubbish to make a huge plaza to hold throngs. [http://bit.ly/6day33]

June 15: Israel Annexing Jerusalem
(UPI) – Israel took the first steps today to annex the Old City of Jerusalem without waiting for any formal peace settlement with the defeated Arab states. The move was expected to arouse the fury of the Arabs. [http://bit.ly/6day34]

June 16: Israel Can’t ‘Dictate’ Lasting Peace
(St. Petersburg Independent) – The Israelis have unequivocally stated that they wish to negotiate directly with the Arab governments only and will not accept mediation from the outside. This is the traditional position of the victor, but it doesn’t guarantee that the vanquished will remain quiescent. … A dictated “peace” doesn’t remove the threat of more war. It merely marks the beginning of a build-up to get revenge. [http://bit.ly/6day35]

June 17: Israel Vows To Keep Captured Territories
JERUSALEM (UPI) – Indications mounted today that Israel will not surrender one inch of occupied Arab territory unless permanent peace is assured in the Middle East. Three Israeli ministers served notice Friday night that this country has “no intention of squandering our military feats in any other way than by translating them into a permanent peace.” … Minister Menachem Begin said. ”Until we have peace, we shall not budge from an inch of territory come what may.”  [http://bit.ly/6day36]

For many more articles written during June 1967, go to [http://bit.ly/6day37]

Mark Mietkiewicz writes about the Internet.  He can be reached at highway@rogers.com.