😔 Humiliation
The Arab armies had been beaten in six days and had lost most of their planes. Egypt lost Sinai, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Syria lost the Golan Heights. Many Arabs, who had expected victory, felt deeply shamed.
Tension and Conflict, 1956-73 » After 1967: The War's Impact on Israel and the Arab States
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B7, Key topic 3
- How the war made Israel feel safer, but also left it ruling a large Palestinian population
- Why Israel began building settlements on the land it had taken
- How the Arab states reacted: humiliation, refusal to negotiate and more refugees
- Why Nasser's power and prestige declined
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Unlock This CourseIsrael after 1967: safer, but with new problems
Israel's victory in June 1967 changed its position in two very different ways. It gained security, and it gained responsibility for people it had never ruled before.
Key terms:
- Occupied territories: land taken in a war and held by the army of the winning side. After 1967 this meant Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
- Settlement: a community built by people from one country on land that is under military control after a war. Israeli settlements were built on the occupied territories.
- Annex: to take a piece of land and make it a formal part of your own country.
Security: a buffer of land
Before the war Israel was very narrow. Between the West Bank and the Mediterranean Sea its land was only about 15 km wide at its narrowest. Syrian guns on the Golan Heights looked down on Israeli farms. Egyptian troops could reach the border quickly.
After 1967 things looked different on the map. Israel held the Sinai desert, with the Suez Canal as the new ceasefire line. It held the Golan Heights, and the River Jordan became its eastern border. Many Israelis felt that this safety zone of land gave them room to defend themselves. There was also a mood of great confidence. Israelis believed their army could not be beaten.
The occupied territories and their Palestinians
The victory also brought about a million Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under Israeli control. They lived under Israeli military rule and did not become Israeli citizens. Many of them were refugees from 1948 or the children of refugees, living in camps. Israelis soon argued about what to do with the land. Some wanted to keep it for security or for religious and historical reasons. Others thought land could be given back in return for peace.
In late June 1967 Israel annexed East Jerusalem, joining it to the west of the city and applying Israeli law there. Israel said Jerusalem was now one city. Most countries, and the United Nations, did not accept this.
The first settlements
Israel soon began to build settlements on the occupied land. Some were farming communities built for security, for example along the Jordan Valley. Others were built by people who believed that the land belonged to the Jewish people. In September 1967 a group of settlers set up Kfar Etzion in the West Bank, on land where a Jewish village had been destroyed in 1948. Settlements were also started on the Golan Heights in 1967.
Most countries and the UN say that settlements on occupied land break international law. Israel disagrees. From the beginning, settlements made it harder to reach a deal, because both sides claimed the same land.
The Arab states after the defeat
🚫 No negotiation
In late August 1967 Arab leaders met in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. They agreed on "three noes": no peace, no recognition and no negotiations with Israel. They also said they would not give up the rights of the Palestinians.
🏕 More refugees
About 300,000 Palestinians fled from the West Bank, most of them to Jordan. Some had already been refugees in 1948 and now had to move for a second time. Tens of thousands of Syrians left the Golan Heights.
💰 Costs for Egypt
The Suez Canal was closed by the war and stayed closed until 1975. Egypt lost the money it used to earn from ships using it.
In November 1967 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 242. It called on Israel to withdraw from territories it had occupied and for all states in the area to be able to live in peace. The two sides understood it differently, and little changed.
Nasser's decline
Nasser had been the most admired leader in the Arab world. After the defeat he lost much of that respect and status. On 9 June he said on the radio that he would resign. Huge crowds in Cairo called for him to stay, and he stayed. His army commander, Field Marshal Amer, was arrested and died in September 1967. Nasser remained president until he died in 1970, but he now led a weaker Egypt that had lost land, income and pride. His dream of uniting the Arab world against Israel seemed further away than ever.
Change and continuity
The war changed who held the land and put a new group of Palestinians under Israeli rule. What stayed the same was the quarrel over land and refugees that began in 1948, and the failure of talks: Resolution 242 settled nothing.
Common mistakes
- Writing that Israel gave the land back after the war. It kept almost all of it for many years. Sinai was returned much later.
- Saying Palestinians in the occupied territories became Israeli citizens. They lived under military rule.
- Mixing up the effects. Settlements and the Palestinian population are effects on Israel. The three noes, humiliation and Nasser's decline are effects on the Arab states.
Exam-style question
Explain TWO ways in which Israel's security after the Six-Day War was different from its security before it. [6 marks]
Name a way, then compare "before" and "after" in the same paragraph. Facts about only one period will not reach the top level.
Model answer
One difference was Israel's width. Before 1967 Israel was only about 15 km wide at its narrowest point, between the West Bank and the sea. After the war Israel held the West Bank and the River Jordan was its eastern border, so it had much more land to defend in depth.
A second difference was the threat on its borders. Before the war Syrian guns on the Golan Heights looked down on Israeli farms and Egyptian troops were close to the border in Sinai. After the war Israel held the Golan Heights, and the Sinai desert lay between Egypt's army and Israeli towns, with the Suez Canal as the new ceasefire line.
This is a top answer because each paragraph compares before and after with specific facts about both.
Exam tip
In a "different" question, use the pattern "Before ... whereas after ...". Check that every sentence has a fact from BOTH periods.