Israeli perception on the six day war and the security dilemma Research Paper

Israeli perception on the six day war and the security dilemma - Research Paper Example The Israeli were angered by the actions of the Arab Nations and the lack of action from the United States and UNEF. Israeli decided to seek a peaceful agreement from the U.S. and UNEF but failed to reach an agreement, this made the Israeli’s to start war with the Arab countries, and in the end Israeli emerged victorious over these countries. Israeli`s Defense Forces had no reason to go to war but were forced by circumstances to fight, for the protection of its people, and securing security for its people. Key words: Israeli, Six Day War, Security, Dilemma, Perception, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Arab, U.S., Israeli Defense Force, Army, National Security, Doctrine, Forces, Quality, Quantity, Resources, Threat The Six Day War was a war between five Arab neighbors namely; Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Israeli and her neighbors, in which Israeli captured the most part of Arab territory. This war broke out on 5 June, 1967 and ended on 10 June 1967, following a three week tension, when th e Israelites learned that Egypt had deployed a large army in Sinai Peninsula. The cause of the Six Day War was as a result of increased tension between Israel and its Arab neighbors in the mid 1960`s. Israeli ruling to divert the waters of River Jordan to Negev Desert frustrated the Arabs, who wanted the river to flow to Lake Galilee. Syria had begun to divert the waters but this made Israel bomb Syria in the years 1965 and 1966. Egypt played a big role in the Six Day War; this was because of the: blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba, the Fatah and PLO raid on Israel, the creation of an independent Israel, Israel decision to strike first in 1967, and expulsion of UN forces from Egypt (Rea and Wright, 1997). Historians sited that the reason for Israel attack was because of the poor economic conditions it was experiencing at the time. They explained that a war would distract people`s minds from unemployment and low development and this would bring foreign currency, to boost the economy (â₠¬Å"Causes of the War,† n.d.). The cold war tension motivated and exploited the soviets, to take advantage of the destabilized region, and provide them with military and economic assistance, in order to outsmart Jordan and Iraq, as it increased threats on Israeli By the end of the war, Israeli had captured triple the size of the area controlled. Israeli unified Jerusalem, Sinai, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and West Bank. Israeli hope was to have peaceful negotiations with the Arabs states (Bard, 2012). Israelis perspective on the events that led to the Six Day War was influenced by views of itself in the region and in the international community during that time. Israeli thought its existence was been threatened, before the war broke out, leaders were also concerned about how Israel would survive. This made Israel to pay back the continued Arab hostility and specific attacks. They thought that this would make the Arab leaders cease to attack Israel and caution them to control the ir acts against Israeli. Many unfriendly superpowers gave Arab countries aid to attack Israeli, and this angered them because of their hostility and unfriendly ways. The main reasons for Israeli attacks were the severe Arab threats, and the role of the United States in a threat that was serious. On May 23, President Nasser of Egypt announced the blockage of strait of Tiran, this changed Israeli`s perception. The question many asked was, what is the United States doing about this decision, and was is