The
waiting period was a 3-week interval in the history of the State of Israel, May 15 - June 5, 1967, between the
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
ian crossing of the
Suez canalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
into the
Sinai peninsulaThe Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (sina; Egyptian Arabic: سينا sina; sina'a; is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest...
and the outbreak of the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between the Israel army and the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the...
.
On May 17
Gamal Abdel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. He led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which removed King Farouk I and heralded a new period of industrialization in Egypt, together with a profound advancement of Arab nationalism, including a short-lived...
demanded that the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
emergency force of about 4,000 men in Sinai and in the
Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of . The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories...
withdraw. Despite efforts from
Abba EbanAbba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician.-Political career:...
, the UN forces did evacuate its troops a few days later. Israel military commentators and political officials nevertheless believed that Egypt would not open a front against Israel, due to its involvement in the
North Yemen Civil WarThe North Yemen Civil War was fought in North Yemen between royalists of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen and factions of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1962 to 1970. The war began with a coup d'etat carried out by the republican leader, Abdullah as-Sallal, which dethroned the newly crowned Imam...
.
However, when Nasser declared that his forces were withdrawing from Yemen and making their way to Sinai, Israel drafted every fit man, which led to an economic paralyzation.
The
waiting period was a 3-week interval in the history of the State of Israel, May 15 - June 5, 1967, between the
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
ian crossing of the
Suez canalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
into the
Sinai peninsulaThe Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (sina; Egyptian Arabic: سينا sina; sina'a; is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest...
and the outbreak of the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between the Israel army and the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the...
.
Early military moves
On May 17
Gamal Abdel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. He led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which removed King Farouk I and heralded a new period of industrialization in Egypt, together with a profound advancement of Arab nationalism, including a short-lived...
demanded that the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
emergency force of about 4,000 men in Sinai and in the
Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of . The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories...
withdraw. Despite efforts from
Abba EbanAbba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician.-Political career:...
, the UN forces did evacuate its troops a few days later. Israel military commentators and political officials nevertheless believed that Egypt would not open a front against Israel, due to its involvement in the
North Yemen Civil WarThe North Yemen Civil War was fought in North Yemen between royalists of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen and factions of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1962 to 1970. The war began with a coup d'etat carried out by the republican leader, Abdullah as-Sallal, which dethroned the newly crowned Imam...
.
However, when Nasser declared that his forces were withdrawing from Yemen and making their way to Sinai, Israel drafted every fit man, which led to an economic paralyzation. No emergency was felt on the Jordanian border. Tourists kept crossing the
Mandelbaum GateMandelbaum Gate is a former checkpoint between Israeli and Jordanian sectors of Jerusalem, just north of the western edge of the Old City along the Green Line...
, although there were reports of Jordanian Legion forces moving from
AmmanAmman , sometimes spelled Ammann , is the capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a city of 2,525,000 inhabitants , and the administrative capital and commercial center of Jordan. It is also the largest city in Jordan. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world...
to towards
Judea and SamariaJudea and Samaria Area is the official Israeli term roughly corresponding to the territory usually known outside Israel as the West Bank. Jordan occupied the territory and annexed it in 1950...
. Meanwhile, Egypt seized Sharm e-Sheikh.
Egypt closed the
Straits of TiranThe Straits of Tiran , are the narrow sea passages, about 13 km wide, between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas which separates the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea...
to passage of Israeli ships, as well as strategic materials delivered to Israel by non-Israeli ships. This was considered by Israel a
Casus belliCasus belli is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. Casus means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while belli means "of war"...
. Nasser's move was supported by
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
, while the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
warned Israel and Egypt not to take military action. Speaking before the
KnessetThe Knesset is the legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Operation of the Knesset:...
, Israeli Prime Minister
Levi Eshkol' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Early life:...
tried to calm down the situation by assuring the Arab states that Israel wasn't seeking war. Still, Israel continued to prepare for war.
Israeli scholar
Avner CohenAvner Cohen is writer, historian, and professor, and is well known for his works on nuclear weapons. Cohen received a B.A. in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University in 1975. He went on to study at York University where he received a M.A. in Philosophy in 1977 and four years later earned a Ph.D....
has argued that this period was also crucial to Israel's nuclear policy, and that the anxiety led Israel to advance towards "operational readiness" of its nuclear option.
Political moves
Calls were growing in Jerusalem for unity government, with the
National Religious PartyThe National Religious Party was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement...
calling for an emergency government. Old rivals
David Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, culminated in his instrumental role in the founding of the state of Israel...
and
Menachem Begin' was an Israel politician and the sixth prime minister of the State of Israel. Before the independence, he was the leader of the Irgun, a revisionist breakaway from the larger mainstream Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
met in
Sde BokerSde Boker is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council.-History:...
, where Begin asked Ben-Gurion to join Eshkol's government. Although Eshkol's
MapaiMapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968.-Background:...
party initially opposed the widening of its government, it eventually changed its mind.
On May 23, chief of general staff
Yitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995. In 1994, Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize together with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat...
met with Ben-Gurion to ask for reassurance. Ben-Gurion, however, accused him of putting the country in mortal jeopardy by mobilizing the reserves and openly preparing for war against a coalition of Arab states, saying that at the very least, Rabin should have obtained the support of a foreign power as he himself had done during the Sinai Campaign 11 years earlier. Rabin was shaken by the meeting and took to his bed for 36 hours, in what became known as the 'nicotine poisoning' incident. Rabin turned to
Ezer Weizman' was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force and Minister of Defense.-Biography:...
and asked him to replace him as Chief of Staff. Weizman refused, saying that it would be a severe blow to the IDF.
Meanwhile, Eban went to the US and met three times with
Secretary of StateSecretary of State is a commonly used title for a member of government. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the government.In many countries, a Secretary of State is a mid-level post...
Dean RuskDavid Dean Rusk was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Along with James Madison, he was the second-longest serving Secretary of State, behind Cordell Hull.-Childhood and education:Dean Rusk was born a poor farm boy in...
. However,
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
announced that it would intervene on Israel's behalf only if the USSR joined the fighting.
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 after his service as the Vice President of the United States from 1961 to 1963...
asked Israel not to start a military operation, promising to provide Israel with oil.
National unity government
On the evening of May 28, Eshkol gave a radio address to the nation. During the preparation of the speech several versions were drafted after Eshkol had proofread it. When he reached the paragraph in which a correction was made, and the words "withdrawing forces" were changed to "moving forces", Eshkol began to hesitate, not understanding that a correction was made. The entire country heard him stammer in front of the live microphone. This address became known as the "stammer address".
On May 29 the
HaaretzHaaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
newspaper wrote in the main editorial that "Mr. Eshkol is not built to be the prime minister and the security minister in the current situation". Eshkol spoke in the Knesset and tried to calm the public that "it is reasonable to expect that the states that support in the principle of the freedom of sailing, will do and will coordinate an efficient action in order to ensure that the straits and the bay will be open to the passage of the ships of all the nations without discrimination". But the internal pressure continued. On June 1 Eshkol didn't see a choice, and gave the security portfolio to
Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan, was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
. Also were joined to the government
GahalGahal was the major right-wing political faction in Israel led by Menachem Begin from its founding in 1965 until it merged into Likud in 1973.-Background:...
representatives
Menachem Begin' was an Israel politician and the sixth prime minister of the State of Israel. Before the independence, he was the leader of the Irgun, a revisionist breakaway from the larger mainstream Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
and
Yosef SapirYosef Sapir was an Israeli politician and Knesset member of the 1st to 7th Knessets. He served as head of the General Zionists and was a founding member of the Gahal party, along with Dr...
, and were appointed to
ministers without portfolioA Minister without Portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
. It was the first unity government that was established in the State of Israel, and in this time was called
Memshelet Likud Leumi. Meanwhile, in
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
and Jerusalem, people began digging trenches filled with sandbags.
On June 2, Eshkol convened the security cabinet along with the IDF's General Staff at the Tel Aviv headquarters. Opposition to an attack came from Mapai's
Zalman AranZalman Aran was a Zionist activist, educator and Israeli politician.-Biography:...
and the NRP's
Haim-Moshe ShapiraHaim-Moshe Shapira was a key Israeli politician in the early days of the state's existence. A signatory of Israel's declaration of independence, he served continuously as a minister from the country's foundation in 1948 until his death in 1970 apart from a brief spell in the late...
, who said "I am ready to fight but not to commit suicide." Major-General Motti Hod tried to convince them that an
Israeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces...
attack is necessary.
Moshe PeledMoshe Peled may refer to:*Moshe Peled, an Israeli politician who served as a Knesset member between 1992 and 1999.*Moshe Peled, an Israeli general during the Yom Kippur War...
wondered why Israel is waiting, while Major-General
Ariel Sharon' is an Israeli general and statesman, former Israeli Prime Minister...
said "IDF forces are more prepared than they ever were" to "totally destroy the Egyptian forces". Eshkol remained unconvinced.
On June 4, a cabinet session now led by Dayan, decided to embark on a war. On June 5, at 7:45 AM, the war erupted.