The Six-Day War, Yom Kippur, and Camp David: The Arab-Israeli Conflict and Its Unresolved Wounds

Now we turn our course to the Middle East, that endlessly bleeding wound, and the Arab-Israeli wars. But before diving into our historical notes, we need to pause and underline a bitter reality. History books often dress these events up with strategies, borders, and names like the “Six-Day War,” detailing who occupied where, but they rarely mention those who paid the real price. Unfortunately, nothing has changed from yesterday to today. I cannot in good conscience write these lines without remembering the innocent Palestinians who have lost their lives in the ruthless genocide that has spanned decades since those days and continues right before the eyes of the world today. Sadly, while great powers play chess for their own interests on the world stage, the innocent always foot the bill. Look at how events unfolded in 1967 and how the foundations of this oppression were laid…

The 1967 Arab-Israeli War (The Six-Day War)

The pressure exerted by Israel on the refugees displaced after the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War, and the subsequent legitimate struggle initiated by the Palestinians, kept tensions constantly high in the region. The following key events paved the way to the Six-Day War:

The Samu Massacre: On November 13, 1966, an Israeli unit composed of tanks and armored vehicles crossed the Jordanian border, attacking the village of Samu, which had a population of 4,000, causing massive destruction and slaughter.

Aerial Clashes: On April 7, 1967, Syrian planes responded to an Israeli air strike on Syrian artillery units, resulting in 6 Syrian jets being shot down.

The capture of Sinai. 5-6 June 1967

The Course and Results of the War:

June 5, 1967: The war officially began with the offensive of Israeli troops. In the initial phase, Israel maintained a defensive posture against Jordan and Syria while launching a massive attack on Egypt.

Israeli Advance: Following the defeat of Egypt and the capture of the region up to the Suez Canal, the Israeli army turned its focus to Syria and Jordan, seizing the strategically vital Golan Heights from Syria.

Ceasefire: Hostilities ceased following a “ceasefire” call by the United Nations on June 10, 1967. By the end of the war, Israel had expanded its occupation in the region by extending its territories all the way to the Suez Canal.

Following this war, Soviet Russia, which had settled in the Middle East to supply military equipment and train personnel for Arab countries, began establishing naval bases in the Mediterranean. This Soviet manoeuvre affected Mediterranean sovereignty and security, which were of vital importance to NATO and Türkiye.

The capture of Sinai. 7–8 June 1967

The 1973 Arab-Israeli War (Yom Kippur War)

Having pinned their hopes on the UN and US-USSR negotiations after the 1967-1968 War, the Arab states rapidly embarked on rearmament activities when they could not achieve their desired outcomes. United in the belief that the occupied Arab lands could only be liberated through an all-out struggle, Egypt and Syria planned to launch a joint military operation against Israel.

The offensive by the Egyptian and Syrian armies began on October 6, 1973, on the day Israel was celebrating its holy day (Yom Kippur). Israel first concentrated on the Syrian front; after neutralizing the Syrian army, it turned towards Egypt and successfully landed troops west of the Suez Canal.

With the arrival of the UN Peacekeeping Force on October 26, Israel complied with the ceasefire. The USSR’s announcement that it would send troops to the region was highly influential in Israel's decision.

The Yom Kippur War made Israel significantly more dependent on the US in military, diplomatic, and economic spheres than before.

As a result of the “Shuttle Diplomacy” conducted by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the Sinai Agreement was signed on January 18, 1974. With this treaty, Israel withdrew from a portion of the Sinai Peninsula.

Meanwhile, the oil embargo, which began immediately after the war, was spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and targeted Western countries supporting Israel. It lasted until March 1974. As a result of this embargo, oil prices skyrocketed globally, leading to a massive worldwide gasoline and energy shortage (the 1973 Oil Crisis).

The Jordan salient, 5–7 June.

The Camp David Accords (Israel & Egypt) (September 17, 1978)

Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger initiated “shuttle diplomacy” between Egypt and Israel. The product of this prolonged diplomatic traffic was the Camp David Accords, signed on September 17, 1978.

Historical Shift and Key Provisions:

According to the agreement, Israel would withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula, which it had occupied during the 1967-1968 wars, and in return, Egypt would officially recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations.

Crucial Note: With this treaty, for the first time, an Arab state (Egypt) officially recognized Israel and legitimized its existence on the occupied territories.

The Issue of Palestine, Gaza, and the West Bank: The agreement failed to bring complete clarity to the core bleeding wound, the fate of the Gaza and West Bank regions (and the Palestinians), essentially kicking the can down the road. It only envisioned the following steps to establish an autonomous administration within 5 years:

Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank would be granted autonomy for a period of 5 years.

During this autonomy period, Israel would reduce its troop levels in these two territories.

Starting from the third year of the autonomy period, negotiations would be held for an agreement to determine the final status of the West Bank and Gaza.

On paper, this agreement was to recognize the “legitimate rights” and “just demands” of the Palestinian people; during this period, peace negotiations between Israel and Jordan, as well as arrangements to ensure Israel’s security, were to be made.

The Battle of Golan Heights, 9–10 June.

The Arab Reaction and the 1979 Peace Treaty

As expected, Arab countries initially reacted strongly against the Camp David Accords and decided to sever bilateral relations with Egypt. Although the “Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty,” framed within the Camp David Accords, could not be signed within the planned timeframe due to various crises, it was ultimately signed in Washington on March 26, 1979. This treaty, which drew the current Israel-Egypt borders based on mutual respect for territorial integrity and independence, guaranteed Israel's security in the south while causing Egypt to completely break away from the Arab world.

The Aftermath and Harsh Realities on the Ground:

When economic aid from Arab countries to Egypt was cut off, the US stepped in and provided substantial economic assistance to Egypt. Israel, complying with the treaty, completely withdrew from the Sinai on April 27, 1982.

These developments fuelled anti-US sentiment in the Middle East to a peak and pushed regional countries like Syria closer to the USSR.

Ultimately, these so-called “peace” agreements failed to achieve their purpose and only served to increase the oppression of Palestinians and tension in the region, as Israel continuously built Jewish settlements in the West Bank (where autonomy had been promised) in defiance of international law, declared Jerusalem its capital, and announced the annexation of the Golan Heights.

With this, we wrap up the Arab-Israeli conflicts in the Middle East and the painful, so-called peace process that began with the Camp David Accords. As we have seen, signatures penned at the negotiation table and borders drawn by great powers for their own interests were not enough to stop the bloodshed on the ground; rather, they further complicated the regional balance of power and the tragedy of the Palestinian people.

Now, we are closing this long block and transitioning to another dark dimension that shaped the fate of the Middle East: the “energy crises and regime wars.” In our next post, we will cover the following crucial topics respectively: OPEC and the 1973 Oil Crisis, which shook the entire world, followed by the Regime Change in Iraq and the rise of the Ba’ath Party, and finally, the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), a relentless conflict that dragged the region into years of devastation.

World War I: How It Reshaped the Middle East

In our previous blog, we explored how the Soviet Union reshaped Central Asia with artificial borders and strict assimilation policies. However, they were not the only ones drawing lines on a map. At the exact same time, Western imperial powers were executing a similar “divide and rule” strategy in the Middle East.

Today, to understand the endless conflicts, border disputes, and political crises we see on the news every day, we must look back to the aftermath of World War I. The Middle East we know today was not formed by natural historical progression, but by the pens and rulers of European diplomats. 

Generated by AI

During the depressed days of World War I, Britain, France, and Tsarist Russia had already drawn the map of the Middle East behind closed doors. They divided the region among themselves through secret treaties (especially the Sykes-Picot Agreement). However, an unexpected storm broke out: Russia withdrew from the war due to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The new Soviet government created a massive diplomatic crisis by exposing these secret imperialist plans to the whole world.

When US President Woodrow Wilson published his Fourteen Points (which explicitly opposed colonialism), the perfect plans of Britain and France took a heavy blow.

The San Remo Conference

However, these obstacles were not enough to stop the Western powers. The USA, disappointed by European politics, returned to its famous Monroe Doctrine (Policy of Isolation). This massive shift left the Middle Eastern stage entirely to Britain and France. Breathing a sigh of relief without the pressure of the USA, these two powers found a new disguise to achieve their goals: The Mandate System. Consequently, at the San Remo Conference in 1920, this new version of colonialism was formalized. They reached a strict consensus to officially divide the Middle Eastern territories under mandate regimes.

After the resolution on 25 April 1920, standing outside Villa Devachan, from left to right: Matsui, Lloyd George, Curzon, Berthelot, Millerand, Vittorio Scialoja, and Nitti. Enhanced by AI

Middle East Map

According to the official excuse of the League of Nations, some regions were not yet capable of “governing themselves” or “protecting their lands from attacks.” Therefore, it was argued that these nations should be managed by a “developed” state until they reached a certain level of maturity.

By the early 1920s, the Middle East was divided between two major imperial powers:

• France: Took Syria and Lebanon under its mandate. It also strengthened its control over Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa.
• Britain: To protect its trade routes to India and secure oil fields, it brought Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, and Kuwait into its mandate system. It also took strategic points in the Arabian Peninsula under its protection.

It was an announcement that the future of millions of people would be decided by others.

Emir Faisal's party at Versailles, during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919; left to right: Rustum Haidar, Nuri al-Said, Prince Faisal (front), Captain Pisani (rear), Lawrence, Faisal's servant (name unknown), Captain Hassan Khadri

Empty Promises and the Spark of Resistance in Egypt

While Britain and France were dividing the Middle East on paper, they needed to soften the inevitable anger of the local people. To do this, they issued a joint declaration on November 7, 1918, promising Arab nations the right to “establish their own democratic governments.” However, it soon became clear that these promises were nothing more than a stalling tactic.

The first major crack in this colonial system appeared in Egypt. Britain's attempt to establish total dominance clashed heavily with Egyptian nationalists. The Wafd Party, founded by Saad Zaghloul in early 1919, led a massive resistance movement, organizing strikes and protests throughout the country. Britain tried to extinguish this fire by exiling Zaghloul and other leaders, but this move backfired and only fueled the public's anger.

Stepping Back: The Winds of Independence

Faced with a growing and unstoppable crisis, Britain was forced to declare Egypt's independence with a declaration on February 28, 1922. The ruler of the time, Khedive Fuad I, accepted this declaration and took the title of King (Melik). At the end of this long struggle, Egypt completely abolished capitulations in 1937 and became a member of the League of Nations.

It wasn't just Britain; France also had to bow to the resistance in the region. Due to increasing nationalist pressures, France was forced to sign treaties paving the way for independence for Syria in 1930 and Lebanon in 1936.

The Middle East we know today was manufactured in European conference rooms. Sykes-Picot, San Remo different names for the same ambition. However, the wounds never healed. In our next post, we turn eastward to Japan, and the Meiji Restoration.