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KF5JRV > TODAY 11.06.19 15:01l 9 Lines 3850 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 11
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Sent: 190611/1132Z 37881@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
The Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ends with a UnitedNations-brokered cease-fire. The outnumbered Israel Defense Forcesachieved a swift and decisive victory in the brief war, rolling over theArab coalition that threatened the Jewish state and more than doublingthe amount of territory under Israel’s control. The greatest fruit ofvictory lay in seizing the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan; thousandsof Jews wept while bent in prayer at the Second Temple’s Western Wall.Increased tensions and skirmishes along Israel’s northern border withSyria were the immediate cause of the third Arab-Israeli war. In 1967,Syria intensified its bombardment of Israeli settlements across theborder, and Israel struck back by shooting down six Syrian MiG fighters.After Syria alleged in May 1967 that Israel was massing troops along theborder, Egypt mobilized its forces and demanded the withdrawal of theU.N. Emergency Force from the Israel-Egypt cease-fire lines of the 1956conflict. The U.N. peacekeepers left on May 19, and three days laterEgypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. On May 30, Jordansigned a mutual-defense treaty with Egypt and Syria, and other Arabstates, including Iraq, Kuwait, and Algeria, sent troop contingents tojoin the Arab coalition against Israel.With every sign of a pan-Arab attack in the works, Israel’s governmenton June 4 authorized its armed forces to launch a surprise preemptivestrike. On June 5, the Six-Day War began with an Israeli assault againstArab air power. In a brilliant attack, the Israeli air force caught theformidable Egyptian air force on the ground and largely destroyed theArabs’ most powerful weapon. The Israeli air force then turned againstthe lesser air forces of Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, and by the end of theday had decisively won air superiority.ADVERTISEMENTBeginning on June 5, Israel focused the main effort of its ground forcesagainst Egypt’s Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. In a lightningattack, the Israelis burst through the Egyptian lines and across theSinai. The Egyptians fought resolutely but were outflanked by theIsraelis and decimated in lethal air attacks. By June 8, the Egyptianforces were defeated, and Israel held the Gaza Strip and the Sinai tothe Suez Canal.Meanwhile, to the east of Israel, Jordan began shelling its Jewishneighbor on June 5, provoking a rapid and overwhelming response fromIsraeli forces. Israel overran the West Bank and on June 7 captured theOld City of East Jerusalem. The chief chaplain of the Israel DefenseForces blew a ram’s horn at the Western Wall to announce thereunification of East Jerusalem with the Israeli-administered westernsector.To the north, Israel bombarded Syria’s fortified Golan Heights for twodays before launching a tank and infantry assault on June 9. After a dayof fierce fighting, the Syrians began a retreat from the Golan Heightson June 10. On June 11, a U.N.-brokered cease-fire took effectthroughout the three combat zones, and the Six-Day War was at an end.Israel had more than doubled its size in the six days of fighting.The U.N. Security Council called for a withdrawal from all the occupiedregions, but Israel declined, permanently annexing East Jerusalem andsetting up military administrations in the occupied territories. Israellet it be known that Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and theSinai would be returned in exchange for Arab recognition of the right ofIsrael to exist and guarantees against future attack. Arab leaders,stinging from their defeat, met in August to discuss the future of theMiddle East. They decided upon a policy of no peace, no negotiations,and no recognition of Israel, and made plans to zealously defend therights of Palestinian Arabs in the occupied territories.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
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