59 years ago, in June 1967, the Egyptian military’s entry into Sinai led to war, then we took the initiative and won; today, Israel’s silence over the violations is concerning.
This week we are marking 59 years since the Six - Day War - the war in which the territories of Judea, Samaria and Benjamin, the Jordan Valley, Sinai and the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and above all the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were liberated. Itshould be recalled, that the war broke out began when Egypt violated the understandings on the demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula, established after the withdrawal following the previous conflict, Operation Kadesh. On Israel’s Independence Day in 1967, Egyptian President Nasser deployed the full strength of the Egyptian army into Sinai, which for a decade - since Israel’s withdrawal after Operation Kadesh - had been largely demilitarized and contained UN forces.
The main headline of Maariv on May 16, 1967 (6 Iyar 5727), reported the move, accompanied by a subheadline: “Washington advises Israel not to take the Egyptian show of force seriously." Three weeks later, it became painfully clear how misguided that advice was. The sweeping victory in the Six - Day War obscured the fact that there had also been an intelligence failure - not unlike that of the Yom Kippur War. The difference is that in 1973 we refused to read the warning signs and ignored clear indications of an impending Egyptian - Syrian surprise attack, whereas in May 1967 Egyptian actions were overt and the Arab world’s calls for Israel’s destruction were so explicit that Israel ultimately had no choice but to launch a preemptive strike to save itself - something that was not done in 1973.
I was reminded of this history, particularly of May 1967, in light of recent reports regarding violations of the peace agreement with Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula - violations that are deeply concerning. Yair Altman reported over the weekend that Egyptian forces in the area now include more than 60,000 soldiers, nearly 1,000 tanks, and hundreds of artillery systems. According to the report, an additional reinforcement of about 10,000 ground troops has recently been deployed to Sinai, along with armored vehicles and heavy equipment. It was also reported that air - defense systems of the Egyptian army have been deployed in the region, including S - 300VM Antey - 2500, Buk - M2, and Tor - M2 systems. The peace agreement with Egypt, of which little remains in practice, had one central achievement: the demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula, aside from limited forces explicitly permitted under the treaty. That achievement has been steadily eroded in recent years. (Read More)
