The Six-Day War
In 1967 , Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser threatened the impending destruction of Israel . At his request , the UN removed the peacekeeping force it had deployed at the end of the 1956 Suez Crisis from the Sinai border with Israel . Egypt then massed its soldiers there and closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships , cutting off Israel ’ s access to the Red Sea . After the failure of diplomatic efforts to avert war , Israel , on June 5 , launched a preemptive attack on Egypt ’ s airfields , disabling virtually the entire Egyptian air force . Syria had harassed Israeli civilians from its perch on the Golan Heights for years ; now it , too , began massing troops on the border .
Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol sent a message to King Hussein of Jordan through a UN officer : “ We shall not initiate any action whatsoever against Jordan . However , should Jordan open hostilities , we shall react with all our might .” But Jordan , convinced by Egyptian propaganda of an assured , quick victory , spurned this offer and attacked from its positions on the West Bank of the Jordan River . Jordanian shells caused damage to hundreds of buildings in the western part of Jerusalem , including Hadassah Hospital .
Israel before June 1967
The Israeli Defense Forces won the war decisively in six days , capturing the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt , East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan , and the Golan Heights from Syria .
Cease-Fire Lines After the Six-Day War
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Image : Israeli Defense Forces after the capture of the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt .