How Far Can Current Attitudes in Israel/palestine Be Explained Solely by the Six Day War of 1967?

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Acts of terrorism have affected both sides. One of the most famous acts of terrorism was when a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September killed Israeli athletes at the German Olympics of 1972.[7] They killed in total 11 athletes and demanded the release of 200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. This gained the Palestinians worldwide publicity for their cause, even if it was in a very bad light. Israel responded to these terrorist acts by raiding Syria and Lebanon, killing 200 Palestinians refugees in the process.

This is just one of the many acts of terrorism that have affected both sides. These acts of terrorism have caused peace talks to cease as both sides blames each other for the terrorist groups such as Hamas that they in fact have very little to do with. These terrorist groups are also attacking their ‘own’ side with the most publicised one being the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzak Rabin by an Israeli terrorist group. The terrorist group claim that they killed the president because he had signed the peace deal of 1993. They believed that this deal gave back sacred Jewish land which made him a traitor. This shows that current attitudes may not be caused by the Six Day War alone; and are affected by what is essentially a difference in belief, with the Arabs being Muslim and the Israelis being Jewish.

The Palestinian authority has very heavily influenced peace processes for the good, but with Israel not following the agreements made many Palestinians is growing increasingly frustrated[8]. This and the fact that reports of Israeli soldiers attacking innocent Palestinians were constantly circulating in Palestine meant that many Palestinians opted to support Hamas and other extremist groups instead. This meant Hamas gained more political power, and with that they could enforce the policy of the destruction of Israel more forcefully, and cease peace talks.

The Yom Kippur War of 1973 was the most recent major battle between the Arab nations and Israel. Many people see it as the first victory for the Arab nations. It showed that they could influence western powers with their ‘secret’ weapon, oil. However the Israelis did win in terms of land as they once again proved that they had better armies and tactics. I also feel that for the Israelis this is a very significant war that makes them a lot more fearful of the Arab nations which then increases their aggressive attitudes towards the surrounding nations, making peace processes a lot harder. It’s also been seen by many as a turning point in how Israel days could be numbered and that if they continued there aggression towards Arab nations their western supporters may no longer be their supporters. This means Israel may need to change their current attitudes towards Arab nations in a desperate bid to stop them severing their ties with the west. The Yom Kippur War also showed that the Arab world is more united than many people thought. This will alarm Israelis because if all the Arab nations combine their armies they would be in deep trouble.

The basic situation has not changed very much since the Six Day War however, showing that relatively little has happened since. There have been many conflicts and peace negotiations that theoretically should of had a bigger impact but haven’t. The attitudes that both sides have originated from the six day war with things such as the Intifadas and the Yom Kippur War being caused by the Six Day War. Yet it could be argued that things such as the Yom Kippur War and other reasons that concern Israel may have occurred without the Six Day war and are just consequences of Israel being founded in the first place, and not directly linked to the Six Day War.

I conclude that current attitudes between the two side s are still very similar to those attitudes that they held for each other as a result of the Six Day War. It is also true that recent conflicts have changed the attitudes that Palestinians and Israelis hold for each other, but I don’t think these conflicts have had nearly the same impact of the Six Day War. I also think that although the Six Day War did affect people’s attitudes, those attitudes were already present, just not as publicised.

By William Robertson

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