330 • 18 WAR AND THE QUEST FOR PEACEstage in the Middle East drama. Many (though certainly not all) diaspora
Jews turned into ardent Zionists. The Palestine question gained new signif¬
icance in Arab states as remote as Morocco and Kuwait. Quarrels among
the Arab countries and power struggles within them continued, but after
1967 they became secondary to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hardly a month
went by without some prediction that a new war was about to break out.
Most people still assumed that Israel—if adequately armed by the US—
would win any conventional war. Therefore, Palestinian fidaiyin came to
dominate in Arab strategy against Israel.
After 1967 the USSR stepped up its role as arms supplier and adviser to
many of the Arab states, as the US did for Israel. This intensified superpower
involvement in a conflict that threatened to escalate into World War III. As
neither side wanted so drastic a confrontation, they frequently conferred to¬
gether and with other powers over possible imposed solutions to the con¬
flict. Many would suggest formulas. Neither the Arabs nor the Jews wanted
the wars, the threats, and the tensions to go on forever. But at what price
could each party accept peace with the other? The old Arab issue about the
displaced Palestinians tended to give way to two others: return of Arab lands
taken by Israel in June 1967 and recognition of the Palestinians' national
rights. The Israelis still demanded security and Arab recognition but argued
among themselves over which of the captured lands—Jerusalem, the West
Bank (which most Israelis call Judea and Samaria), the Gaza Strip, the Sinai,
and the Golan Heights—they should give back in exchange for peace.
Meanwhile, they defied international law by creating and expanding Jewish
settlements in the occupied areas. Arms purchases claimed a growing share
of every Middle Eastern government's budget, more young men in uniform
risked dying before their time, and people's energies shifted from construc¬
tive to destructive endeavors. Malesh (Never mind), said the Arabs; Ma Ida-
sot^7. (What's to be done?), asked the Israelis. No matter, both sides felt.
Survival and dignity were worth more than the highest price they (or their
backers) could ever pay!
THE JUNE 1967 WARThe story of Israel's lightning victory over the Arabs in 1967 will be told,
in varying versions, for years to come. It began when Israel's air force at¬
tacked the main air bases of Egypt—followed by those of Jordan and
Syria—on the morning of 5 June and wiped out virtually all their war-
making potential. Having gained air mastery in the first hour, Israel sent
its army into Sinai and, in four days' fighting, took the whole peninsula. As