334 • 18 WAR AND THE QUEST FOR PEACEthey had not been annihilated and that the physical destruction and loss of
Jewish lives were less than anyone had expected. Many hoped that the mili¬
tant Arab leaders would be overthrown by the moderates or that their gov¬
ernments would sue for peace. In retrospect, it is too bad that both sides
were not more accommodating. The Arabs would not negotiate from weak¬
ness (some noted that Hitler could not persuade Churchill to talk peace in
1940), whereas Israel chose to hold all the occupied lands as bargaining
chips in the peace talks it hoped would ensue. Its new borders (really cease¬
fire lines) were shorter and more defensible than the old ones had been.
Israel's haste to annex East Jerusalem and to colonize the conquered lands
fueled Arab fears of Israeli expansionism.
UN Peace Efforts
The Arabs believed that a just solution was more apt to come from the UN
(as in 1956) than from direct negotiations. Responding to a Soviet call, the
General Assembly held a special session that June, but none of the resolu¬
tions put forth by the various blocs could muster the necessary majority.
After five futile weeks, the General Assembly handed the issue back to the
Security Council. A summit meeting between Soviet Premier Alexei Kosy-
gin and President Johnson also failed. In August the Arab leaders (none of
whom had fallen from power because of the war) held their own summit
in Khartum and resolved not to negotiate with Israel.
By the time the Security Council resumed its deliberations, both sides
had hardened their positions. While the Arabs ruled out peace talks with Is¬
rael, the Israelis were flaunting their occupation in the captured lands. Arab
houses were razed in Jerusalem's Old City to expand the space in front of
the Western Wall. Suspected fidaiyin in Gaza and the West Bank were jailed
or deported and often their houses were blown up; whole villages and
towns were destroyed. Jewish settlers, with government backing, began
building settlements in the Golan Heights, the environs of Hebron, and
East Jerusalem, notably on the hills connecting Mount Scopus with the
western half of the city. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem, including the
Old City, defied the UN General Assembly and violated international law.
The USSR rearmed Syria and Egypt, sending them more technicians and
advisers. The danger of a new war loomed.
It was left to the Security Council to devise a peace formula acceptable
to Israel and the Arabs, as well as to the superpowers. During the debates,
Britain's Lord Caradon devised a formula with the necessary ambiguity—
the oft-quoted Resolution 242—to which all the permanent members