1968_4_arabisraelwar

172 / AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK, 1968
On May 28 Senator Fulbright suggested that the status of the Strait of
Tiran be settled by the International Court of Justice. Most international legal
experts believed that the court was almost certain to rule in Israel's favor.
But, they pointed out that it took nearly three years to decide the Corfu
Channel case, which was the clearest precedent to the present dispute. Moreover,
the court had no enforcement powers, and relied for implementation
on the Security Council, where Israel again would be faced with the prospect
of a Soviet veto.
The announcement on June 4 that UAR Vice President Zakariya Mohieddin
had accepted President Johnson's invitation to visit Washington within
a few days and that Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey would later return
the visit, further indicated to the Israelis that there was little prospect of an
effective U.S. challenge of the blockade in the near future.
Meanwhile, the Middle East situation continued to deteriorate. On May
30 King Hussein flew to Cairo, embraced Nasser, and concluded a defense
agreement, placing Jordanian forces under Egyptian command in time of
war. On June 4 Iraq joined the Egyptian-Jordanian pact. The ring of steel
closing around Israel now became an even greater threat than the blockade
itself. Eban and Eshkol came under domestic fire for agreeing to a breathing
spell that was used by the Arabs to tighten the noose around Israel's neck.
On June 4, two weeks after the blockade was announced, the Israel Cabinet
decided that Israel would have to act alone to break the blockade and
the encirclement of Arab troops. General Moshe Dayan, who had been
brought into the Cabinet as Defense Minister a few days earlier, told newsmen
in an interview on June 3 that he thought the Israel defense forces
could take care of themselves and that he "wouldn't like American or British
boys getting killed here in order to secure our safety." The interview, relayed
by satellite, was seen by American and British television audiences.
THE SIX-DAY WAR
On the morning of June 5 the Israel Air Force launched carefully coordinated
air attacks on the major military airports in Egypt. This was quickly
followed by a major ground offensive into Sinai and Gaza. The war was
extended to Jordan when King Hussein rejected several Israeli appeals
through the UN to remain out of the conflict. Fighting also broke out on
the Syrian front. According to the official Israeli version, the air force went
into action after Egyptian forces in the Gaza Strip intensified their shelling
of Israeli border settlements and Egyptian armored columns began moving
into the Negev during the night of June 4-5 (pp. 120-21).
U.S. Reaction to the Outbreak of War
President Johnson was awakened at 4:30 A.M. and informed that serious
fighting had broken out between Egypt and Israel. The official and press re-