Arab League Signs 3 ‘Nos’

September 1, 1967

The Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, ends with the signing of the Khartoum Resolutions, best known for the conclusions that become known as the “Three Nos”: no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no peace with Israel.

The summit is held in the shadow of the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War in June 1967. Israel’s victory over Egypt, Syria and Jordan resulted in the capture of the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Sinai peninsula. Leaders of eight Arab states gathered in Khartoum on Aug. 29 to make plans for recapturing the lost territory and defining their relationship with Israel.

In addition to rejecting peace, negotiations or recognition in their dealings with Israel, the Arab states declare their unity in their military, political and diplomatic efforts to regain the captured land, emphasize Palestinian rights, reject the use of an oil boycott against the West to pressure Israel, and call for the expedited removal of foreign military bases in Arab nations.

The “Three Nos” come as a shock to the Israeli government and people. After the war, Foreign Minister Abba Eban had said, “Everything is negotiable,” and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan had said, “Israel is waiting for a phone call from the Arabs.” Now that the Arab League has figuratively cut the phone lines, peace seems out of reach. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol  calls the Arab League irresponsible and says the Khartoum Resolutions strengthen Israel’s determination “not to permit a return to conditions that enabled her enemies to undermine her security and act against her sovereignty and her very existence.”