Cease-Fire Ends War of AttritionCIE+
Israel, Jordan and Egypt finally signed a ceasefire, ending the 1967-1970 War of Attrition.
Refuseniks Arrested Before Flight
June 15, 1970 A dozen Soviet dissidents are arrested at Leningrad’s Smolnoye Airport just before boarding a 12-seat Antonov AN-2 aircraft for an attempt to fly to freedom. Also arrested are four conspirators in the…
12 Killed in School Bus AmbushCIE+
May 22, 1970 Palestinian terrorists ambush an Egged school bus on the road from Moshav Avivim, near the Lebanese border, to Dovev and kill eight children and four adults. The ambush takes place at a…
Israel Smuggles Sa’ar Missile Boats out of CherbourgCIE+
Israeli teams are sent to France to work in local shipyards. The Mossad established a “front” shipping company to buy the remaining boats and then return them to Israel.
Nasser Calls for All-Out WarCIE+
August 23, 1969 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who has adopted devout Muslim observance since losing the June 1967 war to Israel, responds to the arson attack on Al-Aqsa mosque two days earlier by calling…
War of Attrition Begins Between Egypt and IsraelCIE+
Egyptian forces launch a major offensive at Israeli positions on the eastern banks of the Suez Canal, starting the War of Attrition that lasts until August 1970.
El Al Flight Attacked in AthensCIE+
December 26, 1968 El Al Flight 253 from Tel Aviv to New York is about to take off after a layover in Athens when two men posing as passengers approach the Boeing 707. One draws…
United Nations Adopts Resolution 242CIE+
In the wake of the June 1967 Six Day War, the United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 242, a document which has served as a framework for all major Arab/Israel negotiations since.
Warship Eilat Is SunkCIE+
The Israeli destroyer INS Eilat is sunk in the Mediterranean in international waters off Port Said by Soviet-made missiles launched by Egyptian missile boats.
Fourth Arab League Summit ConvenesCIE+
The Fourth Arab League Summit convenes in Khartoum, Sudan. Participants agree that all measures should be taken to regain lands controlled by Israel after the War, and that the oil-rich countries would finance an increased Arab military presence in the region.
Abba Eban Explains Six-Day War to U.N. Security Council
June 6, 1967 After leaving Jerusalem at the start of the Six-Day War the previous day, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban speaks to the U.N. Security Council to explain the pre-emptive Israel Defense Forces attacks…
Nasser Closes Straits of Tiran, Pushing Toward Six-Day WarCIE+
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser feared that Israeli troops would gather on the Egyptian border and felt compelled to uphold the mutual defense pact he had signed with Syria. On May 19, Nasser banned the 3,500 UNEF troops from Sinai so that he could mobilize Egyptian forces without interference.
Egypt Wants Sinai Peacekeepers to LeaveCIE+
May 16, 1967 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser requests that the United Nations withdraw its peacekeeping troops from the Sinai, clearing an obstacle to war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The Six-Day War begins…
Israel Downs 6 Syrian MiGs in Air BattleCIE+
After unarmored Israeli tractors were fired upon in the demilitarized zone, Israeli forces began to return fire. The event soon escalated.
Syria, Egypt Sign Defense TreatyCIE+
November 4, 1966 Egypt and Syria sign a mutual defense treaty and create a joint military command. The move comes amid constant low-level violence on the Israeli-Syrian border, characterized by Syrian guerrilla raids and shelling…
Operation Diamond Obtains Iraqi MiG-21CIE+
Known as Operation Diamond, the plan to recover a functional, Russian-made MIG-21 fighter jet succeeds after the Mossad cuts a deal with disillusioned Iraqi-Christian fighter pilot Munir Redfa. As part of the deal, Redfa receives $1 million, Israeli citizenship for himself and his family, and guaranteed full-time employment.
U.S. Agrees to Sell A-4 Bombers to IsraelCIE+
May 19, 1966 The Johnson administration announces that it will sell A-4 Skyhawk light bombers to Israel, marking the first sale of U.S. warplanes to Israel and a shift from France to the United States…
Army Officers Seize Power in SyriaCIE+
February 23, 1966 Saleh Jadid launches a coup of young army officers against a Syrian government of old-guard members of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party who themselves seized power in a coup in 1963. The…
Spy Eli Cohen ExecutedCIE+
May 18, 1965 Eli Cohen is hanged in Marjeh Square in Damascus after being convicted of spying for Israel and being sentenced to death March 31, 1965. Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1924…
Egypt Reveals Details About Captured SpyCIE+
March 7, 1965 Egyptian authorities release details about the arrest Feb. 22 of German-Israeli spy Wolfgang Lotz and his wife, Waldrud, on espionage charges. Some reports say Lotz’s arrest was part of a roundup of…
PLO Is EstablishedCIE+
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is established during a Palestinian National Council meeting of nearly 400 delegates convened by King Hussein of Jordan.
Eli Cohen Is Arrested for EspionageCIE+
Syrian police raid the home of Damascus businessman Kamel Amin Tha’abet, who is in fact a Mossad Spy named Eli Cohen, and arrest him on charges of espionage.
Ben-Gurion Resigns Over Lavon AffairCIE+
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion resigns as a result of the controversial, covert operation in Egypt, setting the stage for new elections in the summer of 1961.
U.N. Head Protests Egyptian Seizure of CargoCIE+
April 8, 1960 U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold for the first time publicly criticizes Egypt’s confiscation of Israeli cargo on ships going through the Suez Canal. The Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran and the…
