Causes of the war

The main cause of the Six Day War was a dramatic increase in tension between Israel and its Arab neighbours during the mid 1960s.

Map showing the borders of Israel before the Six Day War

One cause of this tension was Israel's policy of diverting water from the Jordan River down to the Negev Desert. This angered Arabs, who threatened to stem the flow of water into Lake Galilee. Syria had begun earthworks to divert water away from Israel but these were bombed by Israel in 1965 and 1966.

Terrorist activity against Israel also increased during the 1960s, especially following the formation of the PLO and Al Fatah. This heightened the already extreme tension between Israel and its neighbours. Most of this activity came from the Golan Heights and bases in the West Bank. Israel was determined to wipe these terrorists out and saw all-out war as an effective solution.

In 1966 the Ba'ath party gained control of Syria. Ba'ath was a very militant anti-Israel group. Due to accusations of hiding behind the UN, President Nasser of Egypt also took a more militant stance towards Israel.

Many historians consider that the economic problems the Israelis were having at the time were a major reason for wanting a war with the Arabs. A war would distract people's minds from unemployment and low growth and would also bring in foreign money to boost the economy.

As well as this, many Jews believed that the former Israeli government should have been harder on the Arabs in the previous conflict, the 1956 Suez War. David Ben-Gurion, a former Prime Minister believed that another war would secure Israel's borders against further Arab aggression.