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| 1956, Oct. 29 |
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| Opening of the SUEZ WAR. The war was planned in advance by Britain, France, and Israel, each of which wanted to overthrow the regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. The British were incensed with the nationalization of the Suez Canal. The French resented Nasser's support for the Algerian independence movement. The Israelis were exasperated by the incessant guerrilla raids from the Gaza Strip, launched with Egyptian backing. | 1 |
| Israel started the war by attacking Egypt in the Sinai. According to the plan, Britain and France then delivered an ultimatum (Oct. 30) to both sides to stop fighting and stay clear of the canal zone. When Egypt refused to comply, the British and French dropped troops by air and sea (Nov. 5–6) into the canal zone. But Britain and France had not reckoned on the active opposition of the U.S., which arranged a UN cease-fire (Nov. 7) and demanded a full Anglo-French withdrawal. The British and French had no alternative but to back down and leave. Far from removing Nasser, the war had served only to enhance his prestige around the world. On the other hand, the Israelis obtained two concessions that proved to be highly consequential in 1967: the demilitarization of the Sinai and the deployment of UN troops along the Egyptian-Israeli border, and a U.S. commitment to keep the Straits of Tiran open to Israeli shipping. | 2 |
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| 1957, March 9 |
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| The U.S. government announced the Eisenhower Doctrine (See March 9). The U.S. pledged economic and military aid, upon request, to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism. | 3 |
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| 1958, Feb. 1 |
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| Establishment of the UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC, which united Egypt and Syria. Impetus for the union came mainly from the Syrians, who faced a political crisis in which the notables and mainstream politicians were unable to form stable governments. Though hopelessly at odds with one another, they all shared a fear of a political takeover by left-wing parties and sought an outside solution. Believing the Syrians to be unready for the union, Pres. Nasser of Egypt was cautious, but finally consented on three conditions: the creation of a powerful central government based in Cairo, the abolition of all political parties, and the exclusion of the Syrian army from all political activity. While the two countries were joined, Syria became subject to many of the same socialist and populist policies (such as land reform and the shift to a centralized economy) that the Egyptians were beginning to implement in their own country. | 4 |
| The union was never stable. It was not long before the Syrians grew unhappy with Egyptian domination of the central government. Moreover, resentment over Egyptian control of the army was rife among Syrian officers. Indeed, the union was finally dissolved by rebellious Syrian army units (Sept. 28, 1961) who marched on Damascus. Unwilling to spill blood, Nasser let them restore Syrian independence. In the end, the experiment with Arab unity left bad memories in both Egypt and Syria. | 5 |
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| 1959, March 24 |
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| Iraqi repudiation of the Baghdad Pact, which effectively ended the organization. In its place Britain (with informal U.S. backing) organized CENTO (Central Treaty Organization), which included Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. | 6 |
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| 1960, Sept. 10–14 |
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| Formation of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). The founding members were Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. They banded together to fight Western oil companies, which, in the midst of an oil glut on the world market, were trying to force down prices. The early success of OPEC was not in raising the price of oil per barrel (though prices did rise gradually throughout the 1960s), but in increasing each country's “take,” or share of profit, per barrel. Spectacular price rises did not occur until the 1970s, particularly after 1973. | 7 |
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| 1961 |
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| Founding of the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, the first attempt to divert a portion of the oil proceeds to poorer Middle Eastern states. Abu Dhabi, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia all followed with similar projects in the 1970s. The Arab Fund and the Islamic Development Bank also were created for the same purpose. Total disbursements for the period 1973–77 reached $24.2 billion, two-thirds of which flowed to Arab states. | 8 |
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| 1964 |
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| Formation of the Arab Common Market, consisting of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. Libya and Sudan joined in 1977. The organization sought to promote inter-Arab trade and development. | 9 |
| Founding of the PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) in east Jerusalem. The PLO claimed to represent all Palestinians, denied the legitimacy of Israel, and worked for the creation of an Arab Palestinian state within the boundaries of the former British mandate. The first chairman of the organization was Ahmad Shuqayri. | 10 |
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| 1967, June 5 |
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| Outbreak of THE SIX-DAY WAR (the June War) between Israel and neighboring Arab states. The war followed weeks of rising tensions on both sides. Border skirmishes between Israel and Syria, mostly involving guerrilla raids, led to air battles between the two states (April 7). Arab governments were subsequently alarmed by a mistaken Soviet report (May 12–13) that Israel was preparing to attack. Egypt and Syria responded by mobilizing their armies (May 16–17). Pres. Nasser of Egypt requested (May 18) and obtained the removal of UN peacekeeping forces from the Sinai. The Egyptian army then reoccupied the Sinai and promptly closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping (May 22). In Israel, a national government was formed (June 1). Israeli leaders decided that, under the circumstances, war was imminent and that Israel ought to take the initiative. | 11 |
| In a surprise attack (June 5), the Israeli air force struck at 25 Arab airfields in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, and destroyed nearly all the Arab aircraft, most of them on the ground. Meanwhile Jordan failed to heed an Israeli warning to stay out of the war. After Jordanian troops opened an assault on Jerusalem, the Israeli army counterattacked and rapidly drove them from east Jerusalem and the West Bank (June 7). Farther south, the Israelis had little trouble pushing the Egyptian army out of the Gaza Strip and Sinai, and they quickly reached the Suez Canal (June 8). In one final action, Israeli forces bombed Damascus and occupied the Golan Heights (June 9). All sides accepted a UN cease-fire on June 10. The war ended in total victory for Israel, which emerged with an area over three times its pre-1967 size, as well as an added Arab population of about 1 million (about 450,000 Palestinians had fled). The Arab states were severely demoralized by the defeat, which cost over 18,000 Arab lives (compared to some 700 for Israel) and inflicted immense damage on the Arab armed forces. Afterward, the Arab regimes insisted on Israel's complete evacuation of all occupied territory as a precondition to any settlement. Flushed with confidence from their military successes, the Israelis felt little inclination to negotiate and were willing to withdraw only to secure mutually recognized borders that served their strategic needs. | 12 |
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| June 6 |
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| Declaration by 10 Arab states of an oil embargo against the U.S. and Britain, which were accused of aiding Israeli attacks on Arab countries. It was the first attempt to use oil as an economic and diplomatic weapon. The boycott, however, lasted only until Aug. 1967 and had no perceptible effect on the Western economies. | 13 |
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| Aug. 29 |
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| The Khartoum Conference was convened by the leaders of 13 Arab states following the Arab defeat in the June War. The Arab governments defiantly vowed not to make peace or to negotiate with Israel. At the same time, the Egyptians and the Saudis concluded a settlement to evacuate Egyptian troops from Yemen. | 14 |
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| Nov. 22 |
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| Passage by the UN Security Council of RESOLUTION 242, which called for “the establishment of a just and lasting peace” and the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied” during the June War. The resolution also called for free navigation in international waterways, for the independence and territorial integrity of every state in the region, and for a solution to the refugee problem. Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon accepted the resolution. The PLO and radical Arab states, led by Syria, denounced it. | 15 |
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