In the Six-Day War of June, 1967, Israel had a decisive victory over it's Arab neighbors and captured the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. This created hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and brought more than one million Palestinians in the occupied territories under Israeli rule. Thus began a new phase of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. By July of 1968, non-state actors such as Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine achieved the majority of the Palestinian National Council votes. And under Yasser Arafat, the PLO tried to take over the West Bank, but Israel deported them in to Jordan where they attacked Israel numerous times, shooting Katyusha rockets. Tensions were rising, and peace in the Middle East was once again being threatened. The United Nations Security Council had passed several resolutions condemning Israel's actions and it's acquisition of territory by military conquest. Twice the UN security council condemned Israeli attack on Jordan, once in August and again in September. And, on December 31, 1968 the UN condemned the Israeli attack on the International Airport of Beirut in Lebanon where Israeli commandos blew up 13 Middle East Airlines planes in retaliation for an attack in Athens by Palestinians. The United States of America joined the UN security council in each of these resolutions condemning Israel. President Lyndon Johnson did not defend Israel, rather he explained our actions as an attempt to bring peace to not only Israel, but the Arab states and the entire world.
"Finally, the quest for stable peace in the Middle East goes on in many capitals tonight. America fully supports the unanimous resolution of the U.N. Security Council which points the way. There must be a settlement of the armed hostility that exists in that region of the world today. It is a threat not only to Israel and to all the Arab States, but it is a threat to every one of us and to the entire world as well."
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). Lyndon B. Johnson: Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29333 [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 201 to 300. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolutions_201_to_300 [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Six-Day War | Causes & Summary. [online] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
TIME.com. (2018). The Israelis Strike Back: The View From Beirut - TIME.com. [online] Available at: http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1213344,00.html [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
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