10 - The Six Day War and after

Summary

In June 1967 the Arabs and Israelis fought a war that lasted for just six days but changed the face of the Middle East. For the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (Untso), the challenges were immense. For the previous 19 years Untso’s operations, centred on the four Mixed Armistice Commissions (MACs) described in chapter 9, had plotted a more or less steady course, although there had been plenty of tensions. But in three of Untso’s four areas of operation, the 1967 war ended with radically changed boundaries between the belligerents and an entirely new geography of peace for the observers to monitor. For the next six years, Untso had to meet the new challenges unaided: it was only after the 1973 war that new UN missions were set up in the Sinai and on the Golan (see chapters 20 and 21). This chapter shows how Untso was able to reposition itself – literally as well as figuratively – to respond to the new environment after 1967 and describes the key roles played by Australians in that process.