Prelude to the Six-Day War: The Arab-Israeli Struggle Over Water Resources

Abstract

THE STRUGGLE OVER WATER WAS a major factor in the deterioration of Arab-Israeli relations that led to the Six-Day War in 1967. The Arab states' struggle over Israel's water plans, especially the National Water Carrier (NWC) Plan that was designed to carry water from the Jordan River and Sea of Galilee to the Negev, was an integral part of both the overall Arab struggle against Israel and the inter-Arab dispute over the method of solving the Arab-Israeli conflict. This struggle was central to discussion on all aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Following the debates the Arabs prepared, for the first time, a military plan for liquidating Israel, and long-range and short-range strategic goals in their struggle against the Zionist state. Water became the main topic in the Arab media and in inter-Arab forums such as the Arab League Council (ALC), Arab Defense Council (ADC), Arab Chiefs-of-Staff Conference, and the highest forum-the Arab Summit Conferences-attended by the monarchs and presidents of Arab countries. Discussion in these forums centered on the modus operandi for meeting the challenge of Israel's water plan. Since the Arab world viewed the Jordan River's water as a key element in the overall Palestinian problem and Arab-Israeli conflict, its solution became part of the Arab, Egyptian, or Syrian strategy. Egypt had determined the strategy in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Arab response to Israel's plans to divert the Jordan River. Just as Syria's position was the exact opposite of Egypt's on the first issue, so too was its position on the water problem. Based on primary source material, this article will attempt to survey the developments in the Arabs' water struggle and its role in both the Arab-Israeli conflict and the inter-Arab debate on the manner of solving