Operation Dawn (1967)

Operation Dawn, code-name Fajr (الفجر) in Arabic,[1] was an Egyptian military operation planned to strike the Israeli Air Force, in the prelude to what would become the Six-Day War. The Egyptian attack plan was to also involve strategic bombing of major ports, the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona, airfields and cities. Arab armies would then attack, effectively cutting Israel in half with an armoured thrust from northern Sinai via the Negev desert.[2]

Chronology

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had provoked Israel when he closed the Straits of Tiran on May 22, 1967. He was intent on reversing previous military defeats. The Egyptian army mobilized in the Sinai desert, and was poised to launch what Nasser called "the operation that will surprise the world". The operation was set to take place on May 27, 1967.[1] Abdel Hakim Amer, an Egyptian general, planned the operation.[2]

According to the Israeli diplomat Michael Oren, Operation Dawn was called off after Nasser was informed by the Soviet Union that the United States was aware of the plan.[3] Israel sent urgent messages to the United States on May 25, 1967, saying an attack from Egypt was imminent. Israel then invaded on June 5, 1967.

Debate about whether Egypt had really posed an imminent military threat

The White House ordered an intelligence assessment, which found the Israeli claims unfounded. Israeli prime minister Eshkol wrote on a copy of one of the urgent messages transmitted to the United States "All to create an alibi".[4]

According to John Quigley, there is thin evidence that there was any Egyptian plan to attack Israel that would actually have been carried out.[5]

Some Israelis claimed that they knew from "Egyptian uncovered documents" that there was an Egyptian plan to attack and cut off Negev, capture Eilat, and make occupied land contiguous to Jordan.[6]

References
  1. Shlaim, Avi. "Israel: Poor Little Samsom" in The 1967 Arab-Israeli War: Origins and Consequences, p. 30 (Cambridge University Press, 2012, edited by Shlaim and Louis).
  2. The Six Day War
  3. Michael Oren's Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
  4. "1967", by Tom Segev (kindle location 4966-4986)
  5. "The Six-Day War and Israel Self-Defense", John Quigley, p. 34 (Cambridge University Press)
  6. Why Diplomacy Failed to Avert the Six Day War


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