Israel
The war of attrition

History > Labour rule after Ben-Gurion > The war of attrition

In early 1969 Egypt began what became known as the “war of attrition” against Israel. Using heavy artillery, new MiG aircraft, Soviet advisers, and an advanced Soviet-designed surface-to-air missile system, the Egyptians inflicted heavy losses on the Israelis. Golda Meir, who became Israel's prime minister following Eshkol's sudden death in February 1969, escalated the war by ordering massive air raids deep into Egypt. These raids were suspended, however, after the Soviet pilots began to fly combat patrols over parts of Egypt, and the battle shifted to the canal zone. Israel was also beset by guerrilla raids from Jordan, launched by Yasir 'Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). These attacks were often on nonmilitary targets, and Israel soon stamped the PLO as a terrorist organization and refused to negotiate with it.

U.S. President Richard Nixon feared an eventual Israeli confrontation with Moscow and sent Secretary of State William Rogers to intervene with a complex cease-fire proposal, which was accepted by Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in August 1970. This plan specified limits on the deployment of missiles and revived a year-old diplomatic initiative (the Rogers Plan) that insisted on an exchange of territory for peace on all fronts.

The Egyptians and Soviets soon violated the agreement by moving their missiles closer to the canal. In Jordan, Hussein's acceptance of the cease-fire ignited savage fighting between the Jordanian army and several PLO militia groups. As the battles intensified, Syria sent tanks to aid the Palestinians, but coordinated Israeli, American, and Jordanian military moves defeated the Syrians and expelled the PLO, whose forces sought refuge in Lebanon.

Meir's gamble had succeeded: Israel's willingness to risk confrontation, even with Soviet pilots along the canal, had strengthened relations with the United States. Hussein's recovery of control in Jordan demoralized Palestinian resistance while securing Israel's eastern border. When Nasser died in September 1970, his successor, Anwar el-Sadat, did not renew the fighting, seeking instead a partial Israeli pullback from the Suez Canal. Israel eventually rejected this idea, but the crisis had passed.