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97-599: Emek HaYarden Regional Council was the first regional council in Israel, established in 1949. In Israel, the northern part of the Jordan Valley is called Emeq HaYarden and was part of Israel before the 1967 Six-Day War ; the southern part is called Bik'at HaYarden, which gives the name to a separate regional council and was captured by Israel in 1967. The two Hebrew words emek and bik'a are practically synonymous, both "Emeq HaYarden" and "Bik'at HaYarden" meaning "Jordan Valley";

194-683: A crop of the Columbian Exchange . Cactus hedges – both intentionally planted and wild garden escapes – formed an important part of defensible positions during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I. Some unfamiliar soldiers even tried eating them, to negative result. Dromedary herding is important here. Trypanosoma evansi is a constant concern and is transmitted by several vectors . Although ticks have not been proven to be among them, Mahmoud and Gray 1980 and El-Kady 1998 experimentally demonstrate survival of T. evansi in camel ticks of

291-686: A few days. In March 1957, Israel withdrew its forces from Sinai, following strong pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union . Thereafter, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was stationed in Sinai to prevent any further conflict in the Sinai. On 16 May 1967, Egypt ordered the UNEF out of Sinai and reoccupied it militarily. Secretary-General U Thant eventually complied and ordered

388-684: A force of tanks, infantry and engineers under Colonel Yisrael Granit to continue down the Mediterranean coast towards the Suez Canal , while a second force led by Gonen himself turned south and captured Bir Lahfan and Jabal Libni. Further south, on 6 June, the Israeli 38th Armored Division under Major-General Ariel Sharon assaulted Um-Katef , a heavily fortified area defended by the Egyptian 2nd Infantry Division under Major-General Sa'adi Naguib (though Naguib

485-489: A large number of top-of-the-line MiG-21s . Of particular concern to the Israelis were the 30 Tu-16 "Badger" medium bombers , capable of inflicting heavy damage on Israeli military and civilian centers. Israeli weapons were mainly of Western origin. Its air force was composed principally of French aircraft, while its armored units were mostly of British and American design and manufacture. Some light infantry weapons, including

582-546: A large ransom. Under President el-Sisi , Egypt has implemented a rigorous policy of controlling the border to the Gaza Strip , including the dismantling of tunnels between Gaza and Sinai. The two governorates of North Sinai and South Sinai have a total population of 597,000 (January 2013). This figure rises to 1,400,000 by including Western Sinai, the parts of the Port Said , Ismailia and Suez Governorates lying east of

679-719: A mass attack against Egypt's airfields . The Egyptian defensive infrastructure was extremely poor, and no airfields were yet equipped with hardened aircraft shelters capable of protecting Egypt's warplanes. Most of the Israeli warplanes headed out over the Mediterranean Sea , flying low to avoid radar detection, before turning toward Egypt. Others flew over the Red Sea . Meanwhile, the Egyptians hindered their own defense by effectively shutting down their entire air defense system: they were worried that rebel Egyptian forces would shoot down

776-540: A mine attack that left three dead, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) attacked the village of as-Samu in the Jordanian-ruled West Bank. Jordanian units that engaged the Israelis were quickly beaten back. King Hussein of Jordan criticized Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser for failing to come to Jordan's aid, and "hiding behind UNEF skirts". In May 1967, Nasser received false reports from

873-520: A population (January 2013) of 597,000. Three more governates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt: Suez (el-Sewais) is on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia (el-Isma'ileyyah) in the centre, and Port Said in the north. The largest city of Sinai is Arish , capital of the North Sinai, with around 160,000 residents. Other larger settlements include Sharm El Sheikh and El-Tor , on

970-448: A preparatory barrage, while civilian buses brought reserve infantrymen under Colonel Yekutiel Adam and helicopters arrived to ferry the paratroopers. These movements were unobserved by the Egyptians, who were preoccupied with Israeli probes against their perimeter. Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula , or simply Sinai ( / ˈ s aɪ n aɪ / SY -ny ; Arabic : سِينَاء ; Egyptian Arabic : سينا ; Coptic : Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ ),

1067-574: A result of the Six-Day War would have long-term consequences, as around 280,000 to 325,000 Palestinians and 100,000 Syrians fled or were expelled from the West Bank and the Golan Heights, respectively. Nasser resigned in shame after Israel's victory, but was later reinstated following a series of protests across Egypt. In the aftermath of the conflict, Egypt closed the Suez Canal until 1975 . After

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1164-452: A seasonal basis for thousands of years. Modern attempts to exploit the deposits have been unprofitable. These may be the first historically attested mines. The fortress Tjaru in western Sinai was a place of banishment for Egyptian criminals. The Way of Horus connected it across northern Sinai with ancient Canaan . At the end of the time of Darius I , the Great (521–486 BCE) Sinai was part of

1261-567: A single aircraft to sortie up to four times a day, as opposed to the norm in Arab air forces of one or two sorties per day. This enabled the Israeli Air Force (IAF) to send several attack waves against Egyptian airfields on the first day of the war, overwhelming the Egyptian Air Force and allowed it to knock out other Arab air forces on the same day. This has contributed to the Arab belief that

1358-565: A third artillery battery had been added. These forces remained in Jordan until the end of 1977, when they were recalled for re-equipment and retraining in the Karak region near the Dead Sea. The Arab air forces were reinforced by aircraft from Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to make up for the massive losses suffered on the first day of the war. They were also aided by volunteer pilots from

1455-562: A total strength of 75,000 and was deployed along the border with Israel. Professor David W. Lesch wrote that "One would be hard-pressed to find a military less prepared for war with a clearly superior foe" since Syria's army had been decimated in the months and years prior through coups and attempted coups that had resulted in a series of purges, fracturings and uprisings within the armed forces. The Jordanian Armed Forces included 11 brigades, totaling 55,000 troops. Nine brigades (45,000 troops, 270 tanks, 200 artillery pieces) were deployed in

1552-460: A word only known from two occurrences in the Hebrew Bible , in both cases referring to the burning bush . Rabbi Eliezer opines that Mount Horeb only received the name Sinai after God appeared to Moses in the shape of a burning bush. Its modern Arabic name is سِينَاء Sīnāʼ  ( Egyptian Arabic سينا Sīna ; IPA: [ˈsiːnæ] ). The modern Arabic is an adoption of

1649-502: Is a peninsula in Egypt , and the only part of the country located in Asia . It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa . Sinai has a land area of about 60,000 km (23,000 sq mi) (6 percent of Egypt's total area) and a population of approximately 600,000 people. Administratively, the vast majority of

1746-546: Is also the capital of the South Sinai Governorate of Egypt . As another Arabic word for "mass of very high land going up to a peak – mountain" is "Ṭūr". The English name came from Latin, ultimately from Hebrew סִינַי‎, pronounced /siˈnái/ ( see- NIGH , in English phonetic spelling). In English , the name is now usually pronounced / ˈ s aɪ n aɪ / . An alternative, now dated pronunciation in English

1843-447: The 2011 Egyptian revolution , unrest has become more prevalent in the area including the August 2012 Sinai attack in which 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed by militants. (See Sinai insurgency .) Also on the rise are kidnappings of refugees . According to Meron Estifanos, Eritrean refugees are often kidnapped by Bedouin in the northern Sinai, tortured, raped, and only released after paying

1940-463: The Arish airfield was spared, as the Israelis expected to turn it into a military airport for their transports after the war. Surviving aircraft were taken out by later attack waves. The operation was more successful than expected, catching the Egyptians by surprise and destroying virtually all of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground, with few Israeli losses. Only four unarmed Egyptian training flights were in

2037-473: The Egyptian 3rd Army , and occupied a section of the Suez Canal's west bank. The war ended following a mutually agreed-upon ceasefire. After the war, as part of the subsequent Sinai Disengagement Agreements , Israel withdrew from immediate proximity with the Suez Canal, with Egypt agreeing to permit passage of Israeli ships. The canal was reopened in 1975, with President Anwar Sadat leading the first convoy through

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2134-624: The Gulf of Aqaba . This line has served as the de jure eastern border of Egypt ever since. In 1956, Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal , a waterway marking the boundary between Egyptian territory in Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. Thereafter, Israeli ships were prohibited from using the Canal, owing to the state of war between the two states. Egypt also prohibited ships from using Egyptian territorial waters on

2231-580: The Jerusalem Brigade and the mechanized Harel Brigade . Mordechai Gur 's 55th Paratroopers Brigade was summoned from the Sinai front. The 10th Armored Brigade was stationed north of the West Bank. The Israeli Northern Command comprised a division of three brigades led by Major General Elad Peled which was stationed in the Jezreel Valley to the north of the West Bank. On the eve of the war, Egypt massed approximately 100,000 of its 160,000 troops in

2328-548: The June War , 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War , was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states , primarily Egypt , Syria , and Jordan from 5 to 10   June 1967. Military hostilities broke out amid poor relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which had been observing the 1949 Armistice Agreements signed at the end of the First Arab–Israeli War . In 1956, regional tensions over

2425-761: The Khan Yunis railway junction in a little over four hours. Gonen's brigade then advanced nine miles to Rafah in twin columns. Rafah itself was circumvented, and the Israelis attacked Sheikh Zuweid , 13 kilometres (8 mi) to the southwest, which was defended by two brigades. Though inferior in numbers and equipment, the Egyptians were deeply entrenched and camouflaged. The Israelis were pinned down by fierce Egyptian resistance and called in air and artillery support to enable their lead elements to advance. Many Egyptians abandoned their positions after their commander and several of his staff were killed. The Israelis broke through with tank-led assaults, but Aviram's forces misjudged

2522-492: The Levant (the present-day territories of Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , Israel and Palestine ), which, due largely to its strategic geopolitical location and cultural convergences, has historically been the center of conflict between Egypt and various states of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor . In periods of foreign occupation, the Sinai was, like the rest of Egypt, also occupied and controlled by foreign empires, in more recent history

2619-830: The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1260 until 1517, when the Ottoman Sultan, Selim the Grim , defeated the Egyptians at the Battles of Marj Dabiq and al-Raydaniyya , and incorporated Egypt into the Ottoman Empire . From then until 1906, Sinai was administered by the Ottoman provincial government of the Pashalik of Egypt , even following the establishment of the Muhammad Ali dynasty 's rule over

2716-850: The Ottoman Empire ( 1517–1867 ) and the United Kingdom ( 1882–1956 ). Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis (known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression due to the simultaneous coordinated attack by the UK, France and Israel) of 1956, and during the Six-Day War of 1967. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the Yom Kippur War , seizing most of the east bank of the Suez Canal and negotiating

2813-573: The Pakistan Air Force acting in an independent capacity. PAF pilots like Saiful Azam shot down several Israeli planes. With the exception of Jordan, the Arabs relied principally on Soviet weaponry. Jordan's army was equipped with American weaponry, and its air force was composed of British aircraft. Egypt had by far the largest and the most modern of all the Arab air forces, consisting of about 420 combat aircraft, all of them Soviet-built and with

2910-507: The Persian province of Abar-Nahra , which means 'beyond the river [Euphrates]'. Cambyses successfully managed the crossing of the hostile Sinai Desert, traditionally Egypt's first and strongest line of defence, and brought the Egyptians under Psamtik III , son and successor of Ahmose , to battle at Pelusium . The Egyptians lost and retired to Memphis ; the city fell to the Persian control and

3007-628: The Roman Empire went on to control all shores of the Mediterranean Sea . The Sinai Peninsula became part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea . Saint Catherine's Monastery on the foot of Mount Sinai was constructed by order of the Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565. Most of the Sinai Peninsula became part of the province of Palaestina Salutaris in the 6th century. During the Crusades it

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3104-625: The Soviet Union that Israel was massing on the Syrian border. Nasser began massing his troops in two defensive lines in the Sinai Peninsula on Israel's border (16 May), expelled the UNEF force from Gaza and Sinai (19 May) and took over UNEF positions at Sharm el-Sheikh , overlooking the Straits of Tiran . Israel repeated declarations it had made in 1957 that any closure of the Straits would be considered an act of war, or justification for war, but Nasser closed

3201-477: The Straits of Tiran (giving access to Eilat , a port on the southeast tip of Israel) escalated in what became known as the Suez Crisis , when Israel invaded Egypt over the Egyptian closure of maritime passageways to Israeli shipping , ultimately resulting in the re-opening of the Straits of Tiran to Israel as well as the deployment of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) along the Egypt–Israel border . In

3298-551: The West Bank , including the elite armored 40th, and two in the Jordan Valley . They possessed sizable numbers of M113 APCs and were equipped with some 300 modern Western tanks, 250 of which were U.S. M48 Pattons . They also had 12 battalions of artillery, six batteries of 81 mm and 120 mm mortars, a paratrooper battalion trained in the new U.S.-built school and a new battalion of mechanized infantry . The Jordanian Army

3395-581: The Yom Kippur War (known in Egypt as the October War ). Egyptian engineering forces built pontoon bridges to cross the Suez Canal, and stormed the Bar Lev Line , Israel's defensive line along the Suez Canal's east bank. Though the Egyptians maintained control of most of the east bank of the Suez Canal, in the later stages of the war, the Israeli military crossed the southern section of the Suez Canal, cutting off

3492-448: The ancient Mesopotamian moon-god Sin . The moon-deity Sin is associated with the area; the ancient Egyptian moon-god Thoth is also associated with Sin, and his worship was widespread throughout the south tip of the Sinai Peninsula. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906) quotes a Rabbinic source , the 8th- or 9th-century Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer , which derives the name from the biblical Hebrew word seneh ( Hebrew : סֶ֫נֶּה ),

3589-495: The 1956 Suez Crisis , Egypt agreed to the stationing of a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Sinai to ensure all parties would comply with the 1949 Armistice Agreements . In the following years there were numerous minor border clashes between Israel and its Arab neighbors, particularly Syria. In early November 1966, Syria signed a mutual defense agreement with Egypt. Soon after this, in response to Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) guerilla activity, including

3686-416: The 7th Brigade to outflank Khan Yunis from the north and the 60th Armored Brigade under Colonel Menachem Aviram would advance from the south. The two brigades would link up and surround Khan Yunis, while the paratroopers would take Rafah . Gonen entrusted the breakthrough to a single battalion of his brigade. Initially, the advance was met with light resistance, as Egyptian intelligence had concluded that it

3783-658: The Asian mainland, is around 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide. The peninsula's eastern shore separates the Arabian Plate from the African Plate . The southernmost tip is the Ras Muhammad National Park . Most of the Sinai Peninsula is divided among the two governorates of Egypt : South Sinai (Ganub Sina) and North Sinai (Shamal Sina). Together, they comprise around 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi) and have

3880-599: The Biblical name; the 19th-century Arabic designation of Sinai was Jebel el-Tūr , and the name of the mountain is derived from the town of El Tor (formerly called "Tur Sinai"), whose name comes from the Arabic term for the mountain where the prophet Moses received the Tablets of the Law from God, thus this mountain is designated as " Jabal Aṭ-Ṭūr ( Arabic : جبل الطّور )", and the town

3977-515: The Egyptian forces in both timing (the attack exactly coinciding with the IAF strike on Egyptian airfields), and in location (attacking via northern and central Sinai routes, as opposed to the Egyptian expectations of a repeat of the 1956 war, when the IDF attacked via the central and southern routes) and method (using a combined-force flanking approach, rather than direct tank assaults). On 5 June, at 7:50 am,

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4074-459: The Egyptian military into defensive lines along the border with Israel and ordered the immediate withdrawal of all UNEF personnel. On 5 June 1967, as the UNEF was in the process of leaving the zone, Israel launched a series of preemptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields and other facilities. Egyptian forces were caught by surprise, and nearly all of Egypt's military aerial assets were destroyed, giving Israel air supremacy . Simultaneously,

4171-462: The Egyptians' flank and were pinned between strongholds before they were extracted after several hours. By nightfall, the Israelis had finished mopping up resistance. Israeli forces had taken significant losses, with Colonel Gonen later telling reporters that "we left many of our dead soldiers in Rafah and many burnt-out tanks." The Egyptians suffered some 2,000 casualties and lost 40 tanks. On 5 June, with

4268-596: The Hawker Hunter was essentially on par with the French-built Dassault Mirage III – the IAF's best plane. One hundred Iraqi tanks and an infantry division were readied near the Jordanian border. Two squadrons of Iraqi fighter-aircraft, Hawker Hunters and MiG 21s , were rebased adjacent to the Jordanian border. In the weeks leading up to the Six-Day War, Saudi Arabia mobilized forces for deployment to

4365-408: The IAF was helped by foreign air forces (see Controversies relating to the Six-Day War ). Pilots were extensively schooled about their targets, were forced to memorize every single detail, and rehearsed the operation multiple times on dummy runways in total secrecy. The Egyptians had constructed fortified defenses in the Sinai. These designs were based on the assumption that an attack would come along

4462-558: The Iraqi army began deploying troops and armored units in Jordan. They were later reinforced by an Egyptian contingent. On 1 June, Israel formed a National Unity Government by widening its cabinet, and on 4 June the decision was made to go to war. The next morning, Israel launched Operation Focus , a large-scale, surprise air strike that launched the Six-Day War. Before the war, Israeli pilots and ground crews had trained extensively in rapid refitting of aircraft returning from sorties , enabling

4559-588: The Israeli military launched a ground offensive into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as well as the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip . After some initial resistance, Nasser ordered an evacuation of the Sinai Peninsula; by the sixth day of the conflict, Israel had occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula . Jordan, which had entered into a defense pact with Egypt just a week before the war began, did not take on an all-out offensive role against Israel, but launched attacks against Israeli forces to slow Israel's advance. On

4656-452: The Israelis had founded as Ofira during their occupation of the Sinai Peninsula) was not dismantled. The Treaty allows monitoring of Sinai by the Multinational Force and Observers , and limits the number of Egyptian military forces in the peninsula. Article 2 of Annex I of the Peace Treaty called for the Sinai Peninsula to be divided into zones. Within these zones, Egypt and Israel were permitted varying degrees of military buildup: Since

4753-409: The Jordanian front. A Saudi infantry battalion entered Jordan on 6 June 1967, followed by another on the 8th. Both were based in Jordan's southernmost city, Ma'an . By 17 June, the Saudi contingent in Jordan had grown to include a single infantry brigade, a tank company, two artillery batteries, a heavy mortar company, and a maintenance and support unit. By the end of July 1967, a second tank company and

4850-438: The Pharaoh was carried off in captivity to Susa in Persia. Rhinocorura ( Greek for " Cut-off Noses ") and the eponymous region around it were used by Ptolemaid Egypt as a place of banishment for criminals, today known as Arish . After the death of the last Nabatean king, Rabbel II Soter , in 106, the Roman emperor Trajan faced practically no resistance and conquered the kingdom on 22 March 106. With this conquest,

4947-437: The Sinai at the outset of the war, and 34 US personnel killed in the USS Liberty incident in which Israeli air forces struck a United States Navy technical research ship . At the time of the cessation of hostilities, Israel had occupied the Golan Heights from Syria, the West Bank including East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The displacement of civilian populations as

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5044-448: The Sinai towards El Qantara and the Suez Canal . The Egyptians had four divisions in the area, backed by minefields, pillboxes, underground bunkers, hidden gun emplacements and trenches. The terrain on either side of the route was impassable. The Israeli plan was to hit the Egyptians at selected key points with concentrated armor. Tal's advance was led by the 7th Armored Brigade under Colonel Shmuel Gonen . The Israeli plan called for

5141-416: The Sinai, including all seven of its divisions (four infantry, two armored and one mechanized), four independent infantry brigades and four independent armored brigades. Over a third of these soldiers were veterans of Egypt's continuing intervention into the North Yemen Civil War and another third were reservists. These forces had 950 tanks, 1,100 APCs, and more than 1,000 artillery pieces. Syria's army had

5238-457: The Straits to Israeli shipping on 22–23 May. After the war, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson commented: If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other, it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Straits of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent, maritime passage must be preserved for all nations. On 30 May, Jordan and Egypt signed a defense pact. The following day, at Jordan's invitation,

5335-433: The Suez Canal. Port Said alone has a population of roughly 500,000 people (January 2013). Portions of the populations of Ismailia and Suez live in west Sinai, while the rest live on the western side of the Suez Canal. The population of Sinai has largely consisted of desert-dwelling Bedouins with their colourful traditional costumes and significant culture. Large numbers of Egyptians from the Nile Valley and Delta moved to

5432-446: The U.S. view. The Israeli army had a total strength, including reservists, of 264,000, though this number could not be sustained during a long conflict, as the reservists were vital to civilian life. Against Jordan's forces on the West Bank , Israel deployed about 40,000 troops and 200 tanks (eight brigades). Israeli Central Command forces consisted of five brigades. The first two were permanently stationed near Jerusalem and were

5529-480: The Western press, but the fact that the Egyptian Air Force, along with other Arab air forces attacked by Israel, made practically no appearance for the remaining days of the conflict proved that the numbers were most likely authentic. Throughout the war, Israeli aircraft continued strafing Arab airfield runways to prevent their return to usability. Meanwhile, Egyptian state-run radio had reported an Egyptian victory, falsely claiming that 70 Israeli planes had been downed on

5626-620: The air when the strike began. A total of 338 Egyptian aircraft were destroyed and 100 pilots were killed, although the number of aircraft lost by the Egyptians is disputed. Among the Egyptian planes lost were all 30 Tu-16 bombers, 27 out of 40 Il-28 bombers, 12 Su-7 fighter-bombers, over 90 MiG-21s , 20 MiG-19s , 25 MiG-17 fighters, and around 32 transport planes and helicopters. In addition, Egyptian radars and SAM missiles were also attacked and destroyed. The Israelis lost 19 planes, including two destroyed in air-to-air combat and 13 downed by anti-aircraft artillery. One Israeli plane, which

5723-464: The airport at 7:50 am. The Israelis entered the city at 8:00 am. Company commander Yossi Peled recounted that "Al-Arish was totally quiet, desolate. Suddenly, the city turned into a madhouse. Shots came at us from every alley, every corner, every window and house." An IDF record stated that "clearing the city was hard fighting. The Egyptians fired from the rooftops, from balconies and windows. They dropped grenades into our half-tracks and blocked

5820-436: The area of the Sinai Peninsula is divided into two governorates : the South Sinai Governorate and the North Sinai Governorate . Three other governorates span the Suez Canal , crossing into African Egypt: Suez Governorate on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia Governorate in the center, and Port Said Governorate in the north. In the classical era, the region was known as Arabia Petraea . The peninsula acquired

5917-506: The area to work in tourism, but development adversely affected the native Bedouin population. In order to help alleviate their problems, various NGOs began to operate in the region, including the Makhad Trust , a UK charity that assists the Bedouin in developing a sustainable income while protecting Sinai's natural environment, heritage and culture. Since the Israeli–Egyptian peace treaty, Sinai's scenic spots (including coral reefs offshore) and religious structures have become important to

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6014-414: The border with Egypt included six armored brigades , one infantry brigade, one mechanized infantry brigade, three paratrooper brigades, giving a total of around 70,000 men and 700 tanks, who were organized in three armored divisions. They had massed on the border the night before the war, camouflaging themselves and observing radio silence before being ordered to advance. The Israeli plan was to surprise

6111-441: The canal aboard an Egyptian Navy destroyer. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending in 1982. The Israeli pull-out involved dismantling almost all Israeli settlements, including the settlement of Yamit in north-eastern Sinai. The exception was that the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh (which

6208-458: The direct assistance of the Soviet Union, are no match for the Israelis. ... Even with 50,000 troops and the best of his generals and air force in Yemen, he has not been able to work his way in that small and primitive country, and even his effort to help the Congo rebels was a flop." On the eve of the war, Israel believed it could win a war in 3–4 days. The United States estimated Israel would need 7–10 days to win, with British estimates supporting

6305-439: The distinction is only administrative and political. Most of the settlements are of the kibbutz type and are located on Highway 90 , a north–south road which traverses the council's territory parallel to the Jordan River and along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The offices of the council are located between Degania Alef and the Tzemah Industrial Zone . This regional council provides various municipal services for

6402-492: The early 2000s, Sinai has been the site of several terror attacks against tourists , the majority of whom are Egyptian. Investigations have shown that these were mainly motivated by a resentment of the poverty faced by many Bedouin in the area. Attacking the tourist industry was viewed as a method of damaging the industry so that the government would pay more attention to their situation. (See 2004 Sinai bombings , 2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings and 2006 Dahab bombings ). Since

6499-419: The eastern side of the peninsula to travel to and from Israel, effectively imposing a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat . In October 1956, in what is known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression , Israel Defense Forces troops, aided by the United Kingdom and France (which sought to reverse the nationalization and regain control over the Suez Canal), invaded Sinai and occupied much of the peninsula within

6596-416: The few roads leading through the desert, rather than through the difficult desert terrain. The Israelis chose not to risk attacking the Egyptian defenses head-on, and instead surprised them from an unexpected direction. James Reston, writing in The New York Times on 23 May 1967, noted, "In; discipline, training, morale, equipment and general competence his [Nasser's] army and the other Arab forces, without

6693-470: The fifth day, Syria joined the war by shelling Israeli positions in the north. Egypt and Jordan agreed to a ceasefire on 8 June, and Syria on 9 June, and it was signed with Israel on 11 June. The Six-Day War resulted in more than 15,000 Arab fatalities, while Israel suffered fewer than 1,000. Alongside the combatant casualties were the deaths of 20 Israeli civilians killed in Arab forces air strikes on Jerusalem, 15 UN peacekeepers killed by Israeli strikes in

6790-493: The first day of fighting. The Egyptian forces consisted of seven divisions : four armored , two infantry , and one mechanized infantry . Overall, Egypt had around 100,000 troops and 900–950 tanks in the Sinai, backed by 1,100 APCs and 1,000 artillery pieces. This arrangement was thought to be based on the Soviet doctrine, where mobile armor units at strategic depth provide a dynamic defense while infantry units engage in defensive battles. Israeli forces concentrated on

6887-422: The months prior to the outbreak of the Six-Day War in June 1967, tensions again became dangerously heightened : Israel reiterated its post-1956 position that another Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping would be a definite casus belli . In May 1967, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser announced that the Straits of Tiran would again be closed to Israeli vessels. He subsequently mobilized

6984-567: The name Sinai in modern times due to the assumption that a mountain near Saint Catherine's Monastery is the Biblical Mount Sinai . Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in the Abrahamic faiths . The Sinai Peninsula has been a part of Egypt from the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt ( c.  3100 BC). This comes in stark contrast to the region north of it,

7081-439: The northernmost Israeli division, consisting of three brigades and commanded by Major General Israel Tal , one of Israel's most prominent armor commanders, crossed the border at two points, opposite Nahal Oz and south of Khan Yunis . They advanced swiftly, holding fire to prolong the element of surprise. Tal's forces assaulted the "Rafah Gap", an 11-kilometre (7 mi) stretch containing the shortest of three main routes through

7178-421: The plane carrying Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer and Lt-Gen. Sidqi Mahmoud, who were en route from al Maza to Bir Tamada in the Sinai to meet the commanders of the troops stationed there. It did not make a great deal of difference as the Israeli pilots came in below Egyptian radar cover and well below the lowest point at which its SA-2 surface-to-air missile batteries could bring down an aircraft. Although

7275-556: The powerful Jordanian radar facility at Ajloun detected waves of aircraft approaching Egypt and reported the code word for "war" up the Egyptian command chain, Egyptian command and communications problems prevented the warning from reaching the targeted airfields. The Israelis employed a mixed-attack strategy: bombing and strafing runs against planes parked on the ground, and bombing to disable runways with special tarmac-shredding penetration bombs developed jointly with France, leaving surviving aircraft unable to take off. The runway at

7372-684: The rest of Egypt in 1805. In 1906, the Ottoman Porte formally transferred administration of Sinai to the Khedivate of Egypt , which essentially meant that it fell under the control of the British Empire , who had occupied and largely controlled Egypt since the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War . The border imposed by the British runs in an almost straight line from Rafah on the Mediterranean shore to Taba on

7469-399: The rest of Sinai. In 1982, as a result of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979, Israel withdrew from all of the Sinai Peninsula except the contentious territory of Taba , which was returned after a ruling by a commission of arbitration in 1989. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its natural setting, rich coral reefs , and biblical history. Because the Sinai Peninsula

7566-531: The road open, Israeli forces continued advancing towards Arish . Already by late afternoon, elements of the 79th Armored Battalion had charged through the 11-kilometre (7 mi)-long Jiradi defile, a narrow pass defended by well-emplaced troops of the Egyptian 112th Infantry Brigade. In fierce fighting, which saw the pass change hands several times, the Israelis charged through the position. The Egyptians suffered heavy casualties and tank losses, while Israeli losses stood at 66 dead, 93 wounded and 28 tanks. Emerging at

7663-405: The southern coast. Inland Sinai is arid (effectively a desert), mountainous and sparsely populated, the largest settlements being Saint Catherine and Nekhel . Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinai's cities and towns reach −16 °C (3 °F). A cave with paintings of people and animals

7760-500: The streets with trucks. Our men threw the grenades back and crushed the trucks with their tanks." Gonen sent additional units to Arish, and the city was eventually taken. Brigadier-General Avraham Yoffe 's assignment was to penetrate Sinai south of Tal's forces and north of Sharon's. Yoffe's attack allowed Tal to complete the capture of the Jiradi defile, Khan Yunis. All of them were taken after fierce fighting. Gonen subsequently dispatched

7857-594: The tourism industry. The most popular tourist destination in Sinai are Mount Sinai ( Jabal Musa ) and St Catherine's Monastery , which is considered to be the oldest working Christian monastery in the world, and the beach resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh , Dahab , Nuweiba and Taba . Most tourists arrive at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport , through Eilat, Israel and the Taba Border Crossing , by road from Cairo or by ferry from Aqaba in Jordan. Cacti – especially cactus pears – are grown in Sinai. They are

7954-497: The ubiquitous Uzi , were of Israeli origin. The first and most critical move of the conflict was a surprise Israeli attack on the Egyptian Air Force . Initially, both Egypt and Israel announced that they had been attacked by the other country. On 5 June at 7:45 Israeli time, with civil defense sirens sounding all over Israel, the IAF launched Operation Focus ( Moked ). All but 12 of its nearly 200 operational jets launched

8051-686: The villages within its territory: Community settlements Moshava-type settlement Moshav-type settlement 32°42′N 35°35′E  /  32.700°N 35.583°E  / 32.700; 35.583 This geography of Israel article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Six-Day War Israel occupies a total of 70,000 km (27,000 sq mi) of territory: Egypt: 9,800–15,000 killed or missing 4,338 captured Syria: 1,000–2,500 killed 367–591 captured Jordan: 696–700 killed 2,500 wounded 533 captured Lebanon: 1 aircraft lost The Six-Day War , also known as

8148-416: The west bank of the canal, led to high civilian casualties (including the virtual destruction of Suez), and contributed to the flight of 700,000 Egyptian internal refugees. Ultimately, the war concluded in 1970 with no change in the front line. On 6 October 1973, Egypt commenced Operation Badr to retake the Sinai, while Syria launched a simultaneous operation to retake the Golan Heights, thereby beginning

8245-464: The west were to engage Egyptian forces on Um-Katef ridge and block any reinforcements. Israeli infantry would clear the three trenches, while heliborne paratroopers would land behind Egyptian lines and silence their artillery. An armored thrust would be made at al-Qusmaya to unnerve and isolate its garrison. As Sharon's division advanced into the Sinai, Egyptian forces staged successful delaying actions at Tarat Umm, Umm Tarfa, and Hill 181. An Israeli jet

8342-413: The western end, Israeli forces advanced to the outskirts of Arish. As it reached the outskirts of Arish, Tal's division also consolidated its hold on Rafah and Khan Yunis. The following day, 6 June, the Israeli forces on the outskirts of Arish were reinforced by the 7th Brigade, which fought its way through the Jiradi pass. After receiving supplies via an airdrop, the Israelis entered the city and captured

8439-462: The withdrawal without Security Council authorisation. In the course of the Six-Day War that broke out shortly thereafter, Israel occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula , and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem ) from Jordan (which Jordan had controlled since 1949 ), and the Golan Heights from Syria . The Suez Canal, the east bank of which was now occupied by Israel,

8536-530: Was / ˈ s aɪ n ɪ aɪ / SY -nih-eye . Sinai is triangular in shape, with its northern shore lying on the southern Mediterranean Sea , and its southwest and southeast shores on the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea . It is linked to the African continent by the Isthmus of Suez , 125 kilometres (78 mi) wide strip of land, containing the Suez Canal . The eastern isthmus, linking it to

8633-432: Was a diversion for the main attack. As Gonen's lead battalion advanced, it suddenly came under intense fire and took heavy losses. A second battalion was brought up, but was also pinned down. Meanwhile, the 60th Brigade became bogged down in the sand, while the paratroopers had trouble navigating through the dunes. The Israelis continued to press their attack, and despite heavy losses, cleared the Egyptian positions and reached

8730-399: Was a long-term-service, professional army, relatively well-equipped and well-trained. Israeli post-war briefings said that the Jordanian staff acted professionally, but was always left "half a step" behind by the Israeli moves. The small Royal Jordanian Air Force consisted of only 24 British-made Hawker Hunter fighters, six transport aircraft and two helicopters. According to the Israelis,

8827-563: Was actually absent ) of Soviet World War II armor, which included 90 T-34-85 tanks, 22 SU-100 tank destroyers, and about 16,000 men. The Israelis had about 14,000 men and 150 post-World War II tanks including the AMX-13 , Centurions , and M50 Super Shermans (modified M-4 Sherman tanks). Two armored brigades in the meantime, under Avraham Yoffe, slipped across the border through sandy wastes that Egypt had left undefended because they were considered impassable. Simultaneously, Sharon's tanks from

8924-515: Was closed. Israel commenced efforts at large scale Israeli settlement in the Sinai Peninsula. Following the Israeli conquest of Sinai, Egypt launched the War of Attrition (1967–70) aimed at forcing Israel to withdraw from the Sinai. The war saw protracted conflict in the Suez Canal Zone, ranging from limited to large-scale combat. Israeli shelling of the cities of Port Said , Ismailia , and Suez on

9021-588: Was damaged and unable to break radio silence, was shot down by Israeli Hawk missiles after it strayed over the Negev Nuclear Research Center . Another was destroyed by an exploding Egyptian bomber. The attack guaranteed Israeli air supremacy for the rest of the war. Attacks on other Arab air forces by Israel took place later in the day as hostilities broke out on other fronts. The large numbers of Arab aircraft claimed destroyed by Israel on that day were at first regarded as "greatly exaggerated" by

9118-521: Was discovered about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Mount Catherine in January 2020, dates back to the Chalcolithic Period, c.  5th –4th millennium BCE. From the time of the First Dynasty or before, the Egyptians mined turquoise in Sinai at two locations, now called by their Egyptian Arabic names Wadi Maghareh and Serabit el-Khadim . The mines were worked intermittently and on

9215-431: Was downed by anti-aircraft fire, and Sharon's forces came under heavy shelling as they advanced from the north and west. The Israeli advance, which had to cope with extensive minefields, took a large number of casualties. A column of Israeli tanks managed to penetrate the northern flank of Abu Ageila , and by dusk, all units were in position. The Israelis then brought up ninety 105 mm and 155 mm artillery cannon for

9312-460: Was the main region where mining of turquoise was carried out in Ancient Egypt, it was called Biau (the "Mining Country") and Khetiu Mafkat ("Ladders of Turquoise") by the ancient Egyptians. The origin of the modern name is a source of contention (see Biblical Mount Sinai for a fuller discussion). The name Sinai ( Hebrew : סִינַי , Classical Syriac : ܣܝܢܝ ) may have been derived from

9409-478: Was under the control of Fatimid Caliphate . Later, Sultan Saladin abolished the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt and took this region under his control too. It was the military route from Cairo to Damascus during the Crusades. And in order to secure this route, he built a citadel on the island of Pharaoh (near present Taba) known by his name ' Saladin's Citadel '. The peninsula was governed as part of Egypt under

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