The Betrayal Of Jerusalem: Egypt, Jordan, And The Arab-Israel War of 1967

By Ali Hassnain

The Post-War Vacuum and the Rise of a Mirage

In the late 1940s, the world teetered on the edge of chaos. The Second World War had ended, but the global order was anything but stable. Western powers were preoccupied with reconstruction, and the Middle East—once under Ottoman dominion—was being reshaped with little regard for indigenous sovereignty. It was, as American slang might put it, “Baghdad after Saddam.”

Amid this disorder, the seeds of Arab nationalism were sown—ironically, by British intelligence in the 19th century. One of its earliest intellectual champions was Ibrahim al-Yaziji, a Greek Catholic poet from Homs who spent most of his life in Beirut. A grammarian and reformer, he simplified Arabic script and produced the first modern Arabic translation of the Bible. His poem “Arise, ye Arabs and awake” (تنبهوا واستفيقوا أيها العرب) became a rallying cry for Arab consciousness.

But Arab nationalism was not born in isolation. During World War I, British officer T.E. Lawrence—immortalized as “Lawrence of Arabia”—played a decisive role in weaponizing Arab identity against Ottoman rule. His alliance with Sharif Hussein of Mecca and the Hashemite forces was not merely military; it was psychological. Lawrence promised liberation, but what followed was betrayal: the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the carving up of Arab lands by colonial powers. The ideological groundwork was laid, but it would take decades—and disastrous wars—for the illusion of unity to unravel.

King Farouk: Decadence Before the Fall

In the 1940s, Egypt and Sudan were one entity under King Farouk, a monarch widely seen as a British puppet. His reign was marked by extravagance and excess. After his exile, Farouk—morbidly obese and politically irrelevant—died in Rome in 1965 after a grotesquely lavish meal. His death, collapsing at the dinner table, became symbolic of the decay of Arab monarchies: indulgent, disconnected, and ultimately unsustainable.

Nasser’s Coup and the Suez Gamble

The monarchy’s collapse paved the way for Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, who seized power in 1952 under the guise of General Neguib’s leadership. Like Hitler’s maneuvering around Hindenburg, Nasser used a senior figurehead to mask his own ambitions. By 1956, Nasser had emerged as Egypt’s president and the face of Arab nationalism.

When he nationalized the Suez Canal—previously under British and French control—he triggered a geopolitical earthquake. Israel, Britain, and France launched a tripartite invasion. Israeli forces surged toward the canal, while Western bombers pounded Cairo. Yet despite initial setbacks, Egypt held its ground. Soviet threats and American diplomacy forced the invaders to retreat. Nasser emerged triumphant, hailed as the savior of the Arab world.

Pan-Arabism and the United Arab Republic

Flush with victory, Nasser pursued a grand vision: Pan-Arabism. He forged a short-lived confederation with Syria—the United Arab Republic—and flirted with Yemen. But the union collapsed under economic strain and ideological discord. Nasser blamed Syria’s lack of socialism; in truth, his own incompetence was the culprit.

Egypt leaned heavily on Soviet support, embracing a hybrid of Islamic socialism. When Sayyid Qutb refused to serve as education minister, Nasser had him executed—a chilling reminder of how dissent was crushed under nationalist regimes.

Strategic Blindness and the 1967 Catastrophe

By 1965, Egypt sided with India over Pakistan in their war, misreading global alignments. The myth of Soviet military superiority remained unchallenged—until Israel shattered it in 1967.

Nasser blockaded the Israeli port of Eilat and issued incendiary threats to “wipe Israel off the map.” It was a strategic blunder of epic proportions. Israel launched a preemptive strike, decimating Egypt’s air force within hours. Nasser’s regime, intoxicated by propaganda, boasted of victories while losing ground. Only after Sharm el-Sheikh fell did reality set in.

Jordan’s Betrayal and the Loss of Jerusalem

Despite American warnings, Jordan joined the war—misled by Nasser’s false assurances. King Hussein, in his autobiography My War With Israel, recounts how Egypt claimed to have destroyed the Israeli air force. Jordanian forces, ill-prepared for urban warfare, lost Jerusalem within hours. It was one of the most consequential betrayals in modern Muslim history. Jordan never trusted Egypt again—not in 1967, not in the 1973 Ramadan War.

The Forgotten Lessons and the Rise of Extremism

Arab nationalism, once a beacon of unity, became a vehicle for authoritarianism, strategic miscalculations, and regional fragmentation. Nasser’s charisma masked incompetence; his ideology promised liberation but delivered defeat. The disillusionment that followed created fertile ground for extremist narratives. In forgetting this history, new generations fall prey to figures like Osama bin Laden and ISIS—false messiahs born of forgotten failures.

Categories: Analysis, History

Tags: Al-Aqsa, Arabs, Egypt, History, Israel, Jerusalem, Jordan, Muslim Ummah, Muslims, Palestine