Syria, the most stridently hostile towards Israel of the Arab so-called “frontline” states in the years leading up to the 1967 war, was ruled by the Ba’ath party, which derived its ideology and institutions from the model of the European fascist states of the early twentieth century. The Ba’ath party was dominated by members of the Alawite religious minority (12% of the Syrian population) and maintained a shrill anti-Israel stance in large part to divert the discontent of Syria’s Sunni majority. The president of Syria at the time was Nur al-Din al-Atasi, but future dictator Hafez Assad also wielded much influence as the defense minister and head of the air force. Syria was closely aligned with the Soviet Union and was a recipient of extensive Soviet aid.
In 1967, Syria had a population of 5.7 million. Its army numbered 100,000, and it possessed 550 tanks and 136 combat airplanes.
Prior to the Six Day War, a low intensity conflict festered between Israel and Syria. In 1964, a Syrian attempt to divert the headwaters of the Jordan River was halted by Israeli aerial bombardment. Syria also shelled Israeli communities from positions in the Golan Heights and allowed its territory to be used as a staging area for incursions into Israel by Palestinian terrorists.
General References
- Asad, The Sphinx of Damascus, Moshe Maoz, 1988
- Modern Syria, Moshe Maoz, 1999
- Statistical Abstract / Central Bureau of Statistics, Syrian Arab Republic 1965-1998