Word: aqaba
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...President canceled minor appointments, put the White House Situation Room on special alert, and went before television cameras with a som ber, seven-minute statement. "The purported closing of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping has brought a new and grave dimension to the crisis," said Johnson. "The U.S. considers the gulf to be an international waterway and feels that a blockade of Israeli shipping is illegal and potentially disastrous...
...threat to world peace was real enough. Egypt, having already moved some 80,000 troops into the Gaza Strip and all along its 117-mile border with Israel, announced that it would not permit Israeli ships or vessels bearing strategic materials to Israel to enter the Gulf of Aqaba, at the head of which sits the important Israeli port of Elath...
...heights of Sham el Sheikh and trained them on the narrow Tiran Strait that controls the gulf's entrance, planted mines in parts of the passage, and sent torpedo boats and jets to patrol the waters. Israel announced that it would consider a blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba "an act of war." The U.S., joined by Britain and France, made it clear that it considered the gulf to be international waters and would oppose any Arab attempt to close it off indefinitely...
...world's eyes centered on the Gulf of Aqaba, where the danger of an episode that could cause open warfare was greatest. Ever since Nasser closed the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping in 1956, the port of Elath has been Israel's main outlet for its growing export trade with Asia and East Africa. More important, it has become the port of entry for nearly 90% of the country's oil supplies. The Strait of Tiran, where coral reefs and the hulk of an ancient sunken ship make passage difficult under the best conditions, is easy...
...counseled the Israelis not to test the blockade, and Israel decided for the time being to keep its ships out of the Gulf of Aqaba. It could still import oil from Western Europe and the U.S. through its major Mediterranean port of Haifa, which also happens to be the center of its oil refining industry. Israel thus can live for a while with the blockade-but only for a while. Some ships bearing goods to Israel have already sailed for Elath. If Nasser is adamant about turning back Israeli ships, the U.S. and Britain (both of which had naval task...