ABSTRACT
The unresolved Palestinian question, continuing border tension, the change in leadership in Egypt and Syria, intensified superpower interest in the region and the failure of further diplomatic initiatives paved the way for the fourth Arab-Israeli war. The conditions for conflict resolution after the 1967 war had simply not been right: the Arab states were unable to make peace from the position of utter defeat, Israel was unwilling to make concessions after its spectacular victory, the international community was unable to create an appropriate environment for negotiations and the superpowers lacked the will and ability to impose peace (Yapp, 1991). It was in this context that the change of political leadership in Egypt provided a window of opportunity for a departure from entrenched positions.
