Why did Gamal Abdel Nasser ask the United Nations to remove peacekeepers from the Sinai Peninsula in 1967?

In 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser requested the removal of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) from the Sinai Peninsula primarily due to intense political pressure. For a decade, the presence of these peacekeepers had maintained a precarious peace along the border, but Nasser faced growing criticism for appearing to hide behind the UN buffer while tensions with Israel escalated.1

By 1966, Palestinian guerrilla raids into Israel from neighboring countries had increased in frequency and intensity, and Nasser was being openly taunted for his perceived inaction. Seeking to regain his standing as a leader in the Arab world and respond to these regional pressures, he decided to abandon his policy of militant inaction and requested the withdrawal of the UNEF. This move led to the removal of UN troops from the border and Sharm al-Shaykh, allowing Egypt to close the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, an act Israel had previously declared would be a cause for war.1