For unclear reasons, the usually efficient American ambassador to Israel allowed several days to pass before transmitting a condolence message from Jordan's King Hussein to Israel's prime minister. In the absence of a condolence message Israel retaliated, reasoning that although the Jordanian state was not behind the attack, the people of Jordan had offered shelter to the attackers — this became one of the series of episodes that led to war. Another example was the decision of the Israelis to refrain from parading armour in their 1967 independence day parade in Jerusalem: although this was designed to lessen tension as Jerusalem was divided by the 1949 armistice, it was actually interpreted as a sign that the Israelis were concentrating their armour for an invasion of Syria.[3]