 During the Six-Day War, the Israelis captured thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and evaluated them.The rifle proved far more reliable and controllable than the FAL, and the required maintenance was low enough that the conscripted troops would not require more stringent regulations of the weapon's care.Because of this, the IDF began the process of procuring a new automatic rifle that would offer the same benefits of low-maintenance as the AK-47 but with the accuracy of the M16 and FAL.