Remembering the Six Day War After 50 Years of Israeli Occupation
By Daniel Gil/Contributing Writer
This week will mark the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, a lightning fast conflict Israel waged with its neighboring Arab countries, allegedly, for the right to exist which changed the face of the middle east.
Many took the day as a chance to voice their thoughts on the 50th anniversary of the conflict including Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) who took to social media in a message to Israel’s Meretz Party to plead for the end of occupation. In recent years, the tides of public opinion have certainly favored the people of Palestine with world leaders denouncing the occupation of the West Bank and Palestine as akin to apartheid.
On Monday Human Rights Watch reported that “Israel enforces severe and discriminatory restrictions on Palestinians’ human rights and it builds and supports unlawful settlements in the occupied West Bank…” which served as a stark reminder that the half century after the end of the conflict has done little to mitigate tensions between Israelis and Arabs.
The legacy of the conflict manifests itself in different terms depending on who you ask, but for Israelis it was a demonstration of force, determination and grit in a war for survival with their backs to the sea. For Palestinians however, it represents a far more solemn reminder of lost territory followed by 50 years of occupation.
Ideas on how the region should proceed have been heavily politicized in the United States and abroad. However despite the deep ideological sectionality the Israeli occupation poses, it is important to remember the history which led to the state of the region today.
Prior to the beginning of the war, relations between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries were frigid with most in the region viewing Israel’s creation as an aggressive act by the United Nations. Egypt and Jordan had recently signed a defense treaty and were tying themselves closer to Saudi Arabia. Egypt was also blocking Israel’s access to the Gulf of Aqaba. In addition, skirmishes on the border between Israel and Jordan between security forces made a conflict seem inevitable.
What follows is a brief timeline of the events of the war.
6 Day War Timeline
June 5th
- Israel launches a preemptive strike in the morning against Egyptian air forces and army destroying most of their fighter jets
- Israel sends a message to Jordan’s King Hussein saying they will not attack the West Bank if Jordan doesn’t enter into the conflict
- Jordan ignores the message and launches strikes on Israel in the wake of receiving false information of Egyptian success on the front
- West Jerusalem is targeted by heaving shelling
June 6th
- Israeli Foreign Minister addresses the UN Security Council declaring: “I have just come from Jerusalem to tell the Security Council that Israel, by its independent effort and sacrifice, has passed from serious danger to successful resistance.”
- Syrian forces begin their artillery attacks on Israel
- Israel seizes territory from Egypt
- Jordan is ordered to retreat from West Bank
June 7th
- Israeli Defense Forces Liberate Jerusalem and successfully defend the city
- UN Security Council proposes a ceasefire which is turned down by Egyptian President Abdel Nasser
- Israel seizes more Egyptian territory
June 8th
- Egypt accepts a proposal for a ceasefire
- Fighting on Golan border between Israel and Syria intensifies
June 9th
- Golan Heights is attacked by Israel
June 10th
- A cease fire with Syria is declared and the war ends
- At the end of the conflict Israel controls the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula stretched to the Suez Canal
Although the war was extremely short lived, its aftermath has had profound effects on the state of the Middle East both in the long term and the short term with its reverberations being felt around the world. The direct aftermath saw a massive influx of refugees fleeing from the Israeli-occupied territories that had, a week earlier, belonged to Jordan. However many stayed in the area and helped to proliferate the major economic growth the West Bank would see over the next years and decades.
What is most prevalent 50 years later however are the Jewish settlements Israel erected in the occupied territory whose legality has been heavily debated. Israeli advocates argue the legality of Jews to settle in holy territory which was once theirs while opponents say a peaceful resolution will only come about if Israel relinquishes the land for the creation of a Palestinian state. In addition, the Palestinians argue that religiously and historically the land belongs to them too.
With 50 years now separating the beginning of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, no clear path to peace lies in sight. For the time being, Israel will likely continue to build settlements in the West Bank and push more into occupied territory. Palestinians will do what they can to push back with more international support behind them. However, without formal recognition of either state in the Middle East the situation is far from being rectified.