June 5, 1967: Israel launches 1967 war, seizing and occupying the entirety of Palestine
“I don’t see any likelihood of Israel withdrawing from the occupied territories and ending its settler-colonial enterprise as long as it enjoys a culture of impunity and is never held to account by the international community for its violation of international law and human rights; and as long as the cost of its occupation is lower than the price of ending”. – Nur Arafeh
On this day in 1967, Israel launched an aggressive surprise attack on Egypt, undermining mediation efforts and starting a regional war. The war lasted only six days, but by the time it ended, Israel had seized and militarily occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem (the remaining 22% of historic Palestine which had not been colonized during the creation of Israel), as well as the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights.
In a “Second Palestinian Exodus," up to 400,000 Palestinians were expelled from the West Bank during the war, and another 75,000 from Gaza. Up to 100,000 additional Palestinians who were out of the country when the war began were also barred from returning to the homes. Across the occupied Palestinian territories, dispossession was the norm. Entire villages were depopulated. After Israel captured the “Western Wall” in East Jerusalem, soldiers immediately demolished the entire Moroccan neighborhood (displacing 100 Palestinians families) to create a plaza. Many displaced Palestinians fled to Jordan. Palestinians today commemorate this day as Naksa day, meaning ‘the setback.’
Read More:
Second Palestinian Exodus - Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question
The Naksa: How Israel occupied the whole of Palestine in 1967 - Al Jazeera
Remembering the Naksa - Middle East Monitor
A 50-Year Occupation: Israel’s Six-Day War Started With a Lie - Mehdi Hassan