The world will note this Monday, June 5, as one of the more significant dates on the international calendar. This was the day 50 years ago when Israel launched a preemptive strike against its Arab foes. In less than a week, it overwhelmed the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
That decisive military engagement became known as the Six Day War.
A half century later the world, and, more specifically, Israelis and Palestinians, are living with the war’s consequences – none more so than the Palestinians who find themselves entering a sixth decade under occupation with all that implies.
Since 1967, repeated efforts have been made to bring peace to a troubled region that lies between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean.
Leaving aside the Camp David Accords of 1978 and the subsequent peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, under which the Sinai was returned to Egyptian control, numerous initiatives have failed dating from the Carter administration. These so-called peace plans are like rusting tanks and artillery pieces left behind in the desert.
Read the full article by Tony Walker at The Conversation.
[Originally a version of this article by the same author under the same topic appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.]