The year 2017, like its predecessor, seems destined to be one of memorable anniversaries.
There are centenaries such as the Third Battle of Ypres on the Western Front, along with the Russian Revolution of November 1917 in which Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks came to power.
But first there is the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War.
The UN Security Council’s Resolution 2334, carried on December 23 with the US abstaining, is related to the Arab-Israeli War that ran between June 5 and June 10, 1967.
The resolution condemns “all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem”.
Australia appears to be the only Western democracy to indicate that it does not agree with the passing of the resolution. New Zealand was one of the sponsors of the motion.
In fact, there was no such entity as a “Palestinian Territory” in 1967. Following the creation of the State of Israel by the UN in 1948, the land between Israel and the Jordan River was controlled by Jordan. Jordan did not give independence to Palestinians before the Six-Day War. Large parts of the West Bank are administered by the Palestinian Authority.
Read the full article by Gerard Henderson at The Australian.