The Six-Day War: 50 years on...

Map imagery: Google

June 10th, 2017 marks 50 years since the end of the Six-Day War, a war between Israel and its Arab neighbors changed the way the Middle East is forever. For some Israelis, it is considered to be their celebration since Israel regained control of Jerusalem from the Arabs and became their so-called unified capital of this Middle Eastern nation but some, it's a questionable tragedy that changed the way they think about Israel and why it became a long-standing template of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflicts even as of today.

During the course of the Six-Day War that lasted from the 5th to the 10th of June, 1967, whatever historians define it, the Israeli forces trade bullets against Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. Most of the air forces from the Arab neighbors were destroyed by Israel and most of the territories were now under Israeli control in the aftermath of the war, including Jerusalem, Golan Heights, the West Bank, and many others.

After the war, the Arab leaders at the Khartoum Conference rejected making peace with Israel in September 1967, three months after the war, and then two months later, the UN Resolution 242 was created for future peace negotiations, envisioning Israel withdrawing from some of the territories it gained (not all) in the war, in return for recognition by and long term peace with the Arabs. The extent of the withdrawal to be determined in negotiations.

It is now 2017 and fifty years have passed since Israel won the war despite being outnumbered by Arab forces but the echoes of the six-day war and the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflicts still remain, especially with the rise of US President Donald Trump and his pro-Israeli movement that rattled most world leaders, especially the reports of Israeli adding settlements to Palestinian territories and the ongoing clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, killing numerous people in both sides. As any historian would tell, the Six-Day War is a clear template of why tensions between the State of Israel and the Arab nations became even more rampant as years passed by and while some celebrating this victory with their so-called "Jerusalem Jubilee" celebration in honor of Israel regaining control of Israel after the Six-Day War, historians will long remember as the nightmare that changed Israel into a rogue nation that can't be underestimated by many and in today's climate, there's no telling what will the Israelis plan next in the Middle East.

Further reading: https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War