This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. Allegedly, the shortest war in Israel's history. But de facto, it continues to this very day, writes DW's Dana Regev.
Advertisement
Image: AFP/Getty Images
The events leading to the Six-Day War didn't leave Israel with much doubt: Egypt had blocked the Straits of Tiran, a move defined as casus belli; Egyptian troops crossed the Suez Canal into Sinai, to which Israel reacted with a broad reserves draft; increasing tensions with Syria over control of water sources - all this led Israel to attack Egypt on June 5, 1967.
Prime Minister Levi Eshkol didn't want to attack first, as the international community - and the US in particular - made it clear that the first to shoot would carry full responsibility for the consequences.
But the upper military echelon protested, claiming that victory was possible only if Israel initiated the campaign.
"If we are forced into a state of defense we would lose the only advantage we have, which is initiation, and determination of facts on the ground," said Knesset member Moshe Dayan, who would soon be appointed defense minister.
"Only if we attack first do we have a chance to achieve something," he added, according to newly released protocols from top-secret government meetings.
Judging by Israel's immense conquests and the crushing defeat of the Egyptian air force, one must admit that he was right militarily. But politically? A resounding failure.
The war may have lasted for six days on paper. But in reality its seventh day has lasted 50 years. Occupation, annexation and control over some of the world's holiest sites have not only escalated the conflict, but marked the turning point in much of the world's view on Israel: from David to Goliath.
Complete euphoria
Dana Regev is an Israeli journalist who lives in GermanyImage: DW/M. Müller
On the Israeli side, the atmosphere prior to the war was defined by annihilation. "People who were 50 or 60 at the time felt like the Holocaust was chasing them," Yaron London, an Israeli journalist who was a young radio reporter during the war, told Israeli media.
"They felt like this project called Israel was about to end - this time for good."
The political leadership was seen as weak and obsequious, while the military pushed for an immediate attack. Top commanders went as far as calling Eshkol a "lobbyist" who was begging for approval from the superpowers.
Under extreme public pressure and after the green light from the US, the war started.
On the first day it was already clear that Israel had the upper hand. But what started off as a "necessary evil" soon turned into complete euphoria over conquering the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
'We will become a ghetto'
A minority of ministers and activists warned: "The Arabs will not go away."
Eshkol voiced his concern, claiming that "a military victory will not be the end." Minister of Education Zalman Aran asked: "Say we conquer Jerusalem - when will we give it back, and to whom?" adding that Israel "will suffocate in the West Bank."
"In times of global decolonization, who would accept this?" asked Justice Minister Yaakov Shimshon Shapira, referring to Dayan's suggestion to have a "self-governing regime" by the Palestinians, "with military control by Israel."
"We are done with the Zionist project. We will become a ghetto," Shapira said - but in vain.
Israeli troops capturing Egyptians and Palestinians in Rafah. 'In times of global de-colonization, who would accept this?'Image: Getty Images/GPO/David Rubinger
The conquests were most likely based on a gut feeling rather than on a diplomatic vision. In fact, a few months prior to the war, an official paper concluded that annexing the West Bank would be a terrible idea.
But while historians are still debating whether Israel simply jumped on the opportunity to conquer territories or planned the annexations in advance, one thing is clear: Its leadership was naive at best - if not delusional.
A 50-year-old crossroads
Israel is far from being the only player in this campaign, but it is also no longer under threat of extinction.
It has a remarkably strong army and is capable of handling terror - not without casualties, but without fearing for its future. If anything, it is standing at a 50-year-old crossroads - a "temporary situation" which has lasted to this day - far longer than it should have.
Just a week ago, Israel received an offer from the Jerusalem Waqf - the Islamic custodian of the Temple Mount - that might help ease tensions over the holy site and return to the status quo. But experts say the government is likely to reject it, since it has no apparent reason to make any steps toward compromise.
Moreover, almost no one even thought about annexing East Jerusalem 50 years ago, and those few who dreamed of it were deemed zealots. It is therefore astonishing that today even the smallest concessions on Jerusalem are categorically rejected.
Until Israel reaches a deal with the Palestinians, the Six-Day War won't really be over. It has cold-yet-stable peace agreements both with Egypt and Jordan. Now is the time to take further brave measures.
Israel should initiate peace negotiations, not only stand idly by. But all the more so when an actual offer lands on the table - like the one from the Jerusalem Waqf. Israel should invest everything within its power to execute it.
Not only for the sake of millions of Palestinians, but also - and perhaps primarily - for the sake of Israel's own dwindling democracy.
A history of the Middle East peace process
For over half a century, disputes between Israelis and Palestinians over land, refugees and holy sites remain unresolved. DW gives you a short history of when the conflict flared and when attempts were made to end it.
UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed on November 22, 1967, called for the exchange of land for peace. Since then, many of the attempts to establish peace in the region have referred to 242. The resolution was written in accordance with Chapter VI of the UN Charter, under which resolutions are recommendations, not orders.
Image: Getty Images/Keystone
Camp David Accords, 1978
A coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, fought Israel in the Yom Kippur or October War in October 1973. The conflict eventually led to the secret peace talks that yielded two agreements after 12 days. This picture from March 26, 1979, shows Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, his US counterpart Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin after signing the accords in Washington.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. Daugherty
The Madrid Conference, 1991
The US and the former Soviet Union came together to organize a conference in the Spanish capital. The discussions involved Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinians — not from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) — who met with Israeli negotiators for the first time. While the conference achieved little, it did create the framework for later, more productive talks.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Hollander
Oslo I Accord, 1993
The negotiations in Norway between Israel and the PLO, the first direct meeting between the two parties, resulted in the Oslo I Accord. The agreement was signed in the US in September 1993. It demanded that Israeli troops withdraw from West Bank and Gaza Strip and a self-governing, interim Palestinian authority be set up for a five-year transitional period. A second accord was signed in 1995.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Sachs
Camp David Summit Meeting, 2000
US President Bill Clinton invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to the retreat in July 2000 to discuss borders, security, settlements, refugees and Jerusalem. Despite the negotiations being more detailed than ever before, no agreement was concluded. The failure to reach a consensus at Camp David was followed by renewed Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Edmonds
The Arab Peace Initiative, 2002
The Camp David negotiations were followed first by meetings in Washington and then in Cairo and Taba, Egypt — all without results. Later the Arab League proposed the Arab Peace Initiative in Beirut in March 2002. The plan called on Israel to withdraw to pre-1967 borders so that a Palestinian state could be set up in the West Bank and Gaza. In return, Arab countries would agree to recognize Israel.
Image: Getty Images/C. Kealy
The Roadmap, 2003
The US, EU, Russia and the UN worked together as the Middle East Quartet to develop a road map to peace. While Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas accepted the text, his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon had more reservations with the wording. The timetable called for a final agreement on a two-state solution to be reached in 2005. Unfortunately, it was never implemented.
Image: Getty Iamges/AFP/J. Aruri
Annapolis, 2007
In 2007, US President George W. Bush hosted a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to relaunch the peace process. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas took part in talks with officials from the Quartet and over a dozen Arab states. It was agreed that further negotiations would be held with the goal of reaching a peace deal by the end of 2008.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Thew
Washington, 2010
In 2010, US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to and implement a 10-month moratorium on settlements in disputed territories. Later, Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all issues. Negotiations began in Washington in September 2010, but within weeks there was a deadlock.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Milner
Cycle of escalation and ceasefire continues
A new round of violence broke out in and around Gaza in late 2012. A ceasefire was reached between Israel and those in power in the Gaza Strip, which held until June 2014. The kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June 2014 resulted in renewed violence and eventually led to the Israeli military operation Protective Edge. It ended with a ceasefire on August 26, 2014.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Paris summit, 2017
Envoys from over 70 countries gathered in Paris, France, to discuss the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu slammed the discussions as "rigged" against his country. Neither Israeli nor Palestinian representatives attended the summit. "A two-state solution is the only possible one," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said at the opening of the event.
Image: Reuters/T. Samson
Deteriorating relations in 2017
Despite the year's optimistic opening, 2017 brought further stagnation in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. A deadly summer attack on Israeli police at the Temple Mount, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims, sparked deadly clashes. Then US President Donald Trump's plan to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem prompted Palestinian leader Abbas to say "the measures ... undermine all peace efforts."
Image: Reuters/A. Awad
Trump's peace plan backfires, 2020
US President Donald Trump presented a peace plan that freezes Israeli settlement construction but retains Israeli control over most of the illegal settlements it has already built. The plan would double Palestinian-controlled territory but asks Palestinians to cross a red line and accept the previously constructed West Bank settlements as Israeli territory. Palestinians reject the plan.
Image: Reuters/M. Salem
Conflict reignites in 2021
Plans to evict four families and give their homes in East Jerusalem to Jewish settlers led to escalating violence in May 2021. Hamas fired over 2,000 rockets at Israel, and Israeli military airstrikes razed buildings in the Gaza Strip. The international community, including Germany's Foreign Ministry, called for an end to the violence and both sides to return to the negotiating table.
