Naksah Day Note 53 Years of Israeli Occupation Since 1967

By Ali Farkhan Tsani, Duta Al-Quds, Senior Editor of MINA News Agency

On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a war that resulted in the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai (Egypt) and the Golan Heights (Syria) in the Six-Day War. Palestinians call it Naksa Day.

Prosecutors or setbacks, referring to the 1967 Six Day War.

After 19 years before a tragedy called Nakba Day (expulsion), on May 15, 1948.

Also Read: Fourteen Israeli Ministers Urge Netanyahu to Annex Occupied West Bank Immediately

The war made Israel ignore the previously agreed Green Line boundaries created at the 1949 truce between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Since then, Israel has been strongly supported by the United States, imposed military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and annexed East Jerusalem, and controlled about one million Palestinians.

Even though the President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson (from 1963-1969) urged the two sides not to attack. But Israel massively began air bombardment into Egyptian territory on June 5, with 200 jets attacking 18 airfields, destroying nearly 90 percent of the Egyptian air force. Then, the attack was in Jordan, Iraq, and Syria.

Israeli tanks and troops surged into the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip. While the Egyptian army tried to defend their land.

Also Read: 15 Civilians Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Central Gaza

Jordan also launched an attack overlooking southern Jerusalem. But the two countries were forced to retreat.

Israeli forces also reached the Golan Heights on June 9 and captured it the following day. On June 10, Israel accepted a UN ceasefire and the war ended.

Israel unilaterally began building settlements in the West Bank, Sinai, and the Golan Heights.

Israel then withdrew from Sinai in 1982 and from Gaza in 2005, although it retained control of its borders.

Also Read: Israeli Airstrike Kills Indonesian Hospital Director and Family in Gaza

The Naksa incident is remembered every year by mass protests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the occupation.

In 2020, during Coronavirus pandemic restrictions, activists of the struggle joined in protest actions on social media. The campaign is also rife with the hashtags #Naksa, #StopSettlements, and #StopAnnexation.

The Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network Samidoun based in the Gaza Strip also joined the social media campaign

“We urge all Palestinian supporters to join us in this online action together with other actions to reject Israel’s annexation on the 53rd anniversary of the Naksa.”

Also Read: 169 NGOs Demand Shutdown of GHF Over Civilian Killings in Gaza

“The ethnic cleansing by Israel of Palestine continues to this day,” Samidoun said.

The action voiced solidarity with the Palestinian people and to reject Israel’s annexation, the statement continued.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) emphasized that it marks 53 years of Naksa Day, encouraging continuation in the face of all conspiracy projects.

PNC said in a statement in the WAFA News media, Thursday edition, June 4, 2020, that there was no alternative to ending the occupation other than restoring legitimate rights to freedom, independence and the right to return, and the formation of an independent state along the 4 June 1967 border with Jerusalem as its capital.

Also Read: Meningitis Outbreak Threatens Children in Gaza

PNC stated that Israeli terrorist practices, including its plans to annex parts of the West Bank, reflected the Israeli government’s crime of continuing to occupy Palestinian land and state, and dragging the region into further escalation. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

Also Read: Israeli Settlements Deepen Apartheid and Undermine Palestinian Rights: UN Official