The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017

The focus of Chapter 3 is the 1967 Six-Day War, or the third declaration of war against the Palestinians. Prior to the start of the war, Palestinian militant groups based in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel. In response, Israel attacked several targets in these Arab countries, killing civilians. Several Arab nations, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, formed an alliance with intentions of attacking Israel. Israel pre-emptively responded, launching the Six-Day War with American approval. Israel decimated Arab defenses and captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights. In November 1967, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which called for the “withdrawal [by Israel] from territories occupied’ in the 1967 war” (105). Most of this resolution remains unimplemented. Palestinians still fight for control of these territories (apart from the Sinai Peninsula which was returned to Egypt in 1979).

The document outlining Resolution 242 did not refer to Palestinians specifically but instead to a refugee problem. Resolution 242 enabled extreme Israeli leaders to perpetuate the myth that Palestinians do not exist and the only issue is Arab countries’ refusal to accept Israel as a sovereign nation-state. Resolution 242 also took away more territory from Palestinians, expanding Israel’s borders.