Will Palestinians declare independence in June 2017?
After 50 years of occupation, Palestinians intend to declare the establishment of an independent state in June 2017.
June 5, 2017, will mark 50 years since the Six Day War in which Israel conquered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. Israel considered it a war of defense, given repeated threats by Egyptian leadership at the time (then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser) to annihilate the country with the support of all Arab states. The Arab armies were defeated in six days. But what started as a rescue war, as a blessing for Israel, turned with time into a burden and a curse of controlling the lives of 2-3 million Palestinians. For the Palestinians, this date marks a second tragedy, after the very establishment of Israel in 1948.
Half a century of occupation saw the rise of a Palestinian national movement (PLO), a violent struggle and also peace efforts — all to no avail. Fifty years later, the West Bank is still under Israeli occupation, with a weak Palestinian Authority (PA) in charge of mostly civilian areas.
