Written by Raneem Hijazi, Shafika Husseini and Stephanie Bandugla

The 1967 Naksa, or “setback,” was an attempt by the settler colony of “Israel” to brutally finish the job of the 1948 Nakba.

We call it “setback” as it was instrumental in “Israel’s” violent land grab of what was left of historical Palestine including the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the additional territory of the Golan Heights in Syria and Sinai in Egypt, resulting in “Israel” tripling in size (27,000 sq km).

This triggered the forced expulsion and displacement of over 350,000 additional Palestinians, half of whom were already refugees of the Nakba. Al-Naksa exposed the Zionist colonial mindset for a greater “Israel” in the region whose goal is to conquer Palestine void of its indigenous Palestinians through occupation, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Today, diaspora Palestinians around the world are descendants of Nakba and Naksa refugees longing for their right of return to their homeland.

Following the Nakba in 1948 and before the Naksa of 1967, many Palestinians continued to be displaced and murdered while the Zionist entity continued its brutal campaign to force Palestinians off their land through violence and intimidation, creating a prolonged occupation and ongoing Nakba.

On June 5th, 1967, ‘Israel’ launched an attack on Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, striking their air defenses and illegally capturing significant territories. These included East Jerusalem and the West Bank, previously under Jordanian rule; Gaza, formerly controlled by Egypt (from which Zionist forces withdrew in 2005); the Syrian Golan Heights, a sovereign Syrian territory taken by Israel; and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which the Zionist entity illegally occupied before withdrawing in 1982, returning it to Egyptian sovereignty. This marked the start of the IOF’s extended occupation, adding to the lands it had illegally taken in 1948, and completing its control over Palestine.

The roots of the Naksa trace back to 1956 when ‘Israel,’ in collaboration with France and Britain, invaded Egypt in an attempt to overthrow President Gamal Abdel Nasser after he nationalized the Suez Canal. This invasion, known as the Suez Crisis, was driven by the zionist coloni’s expansionist and colonial ambitions. Though international pressure forced a retreat, the Zionist regime exploited the situation to illegally gain control over the Straits of Tiran, which Egypt had blocked since 1948. This act of theft and territorial greed exemplified the dangerous ideology underpinning Israel's actions, which continued to threaten the stability of the surrounding sovereign Arab nations. At the same time, disputes over water resources in the Jordan River led to violent clashes between the settler colony and Syria, with Syria striving to defend its rights against ‘Israel’s’ offensive schemes.

By 1967, false Soviet reports claimed that ‘Israel’ planned to invade Syria. Egypt responded by moving troops into the Sinai Peninsula and closing the Straits of Tiran to ‘Israeli’ shipping, which Zionist forces labeled an "act of war." 

Contrary to Zionist claims that Egypt was about to attack, Egypt was defending its sovereign territory. ‘Israel’s’ premeditated strike on June 5, 1967, aimed to weaken surrounding Arab nations and expand its colonial borders. This move reflected long-standing Zionist ambitions dating back to the inception of their colonial project led by figures like David Ben-Gurion. These actions were part of a broader strategy to extend Zionist control beyond Palestine, in line with the "Greater Israel" vision. This vision sought to dominate surrounding Arab lands through aggressive expansion, ethnic cleansing, and illegal territorial annexation, disrupting regional stability and perpetuating colonial hegemony. This ruthless agenda was about maintaining the status quo through aggressively advancing a vision rooted in brutality and oppression, aimed at the complete erasure of Palestinian land and existence.

The Naksa resulted in the formal occupation of the West Bank, Sinai, and the Golan Heights. To end the armed nature of the ‘war,’ the UN Security Council passed a resolution: UN Resolution 242. Not only does this resolution provide no consequences for the occupation and expulsion of Palestinians, but it doesn’t even mention the word “Palestine” or “Palestinians,” only referencing a vague “refugee problem” within its statement. 

The illegal occupation of the Sinai was a failure, however, and the Zionist entity was forced to return it to Egypt. Zionists persisted in their aim for total regional domination and pushed their borders to continuously illegally occupy the Golan Heights.

In addition, this paved the way for Arab states surrounding Palestine to pursue normalization efforts with ‘Israel,’ solidifying its standing as a so-called “legitimate country” with a “right to defend itself” from its occupied population. 

Alongside ‘Israel’s’ settlement building, Palestinians continuously deal with having their lands stolen and seized by the entire Zionist apparatus, intending to formally and completely ethnically cleanse the land.

Resisting Normalization

Normalization is the insidious belief that the Zionist settler colony of Israel can perpetuate its brutal occupation while masquerading as a legitimate country with the support of surrounding Arab states. This vile ideology seeks to validate the existence of a state founded on the violent displacement and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian land and life. In the struggle for Palestinian liberation, it is necessary to resist normalization.

The United Nations issued Resolutions 237 and 242 in 1967 urging the settler colony of ‘Israel’ to withdraw from the occupied territories. However, this Resolution failed to name Palestinians by name leading to further oppression, normalization, and lack of accountability.

The effect of the illegal occupation’s ethnic cleansing and forced mass displacement was described in the resolution as a “refugee problem” with no acknowledgment of the conditions that caused the refugee crisis.

According to Al Jazeera, 300,000 Palestinians were expelled during the Naksa, half of whom were refugees from the 1948 Nakba. Experiencing a second Nakba, Palestinians traveled to settle in the West Bank in places like Qalandiya, a refugee camp, as well as Jordan. Palestinians traveled on foot with little belongings to Jordan, where most of them were exiled for decades. 

Many villages were ethnically cleansed, including Beit Nuba, Imwas, and Yalo—villages near the Latrun Monastery. All three villages are completely ethnically cleansed, with a Canada-donated park located on top of Imwas and Yalo, called Canada Park, and a Jewish settlement on Beit Nuba. 

In Jerusalem, the entire Moroccan Quarter was demolished to allow for Jewish settlers more room to access the Old City, despite the Moroccan Quarter being nearly a thousand years old. East Jerusalem, which was previously allowed some freedoms, now was under ‘Israeli’ control, making them subject to land theft, resource theft, and apartheid.

Until now, Palestinians have struggled and resisted under ‘Israeli’ occupation, resulting in armed resistance as well as artistic and academic resistance that endures despite the continual erasure of their connection to their homeland.