The Six Day War debate – as relevant as ever

Israel is marking 50 years since the 1967 Six Day War, and two opposing schools of thought, which can trace their origins to the seminal events of that war, continue to shape the debate in Israel in 2017.

Below are two thought provoking pieces that are well worth reading. They do a good job of representing both sides of the debate.

The first, by Ambassador Arthur Koll, ex- Deputy Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, looks at the lasting legacy of the Six Day War: The Israeli – Palestinian conflict, and the failure to seek diplomatic solutions over the past 5 decades. This chronic indecision resulted in demographic complexities that make a two-state solution much harder to achieve today, and Israel’s entanglement with the Palestinians looks set to continue.

The second, by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen, argues that the conditions of the 1967 War will not repeat themselves, and that the current and future regional conditions make an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank a total non-starter. Hacohen also provides a deep analysis of the military dynamics of the war, and looks at how the battles were influenced by World War 2, and by Soviet doctrines.