1967 – 40 years of occupation

Al Jazeera marks the 40th anniversary of the 1967 war.

Israel 1967 war soldiers western wall — One of the most enduring images of the war - Israeli soldiers at the Western Wall

But, for Arab nations, the shock and scale of the sudden defeat came as a huge blow.

Timeline: 1967 war

June 5: At 10:10 GMT Israel launches first wave of attacks, leaving nearly 400 Egyptian aircraft destroyed and huge craters in runway

June 6: Israel captures Gaza Strip, defeating part of Egyptian army

June 7: Israeli paratroopers seize control of Jerusalem’s old city; 40,000 troops and 200 tanks deployed against Jordanian army; West Bank and East Jerusalem taken

June 8: Sinai captured and Egyptian forces defeated

June 9: Ground fighting between Israeli and Syrian forces continues in Golan region

June 10: Israel defeats Syrian army in Golan Heights. Syria accepts UN ceasefire resolution and Israel heeds UN warning not to advance into Syria

The year 1967 established the newly formed state as a first class military power with Israel, backed by powerful Western countries, almost tripling its territory.

The war began on June 5 1967, when Israel launched an attack against Egypt, Syria and Jordan after Gamal Abd al-Nasser, then president of Egypt, declared his intention to strike the Jewish state.

After six days of fierce fighting, Israel had seized control of Jordan’s West Bank, Syria’s Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

The Sinai was later returned to Egypt, however the West Bank, home to 2.4 million Palestinians, and the Golan Heights, a key source of water and fertile land, remain under occupation.

Today, despite the military victory, many uncertainties remain.

The unresolved fate of millions of Palestinians, the ongoing violence in Gaza, the recent war in Lebanon with Hezbollah and continuing rocket attacks on Israeli territory have shown all too sharply how many problems from the 1967 war remain unresolved, and how a lasting peace in the region remains far out of reach.

Source: Al Jazeera