Fifty years ago this past week, the state of Israel erupted in collective celebration after conquering the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, and the Golan Heights. Having defeated the combined armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in six days, the elation and relief felt by the entire country was immeasurable – and nearly universal.

I remember, right after the war, my parents taking the family for euphoric trips to biblical sites in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. My parents, both teachers, marveled at the historic significance of each site, sometimes reading the relevant passages from the Bible. There was a genuine joy of re-connecting to our national heritage.

The irony is that, in the wake of its greatest military victory, Israel was led to its greatest political defeat: five decades of conflict and occupation that have left Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state severely threatened.

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the Six-Day War, Israel's greatest military victory, a victory that ironically inflicted a political disaster upon the state of Israel.

After fifty years, the disastrous Pyrrhic repercussions of this military victory are intensifying as the occupation of the West Bank solidifies both on the ground and in the minds of many Israelis, Palestinians, and their leaders.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses whether the Six-Day War was a just war from Israel's standpoint; the benefits that came from Israel's victory in the war; the costs at the regional strategic level; the Palestinian issue coming out of the war; where we are today; and what Israel should have done after the war in 1967, in hindsight.

Shortly before midnight on June 2nd, the remarkable Sara Ehrman - longtime Board member, leader and a founder of APN - died at age 98.  

If you knew Sara, you know that there never was and will never be anyone else like her. She led a full and meaningful life, full of friends, family, humor, and purpose. She was smart, funny, courageous, frank, irreverent and generous.

A semi-annual presidential act, signing a waiver that maintains America’s Israel embassy in Tel Aviv, has become a subject of heated speculation and debate, following Donald Trump’s statements of intent – as presidential candidate and as President-elect -- to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

The statements and the speculations ended with President Trump doing exactly what all his predecessors, Democrats and Republicans, did since Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995. He signed a presidential waiver, stipulating that the embassy will remain in Tel Aviv for six more months.

News from Peace Now:

On Sunday (28/05/17), the head of the Central Command signed a military order defining the jurisdiction to a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank, the first to be established since 1992. The decision to establish the new settlement, which will go by the name “Amichai”, was made by the government on March 30th as compensation to the evacuees of the Amona outpost, which was built illegally on private Palestinian land and was evacuated in February this year following a verdict of the Supreme Court. Apart from cases of retroactive legalization of illegal outposts, this is the first settlement that the government of Israel is establishing since 1992.
 
Several publications have indicated that on June 7th the sub-committee for settlements of the Higher Planning Committee in the Civil Administration is expected to meet in order to advance plans for settlements. Due to vast pressure coming from settler lobby groups, it is possible that during this meeting, the plan for the settlement will be discussed for depositing. In addition, it is likely a plan to retroactively legalize the Kerem Reim outpost, and expand it to 255 housing units, will be discussed for validation (final approval) during the committee’s meeting.
 
Amichai is the second settlement that is being established as compensation for the Amona evacuation. In February this year a plan for new settlement called Shvut Rachel East, was approved for validation. The plan, number 205/3/1, enables the construction of the first 98 housing units in Shvut Rachel East, which is planned to eventually become a settlement of 300 housing units. While Shvut Rachel East should be referred to as a new settlement by all means, it is officially referred to as a neighborhood of Shilo settlement, despite being located far from any built up area of Shilo, creating a new and distant expansion to the settlement.

The gathering of tens of thousands of Israelis at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square last night for a Peace Now rally marking 50 years of Israel’s ruling over another people was a show of force for Israel’s peace camp. It showed that there is a loyal and vociferous constituency for peace, which is willing to fight for what Israelis and Palestinians deserve: Two states, living side by side in peace and security.

The organization was impeccable – the result of months of preparation and many hours of work by Peace Now staff and volunteers. The turnout was large – much more than the organizers had expected. The speeches were inspiring and the crowd’s behavior dignified, even when controversial Likud MK Oren Hazan showed up for a provocation.

Strolling among the crowd, I saw the beautiful, peace-loving, patriotic Israelis of yore, those who flooded the Square in the 1980s and 1990s, but even more so, I saw their children and grandchildren. Teens with picket signs and children with hand-painted peace signs. It was more than heartwarming. It was hope-inspiring. It was uplifting. It was extremely moving. It was a spectacular success.

Here are several photos that I have taken at the rally.

At first glance it looks like there are a lot of winners from President Trump's Middle East trip including:

- The Saudis, who got what they wanted.  They heard Trump confirm that the US would be close to the Gulf Arab states and veer away from Iran.  They also sealed an arms deal with the US for $110 billion.  And they never heard the words human rights from Trump's lips!

- Trump, who got what he wanted from the Saudis. President Trump was able to get an arms deal that he declared was great for the US economy.  The Saudis publicly aligned with Trump's rhetoric against terrorism - thus allowing the President to find "moderate" US allies in the region.  And Ivanka Trump got a $100 billion pledge from the Saudis for her women's empowerment program at the World Bank.

- Benjamin Netanyahu, who breathed a sigh of relief as Trump departed Israel for the Vatican. There was no pressure on settlements or significant concessions to the Palestinians. He heard lots of pleasantries from Trump about the strength of the US-Israel relationship. And there was the prospect of a potentially new dynamic for Middle East peace: The Saudis stating publicly their willingness to be partners for peace.

- Palestinian President Abbas, who was able to tell his people that the Palestinian cause is still on the negotiating table if and when negotiations take place.

Looks like a win-win situation, right? Well, not so fast.