Today marks the 36th anniversary of one of the most tragic episodes in Palestine’s history - The Occupation. Israel’s ‘pre-emptive’ attack in 1967 against the Palestinians resulted in further land loss and marked the start of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Today, 36 years later, there are close to 5 million Palestinians still living under the harsh military Israeli occupation, which is the only occupation left in the world.

The preamble of UN Resolutions 242 and 338 “emphasize[s] the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” and is the basis for peace negotiations. It calls for the “[w]ithdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict” (1967 war). Nevertheless, Israel continues to defy international will and UN resolutions that call for an end to Israeli occupation. These resolutions proved to be one of many that are consciously ignored by Israel, while the world, under the leadership of America, continues to turn a blind eye to Israel’s incompliance with international law. Since 1972, the US has vetoed 35 UN resolutions that are critical of Israel.

Today, Israel’s occupation is more brutal than ever. In the past 30 months Israelis have killed over 2,370 Palestinians, 1,926 of them being innocent civilians. Israel continues to uproot trees and homes, creating more Palestinian refugees living in tents throughout the West Bank and Gaza. The United Nations Relief Work Agency (UNRWA) reported that there has been close to 13,000 Palestinians left homeless as a result of Israeli destruction throughout the Palestinian neighborhoods and villages and militarily occupied by the Israeli troops.

To this day, Israel’s policies continue to violate Palestinian rights, most prominently through its expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian territory, the demolition of Palestinian homes and its rejection of the Palestinian refugees’ legitimate right of return. These colonial measures create realities on the ground that make a solution impossible to achieve.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of a Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) calls for an end to Israel’s occupation and for the implementation of long ignored resolutions and rights. We urge the international community and all countries of the world to remember this gloomy and deplorable day and to push towards long awaited justice for Palestine and the Palestinian people.