Tomorrow, June 5, Palestinians will commemorate Al Naksa, or the June 1967 war when the remainder of Palestine – the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem fell to Israeli control. Marches, demonstrations and rallies are planned for the day including activities similar to those that occurred on Al Nakba on May 15 where thousands of Palestinians marched on the borders with Israel from Syria and Lebanon.

This time around, however, Lebanon has already banned such marches. On June 3, Palestinian organizers of activities in Lebanon said they had to cancel their plans. Lebanese authorities prohibited the marches, most likely because of the 10 deaths that occurred in Maron Al Ras on Al Nakba day at the border.

"The army has taken the decision to ban any demonstration south of the Litani [river] and particularly at the border," a Lebanese official said. "The army will not allow anyone to approach the border."

Instead, organizers said the march would be replaced by strikes across all 12 of Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also preparing for the day. On June 3, he told his army to “act firmly” but to avoid any bloodshed should protests take place at the borders.

"My instructions are clear: to act with restraint but with the determination necessary to protect our borders... and our citizens," he said. On May 15 at least 13 people were killed and dozens others injured by Israeli fire at the Lebanese and Syrian borders.

In Jerusalem, Israel also beefed up its military presence, particularly in and around the Old City and Al Aqsa in anticipation of marches.

Jerusalem has been the scene of a heavy Israeli presence this week, what with Israel’s celebration of Jerusalem Day on June 1. Israel marks the day the eastern sector of the city was captured and “reunited” with the western part. On this day, tens of thousands of Jewish settlers marched through east Jerusalem, making their way to the Western Wall, singing, dancing and chanting provocatively through Palestinian neighborhoods. Palestinian sources also said 200 settlers broke into Al Aqsa that day.

In addition, on June 1 construction work began in preparation for laying the cornerstone for 33 housing units in Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem, at the site where the Shepherd’s Hotel used to stand.

On May 29, Israeli premier Netanyahu held his cabinet meeting in the Old City’s David Castle inside Jaffa Gate. His decision to hold the cabinet meeting in east Jerusalem was understood as a direct defiance to US President Obama and international law, which both deem east Jerusalem as occupied territory.

In Gaza, the initial relief from Egypt’s decision to open the Rafah crossing soured on June 4 when dozens of Palestinians tried to break through the border after Egyptian authorities failed to open the Gaza border terminal as promised.

Apparently, several buses carrying hundreds of Palestinians waited at the Egyptian gate at Rafah, which remained closed several hours after the scheduled opening time.

On June 2, six Israeli police officers and five settlers were injured when Israeli police dismantled an illegal settlement outpost north of Ramallah.

On the same day, and for the second time this week, Palestinians in villages south of Nablus reported fires set by settlers in farmlands. Villagers from Burin say residents of the Yitzhar settlement were the culprits.

On May 29, Jewish settlers who came to pray at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus rioted against Israeli forces escorting the 1,600-strong group. Palestinians say settlers also set fire to lands near Madama.

On June 2, Hamas announced it had smoothed out a crinkle in their usually unified stance. After a two-day meeting in Damascus, Hamas officials released a statement saying their politburo chief Khaled Mashaal's remarks about negotiations with Israel did actually represent the party's position.

At the time, Mashaal had said that Hamas was willing to allow the PLO to negotiate with Israel for a limited period. This did not sit well with more hardline officials who were unhappy with the remarks. The June 2 statement cleared any misunderstanding up. "Mashaal's speech was in line with the movement's positions, policies and principles," the statement said. "Any remarks contradicting these issues do not represent the movement and its branches."

Finally, President Mahmoud Abbas said on June 4 that he accepted a French initiative to relaunch stalled negotiations with Israel. The initiative was proposed by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who said France offered to hold a peace conference in Paris in July to help get peace talks back on track.

During a meeting with Abbas on June 2, Juppe said the current stalemate between Israelis and Palestinians was "untenable".

"We would be prepared, on the basis of a request by the [Mideast] Quartet, to organize in Paris... before the end of July, a conference that would not be simply for the donors but a broader political conference involving the negotiation process," Juppe said.

According to press reports, the French initiative includes the following points: negotiations between the parties would end in one year; the negotiations would begin with the issues of security and borders and end with refugees and Jerusalem; there would be no postponement of final issues; and the solution would ultimately produce a Palestinian state alongside Israel.