Arabs and Jews have been fighting over the Holy Land for a century. After the state of Israel emerged from war in 1948, both sides knew more battles were coming. In June 1967 years of slow-burning tension exploded. In six extraordinary days, Israel destroyed the armed forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. But far from bringing peace, as many Israelis hoped, their stunning victory turned into a curse.
The Six-Day War created today's battlefield. Israel still occupies land it seized in 1967 in Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Israeli soldiers whose grandfathers led men into battle in 1967 enforce an occupation that creates controversy and headlines around the world; Palestinians who grew up surrounded by the occupations violence strap explosives to their bodies to kill Israelis. Peace now depends on unravelling the consequences of what happened during that momentous week almost four decades ago.
A rigorous and original piece of modern history that is as vivid as fiction, Six Days not only sheds new light on one of the key conflicts of the twentieth century, it explains much about the Middle East and the problems the region still faces today.
A history of the 1967 Six-Day War by the BBC's distinguished former Middle East correspondent, Jeremy Bowen.
