Israel’s official ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War will take place in the Gush Etzion settlement cluster in the occupied West Bank, Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Culture Minister Miri Regev announced on Wednesday, April 5, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the ministers’ plans.
Palestinian refugees flee to Jordan across bombed out Allenby Bridge in June 1967. (Archive photo: Al Ittihad)
The two ministries headed by far-right politicians will spend a total of 10 million shekels ($2.74 million) on events marking the anniversary of what Bennett and Regev called, “Israel’s glorious victory in the Six-Day War and the liberation of Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley.” In fact, during the Six-Day War, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Syria’s Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai peninsula were conquered and occupied by Israel.
Brushing off the nature of the occupation in the West Bank, Regev said, “Regardless of the controversy over these parts of the country, every Israeli should know and cherish these places as the cradle of the Jewish people and its culture.”
Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List) replied that the decision demonstrates that the ministers view the West Bank as their private property, instead of occupied Palestinian territory, and accused them of spreading their political messages at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer. “There’s no limit to such scandals,” said Khenin.
