The 58th anniversary of the 1967 Naksa and the Israeli aggression against Palestinian and Arab territories, which led to the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Syrian Golan Heights, is commemorated on 5 June. This act of aggression, the grave and far-reaching consequences of which persist to this day, has been further compounded by the ongoing war of extermination waged by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian people for over 600 consecutive days. These actions, alongside continued aggression and colonial expansionist policies at the expense of Arab lands, constitute a blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the established principle prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force.
This year's commemoration of the Naksa takes place amid unprecedented atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation forces, both in the occupied West Bank and through the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, all unfolding in plain view of the international community. These acts have resulted in the killing of more than 200,000 Palestinians—predominantly women and children—and the forced displacement of nearly two million others, perpetuating the agony and devastation of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The suffering of the Palestinian people is exacerbated by the systematic use of starvation, deprivation, and impoverishment as tools of war, including the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian assistance and its politicisation and militarisation. These actions reflect calculated efforts to forcibly displace and annihilate the Palestinian population.
The extremist right-wing Israeli government continues to consolidate its control and entrench its illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. It persists in its flagrant disregard for international law and international humanitarian law through the relentless expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the confiscation of land, and the desecration of Islamic and Christian holy sites. Furthermore, it enables and protects extremist settlers who routinely assault Palestinian civilians, chant racist slogans, and storm the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the full protection and encouragement of the Israeli occupation forces.
In parallel, the Israeli authorities continue to destroy Palestinian refugee camps and forcibly displace their residents in pursuit of a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing. They further intensify pressure on the Palestinian Authority through various forms of blockade—most notably financial restrictions and the open confiscation of its revenues and financial entitlements.
On the occasion of the Naksa anniversary, the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States reaffirms the urgent necessity of implementing the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council that seek to preserve international peace and security—particularly Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), along with subsequent relevant resolutions and the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice.
The General Secretariat calls on the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately cease their war of extermination, end the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe inflicted upon the Palestinian people, open all border crossings without delay, and facilitate the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid sufficient to meet the urgent needs of the population in the Gaza Strip. It further urges the provision of political and financial support to UNRWA and other United Nations agencies operating in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The General Secretariat calls upon the international community to assume its responsibilities and take all necessary measures to bring an end to the illegal Israeli occupation, enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate right to self-determination and to establish their independent, sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.
The Secretariat underscores the imperative of uniting international efforts to implement the two-state solution as the sole viable path towards achieving peace, security, and stability in the region. It also calls on all states to actively participate in the forthcoming international peace conference to be held this month in New York, and urges those that have not yet done so to recognise the State of Palestine as a tangible expression of their support for the two-state solution and their commitment to advancing a just and lasting peace.
