Between defeat and occupation 1967 defined future engagements

Every engagement between the Arab world and Israel over the past 40 years has been shadowed by what took place in June 1967, a year when the Arab armies tasted bitter defeat at the hands of Israel.

And today, the incidents of 1967 have left a bearing on the Arab-Israeli conflict, whether in the times of war or during deliberations for peace. For the Arab world as well as for Israel, the recollection of that time is still fresh in the collective memories of both.

Between the four decades of 1967 and 2007, Arab pride was restored on occasions. But by far, more and more Arab lands are being subjected to extensive periods of captivity. The outcome of the 1967 war was not at all about Arab armies falling apart in six days or about additional chunks of Arab lands unlawfully being swallowed by Israel.

The defeat would set the tone of how the Arab world would relate to Israel and how a "victorious" Israel would by sheer force dictate the future.

What Arabs have come to call as Naksah, or defeat of 1967, has shaped perceptions and feelings, perspectives and sentiments, of the self and that of the enemy for both the Arab world and Israel.

Thus, the outcome of the 1967 war has shaped the identity of both the occupier and that of the occupied - with the former imposing more suffering and the latter seeking a respite for once and for all.