Six-day war: Israel protesters mark anniversary with demo against occupation

On the other hand, 65 percent of Jewish Israelis said that Israel's control of the region contributes to Israel's security, as opposed to 29.7 percent who disagreed.

Walid Sayed takes a break from tending to his flock of sheep near the West Bank town of Burin.

Palestinians refer to the occasion as "the Naksa", or "the Setback", as a result of Israel's expansion of its military occupation and the humiliating defeat of the Arab nations who had intervened.

In a statement - before Netanyahu's speech - marking yesterday's anniversary Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's office reiterated his call for a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel says the payments are a reward and encouragement for the prisoners' actions against it but the Palestinians say they are welfare payments to support them and their families.

The war and Israel's ensuing land seizure displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians.

Construction in recent years has involved expanding existing settlements in the West Bank, with many countries warning it is gradually eating away at any chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

It is not a secret that in many stages following the Israeli occupation, a Palestinian state could have been established, with sovereign and clear borders.

"Their intent is to make life so miserable for Palestinians so that they either succumb and submit to Israeli rule or that they leave".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to "preserve" and "strengthen" Israel's settlement enterprise during a Wednesday ceremony at the Israeli Knesset to mark the Gregorian calendar's 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. The 1948 exodus came to be known by the Palestinians as "the Nakba" or "the Catastrophe".

Danny Yatom, a former head of Mossad, Israel's spy service, says Palestinians will soon outnumber Jews in Israel.

Seventy-two new Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Tuesday night, a first since the Israeli government renewed.

Michael Oren, an Israeli historian and current deputy minister in Israel's coalition government, urges patience.

"No one talked about a Palestinian state in 1967".

However, what did remain of this desired state after two decades of long-term war and renewed negotiations?

Another activist described the continuation of the Israeli occupation over the past half a century as "a very bad thing".