Palestinians in Gaza Strip, West Bank and east Jerusalem marked on Tuesday the 40th anniversary of Israeli military occupation of their territories.

Israel seized Gaza Strip, West Bank and east Jerusalem during the Arab-Israeli war on June 5, 1967, which was also called the Six Day War.

In September 2005, Israel unilaterally pulled out from Gaza Strip, but kept the rest of the territories under occupation.

Palestinians and Israeli peace activists demonstrated on Tuesday and called on Israel to end its 40-year military occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"The Palestinians paid a very heavy price to end the occupation and to establish an independent state on their territories occupied by Israel in 1967," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior official of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

The Israeli occupation and its repressive inhuman policies against the Palestinians were still going on, he said, adding that the Palestinians "are still standing at a crossroad."

"They (the Palestinians) should make their mind, whether they want to continue their national movement to end this occupation or keep following empty slogans that would only lead to destruction," said Abed Rabbo.

In 1988, the PLO recognized the state of Israel and agreed to establish an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

A peace process was then launched in a peace conference held in Madrid in 1993, which lead to interim agreements between Israel and the Palestinians signed in Oslo.

Parts of these agreements were implemented, whereby the Palestinian National Authority was established. However, Israel and the Palestinians failed to agree on permanent status that will end the decade-old conflict and the occupation.

The Six Day War was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Algeria also contributed troops and arms to the Arab forces.

On June 5 of 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack on Egypt's airforce and largely destroyed it in three hours. Jordan then attacked western Jerusalem and Netanya.

At the war's end, Israel had gained control of eastern Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day.

Source: Xinhua