Walid Shoebat vividly remembers the tumultuous days of June, 1967, when Israel and its Arab neighbours were at war. For six days and six nights, Walid and his family hid in the bathroom of their home in Jericho, as fighting raged outside.

Walid was taught to hate Jews
"On the sixth day, everything went quiet," Walid told BBC News Online. "My father was listening to Arab radio and the news said: 'We cleansed Jerusalem of the Jews'. Then we opened the door and there was this Israeli tank with the Star of David flag standing in our street!"

Less than a week after the war began, Jordan had been repelled from the West Bank, Israel had taken over and the map of the modern Middle East had been redrawn.

A humiliating defeat for the Arabs, the Israeli victory spawned a new generation of young nationalists determined to restore lost pride, vanquish the enemy and establish a Palestinian state. (less info)