The irony of Israel's victory in the Six Day War was that they were now saddled with millions of Palestinian refugees who they had wanted to get rid of in 1948.

Question

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The irony lies in the fact that Israel's significant territorial gains in the Six Day War of 1967, which included the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, brought under its control a large Palestinian population. This was ironic because, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the subsequent establishment of the state of Israel, there was a mass displacement of Palestinians, an outcome that seemed initially to reduce the demographic challenge of a large Palestinian Arab population within the new Jewish state. However, the victory in 1967 reversed this situation by bringing many Palestinians under Israeli control, thus reintroducing and significantly amplifying the demographic and political challenges associated with managing the territories and their Palestinian inhabitants.

The Irony of Israel's Victory in the Six Day War