Israeli-occupied territories

At the conclusion of the 1967 Six Day War, a number of Territories came under Israeli control which were either part of, or administered by, neighboring countries. These areas were the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank of the Jordan River, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

The status of these territories, the legality of Israeli's policy of encouraging settlement in those areas, whether it is legitimate for Israel to annex portions of them, and whether Israel is legally an occupying power according to the Fourth Geneva Convention are all highly contentious issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Specific territories

The Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula although sparsely populated, is of enormous strategic position because it straddles the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba. Egyptian policies of blocking Israeli shipping through these waterways were important factors leading to the 1956 Suez War and the 1967 Six-Day War.

After capturing the Sinai in 1967, Israel began to establish settlements along the Gulf of Aqaba, and in the northeast portion, just below the Gaza Strip, with plans to expand one settlement into the city of Yamit with a population of 200,000. (Khouri, The Arab-Israeli Dilemma, page 365).

The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt beginning in 1979 under the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty following the 1978 Camp David Accords. Israel completed its withdrawal, including the dismantlement of its settlements, in 1982.

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip

These are together often referred to as the Palestinian territories, though some supporters of Israel object to the term. Both of these territories are part of former British Mandate of Palestine, and both have populations consisting primarily of Arab Palestinians, including historic residents of the territories and refugees who lost their homes in the territory that became Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Both were allotted to the proposed Arab state under United Nations Partition Plan of 1947.

For the nineteen years from the end of the Mandate until the Six-Day War, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip and Jordan occupied the West Bank. In 1950, Jordan annexed the West Bank, but this annexation was recognized only by the United Kingdom. Both territories were conquered (but not annexed) from Jordan and Egypt by Israel in the Six-Day War. Neither Jordan, Egypt, not Israel during their respective periods of control ever allowed the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories. From 1967 to 1993, the majority of people living in these territories—those who are not Israeli citizens—were subject to Israeli military administration without the benefits of Israeli citizenship: in particular the right to vote in Israeli elections. Most of the Palestinian population live in areas that have been under only partial Israeli control since 1993, although tribulations in the peace process have several times occasioned the redeployment of Israeli troops and reinstatement of full military administration.

As was the case in the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, in 2005 Israel forced all settlers to leave, destroyed all Israeli settlements, and unilaterally withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip.

East Jerusalem

While East Jerusalem is considered by many to be part of the West Bank, it is occasionally treated separately in negotiations. The 1947 UN Partition Plan had contemplated that all of Jerusalem would be an international city. Jordan captured East Jerusalem in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and annexed it in 1950, but no other country recognized this annexation. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and in 1980 the Israeli Knesset passed the "Jerusalem Law" annexing East Jerusalem, but United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared this action to be a violation of international law.

The Golan Heights

The Golan Heights was captured from Syria in towards the end Six Day War, after the cease fire with Egypt and Jordan had been agreed. The status of the Golan Heights, and of the Israeli settlements established there, is the main issue preventing the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Syria. Many of the headwaters of the Jordan River, from which Israel draws most of its fresh water resources, lie in the Golan Heights.

Israel passed the "Golan Heights Law" in 1981, which quasi-annexed the Golan Heights, by extending Israel's law and jurisdicion to the territory and allowing Israeli citizenship for the resident population, but it has avoided using the term "annex" with regard to the action. The United Nations Security Council rejected the provisions of this law with Resolution 497.

Terminology

Supporters of Israel object to using the term "Occupied Territories" to describe these areas, preferring to call them "disputed territories," or with reference to the West Bank, Judea and Samaria. They argue that to refer to the territories as occupied precludes Israel from claiming parts of them as its sovereign territory, and that being an occupying power would invoke the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the protection of civilians during war and occupation. Israel holds that the Convention does not apply to the territories.

For Palestinians, the Syrian residents of the Golan Heights, and their supporters, the term "occupied territory" reflects their view that Israel is a foreign presence in control of areas over which they have no sovereignty. To support this view, they cite:

Israeli military administration over Palestinians and the residents of the Golan Heights
The view of the world's governments that this is an occupation
The legal interpretations of the International Court of Justice, other UN bodies, and the Supreme Court of Israel that it is an occupation ^{[citation needed]}
Demographically, Palestinians make up the majority of the population and the Jewish population makes up the minority

Supporters of Israel argue that use of the term "occupied" in relation to Israel's control of the areas has no basis in international law or history, and that it prejudges the outcome of negotiations. They regard the area as "disputed territory" based on the following:

No borders have been established or recognized by the parties. Armistice lines do not establish borders.^[1]
The United Nations uses the term "disputed" about all other contested areas in the world — even those for which a stronger case for "occupation" can be made. In particular, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were not referred to as "occupied" during the 19 years that Jordan and Egypt controlled (and in the former case, annexed) them.^[2]
Historically, Jews have at least as strong a claim to the area as Palestinians do, possibly stronger. They emphasize that the Land of Israel plays a far more important role in Jewish history than in Palestinian or Arab history, and continuous Jewish presence there for at least three millennia.^[3]
Under Israeli law, occupation of an area implies it needs to have legally been part of a country.

Palestinians and Israeli law

Not being citizens of any nation, the Palestinian inhabitants of the Territories are not afforded the same political rights, freedom of movement, or protections under the law as Jewish people who live in the same areas. The Palestinians believe this amounts to a form of apartheid. Supporters of Israel claim this stituation is consistent with democracy because Palestinians are allowed to issue appeals to the Supreme Court of Israel and vote in elections for the president and legislature of the Palestinian National Authority, bodies which in reality have little power.

References

^ "Occupied Territories" to "Disputed Territories" by Dore Gold, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, January 16, 2002.
^ Are the West Bank and Gaza "occupied territories" as Palestinian Arabs assert?, Palestine Facts website. Retrieved September 28, 2005.
^ DISPUTED TERRITORIES: Forgotten Facts About the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 1 Feb 2003, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Retrieved September 28, 2005.