From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Occupied territories is a term used by advocates who assert that a region has been taken over illegitimately by a sovereign power (compare disputed area). It is distinguished from a colony where there is no war, conquest (meaning military), or sovereignty of the territory.

In most cases the period of occupation is temporary, pending the signing of a peace treaty, the resolution of specific conditions outlined in a peace treaty, or the formation of a new government. Examples of occupied territories include Germany and Japan after World War II; Golan Heights by Israel after the Six-day War in 1967; Egypt's Sinai Peninsula by Israel (from 1973–1979); Cambodia by Vietnam from 1979 until 1989; and Iraq after the 2003 invasion by the United States and allied forces removed the government of Saddam Hussein from power.

The West Bank (current), and the Gaza Strip (until 2005), are often referred to as the occupied territories, however their status was, and for the West Bank continues to be, disputed.

Most nations in the world are in some way an occupier of a previous inhabitant's land.^{[citation needed]} Generally, any disputed territory can be seen as occupied by the party that lacks control over it at that moment. Thus, the Germanic tribes displaced the Celtic population of Europe; Egypt was conquered and absorbed in the 7th century by Arabs who were not its original population. This is particularly true of the region between Egypt and Turkey where repeated population movements and military conquests have occurred during the past several thousand years.

Regarding the West Bank (58% Israeli Administered, remainder under Israeli security at present), Gaza Strip (Land and Sea space blockaded by Israel) and Israel proper, the correct use of this expression is often controversial and hotly disputed.

Additionally, occupation has two distinct meanings:

1. The state of being lived in (as in: "Isle of Man is occupied by the Manx", or this house is occupied by the Smith family);
2. The state of military control following conquest by war but prior to annexation.

Although (1) and (2) are obviously distinct, they are sometimes intermingled. Under (1), the territory in question is under normal civilian law; under (2) the territory is usually under military law within the terms of the Laws of war, such as the Fourth Geneva Convention (according to the UN).

For a list of occupied territories since the Hague Convention of 1907 Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907 first clarified and supplemented the customary laws of belligerent military occupation see the list of military occupations and the list of territorial disputes.

After the Six-day War in 1967, Israeli troops occupied the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. However, the status of these territories has been the subject of dispute. Most of the world considered the West Bank and Gaza occupied territories, but there is a counter posed view.

Paul S. Riebenfeld, an international lawyer, who represented Jewish interests at the League of Nations, argued that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip do not belong to any other sovereign state, are part of former Mandate Palestine, and therefore fall legitimately within Israel's jurisdiction. They were "occupied territories" before 1967; and the "occupying powers" had been Egypt and Jordan. Specifically, Egypt's borders had been determined by the international community even before World War I without the Gaza Strip. Jordan had been part of Mandate Palestine; but the British, under the Mandate provisions of the League of Nations had granted His Britannic Majesty, inter alia, the power to divide Palestine. And this was done. First, the region in question was divided, for administrative purposes, into Transjordan (across the Jordan River) and Cisjordan (near side of the Jordan River). Next, His Britannic Majesty, under its Mandatory powers, granted Transjordan independence, in 1947; shortly thereafter, the country changed its name to "Jordan." But the "West Bank" was clearly not on the east side of the Jordan river; although this land was conquered in the 1948 war with Israel, only one country, Great Britain, recognized Jordan's subsequent annexation of the West Bank but not of East Jerusalem.

The Spanish Sahara is considered an occupied territory by the Polisario, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic government in exile in Algeria, the United Nations^[1], and some other groups. International bodies see Morocco as the administrative power pending a solution to the conflict. The referendum that the UN wants to hold has been effectively blocked, and many of the incidents reported to have occurred in the territory^[2] are consistent with an unaccountable military occupation.

Most of the territory claimed by the SADR in Western Sahara is currently under the unrecognized but effective sovereignty of Morocco. They do not recognize the SADR, though dozens of countries do.^[3]

1. ^ UN General Assembly Resolution 34/37 - November 21, 1979 and UN General Assembly Resolution 35/19 - November 11, 1980
2. ^ Western Sahara "Impunity for past crimes remained a serious concern, particularly since some alleged perpetrators continued to be members, or even high-ranking officials, of the security forces.". Verified 4 Oct 2007.
3. ^ Third World Traveller Intifada in Western Sahara, Morocco seals off the occupied territory, New Internationalist magazine, August 2005. Verified 4 Oct 2007.

• Douglas J. Feith, William V. O'Brien, Eugene V. Rostow, Paul S. Riebenfeld, Malvina Halberstam, & Jerome Hornblass, Israel's Legitimacy in Law and History, Proceedings of the Conference on International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Sponsored by The Lois D. Brandeis Society of Zionist Lawyers, October 21, 1990, New York. ed. Edward M. Siegel, Esq., assoc. ed. Olga Barrekette, (New York: Center for Near East Policy Research, 1993) ISBN 0-9640145-0-5