Palestinian Territories
(West Bank and Gaza)
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. From the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until the 1967 Six Day War, the West Bank was occupied by Jordan and the Gaza Strip by Egypt. Both are currently occupied by Israel according to the international community, although Israel has denied that it occupies the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian National Authority regards East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank, and consequently a part of the Palestinian territories, while Israel regards it as part of Israel as a result of its annexation in 1980. 'Palestinian territories' is one of a number of designations for these areas. The UN and international legal bodies often refer to them as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The international community regards the West Bank and East Jerusalem as territories occupied by Israel, and, although it has withdrawn its settlements and military forces, Israel continues to be designated the occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom and various human rights organizations.The final status of the Palestinian Territories as an independent state is supported by the countries that form the Quartet's "Road map for peace". The government of Israel has also accepted the road map but with 14 reservations.
Israel's position has not been accepted by most countries and international bodies, and the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are referred to as occupied territories (with Israel as the occupying power) by most international legal and political bodies, the rest of the Arab bloc, the UK, including the EU, the United States, both the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the Israeli Supreme Court (see Israeli West Bank barrier).
