![]() | A request that this article title be changed to Occupied Palestinian Territory is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
Palestinian territories الأراضي الفلسطينية al-Arāḍī al-Filasṭīniyya | |
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![]() | |
![]() Palestinian territories according to a Green Line based definition | |
Largest cities | |
Languages | |
Ethnic groups | |
Demonym(s) | |
Area | |
• Total | 6,220 km2 (2,400 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 3.5 |
5,860 km2[1] (of which Dead Sea: 220 km2) | |
360 km2[2] | |
Population | |
• Palestinians (2016) | 4,816,503[3] |
• Settlers (2012) | 564,000[5] |
• 2007 census | 3,719,189 (Pal.)[3][4] |
• Density | 654[4]/km2 (1,693.9/sq mi) |
HDI (2010) | 0.645[6] medium (97th) |
Currency |
|
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +970d |
ISO 3166 code | PS |
Internet TLD | |
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The Palestinian territories, also known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967. These territories make up the State of Palestine, which was self-declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988 and is recognized by 145 out of 193 UN member states.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) employed the term Occupied Palestinian Territory in its advisory opinion of July 2004, titled "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory".[7][8] In its July 2024 advisory opinion, titled "Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem", the ICJ wrote "Territorial scope — Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 encompassing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — The 'Occupied Palestinian Territory' constituting, from legal standpoint, a single territorial unit."[9] The term Occupied Palestinian Territory was used by the United Nations and other international organizations between October 1999[10] and December 2012 to refer to areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority. However from 2012, when Palestine was admitted as one of its non-member observer state, the United Nations began exclusively using the name State of Palestine.[11][12][13][14] The European Union (EU) also uses the term Occupied Palestinian Territory.[15][16] The government of Israel and its supporters refer to these areas as "disputed territories".[17]
The Gaza Strip and the West Bank were occupied by Egypt and Jordan, respectively, since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until the Six-Day War of 1967. In 1967, Israel occupied both territories and has since maintained control. In 1980, Israel absorbed East Jerusalem and proclaimed the entire to be its capital. The inclusion, though never formally amounting to legal annexation, was condemned internationally[18] and declared "null and void" by the United Nations General Assembly.[19][20] The Palestinian National Authority, the United Nations,[21] international legal and humanitarian bodies[22][23] and the broader international community[24][25] regard East Jerusalem as part of the West Bank, and consequently, part of the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian National Authority never exercised sovereignty over the area, although it housed its offices in Orient House and several other buildings as an assertion of its sovereign interests.[26][27] Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem has not been recognized by the International community on the grounds that the unilateral annexation of territory occupied during war contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention.[28][29] The World Bank estimates the annual cost to the Palestinian economy of Israeli occupation at $3.4 billion in 2013.[30] The cost of the occupation for Israel over four decades (1967–2007) is estimated to be $50 billion.[31]
In 1988, with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) intention to declare a Palestinian State, Jordan renounced all territorial claims to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.[32] In 1993, following the Oslo Accords, parts of the territories politically came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (Palestinian enclaves, technically known as Areas A and B). Israel still exercised full military and civil control over 61% of the West Bank (Area C). The Oslo Accords established access to the sea for Gaza within 20 nautical miles from the shore. In the context of the Gaza–Israel conflict, the Berlin Commitment of 2002 reduced this to 12 miles (19 km). In October 2006, Israel imposed a 6-mile limit, and at the conclusion of the 2008–2009 Gaza War restricted access to a 3-nautical-mile limit, beyond which a no-go zone exists. As a result, in 2012 more than 3,000 Palestinian fishermen were denied access to 85% of the maritime areas agreed to in 1995.[33] The majority of the Dead Sea area is off-limits to Palestinian use, and Palestinians are denied access to its coastline.[34]
Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007 divided the Palestinian territories politically. Abbas's Fatah largely ruled the West Bank and was recognized internationally as the official Palestinian (National) Authority.[35] In 2009, the UN considered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to still be occupied by Israel.[12]
On 29 November 2012, UNGA 67/19 reaffirmed "the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967" and decided "to accord to Palestine non-member observer State status in the United Nations". The next month, a UN legal memorandum recognized Palestine's preference of the name "State of Palestine" with Mahmoud Abbas as its current leader.[36] It was noted that there was no legal impediment to using the designation 'Palestine' to refer to the geographical area of the Palestinian territory. It was also explained that there was also no bar to the continued use of the term "Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem" or such other terminology as might customarily be used by the UN General Assembly.[37] The ISO adopted the name change in 2013.[38] The UN Security Council continues to treat Palestine as a non-sovereign entity,[39] preventing its admission to the UN General Assembly as a full member state.[40] Israeli governments have maintained that the area involved is within territorial dispute.[41][42][better source needed] The extent of the territories, while subject to future negotiations, have frequently been revendicated by the Palestinian (National) Authority as the Green Line. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, 145 UN Member Nations have recognized the State of Palestine. It has not been recognized by Israel and most Western nations, including the United States.
In 2014, Fatah and Hamas agreed to hold elections and form a compromise Unity Government.[43] The government survived the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict,[44] but dissolved on 17 June 2015 after President Abbas said it was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "International Court of Justice Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders – Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004 ". Retrieved 11 August 2013
"gradually substituting the terms....Palestinian occupied territories
The Council highlights the importance of unhindered work of civil society both in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory and follows recent developments in this regard with concern.
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