Why Is Israel’s Presence in the Territories Still Called “Occupation”?

Avinoam Sharon of the Global Law Forum at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs investigates the historical and legal merits of the ‘occupational’ narrative imposed on Israel since the Six Day War.

"The term “occupation” is often employed politically, without regard for its general or legal meaning. The use of the term “occupation” in political rhetoric reduces complex situations of competing claims and rights to predefined categories of right and wrong. The term “occupation” is also employed in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to advance the argument that Israel bears ultimate responsibility for the welfare of the Palestinians, while limiting or denying Israel’s right to defend itself against Palestinian terror, and relieving the Palestinian side of responsibility for its own actions and their consequences. The term is also employed  as part of a general assault upon Israel’s legitimacy, in the context of a geopolitical narrative that has little to do with Israel’s status as an occupier under international law."

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