Editing Occupied Palestinian territories (section)

==Political status and sovereignty==
{{See also|International law and the Arab–Israeli conflict|Status of territories occupied by Israel in 1967}}
[[File:Map of Gaza Strip with no-go zone 2012.jpg|thumb|Gaza Strip with Israeli-controlled borders and limited fishing zone, as of December 2012]]
[[File:Situation in the West Bank (May 2021).svg|thumb|Map of the [[West Bank]], May 2021, showing [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian]] (green) and Israeli control.]]

The international community regards the Palestinian territories, meaning the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as territories occupied by Israel. Israel has withdrawn its military forces from the Gaza strip, but it continues to be designated the occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations, the United States and various human rights organizations.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/007/2009/en/ Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: The conflict in Gaza: A briefing on applicable law, investigations and accountability]  Amnesty International. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05; [https://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/06/isrlpa13698.htm Human Rights Council Special Session on the Occupied Palestinian Territories] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015172833/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/06/isrlpa13698.htm |date=15 October 2008 }} Human Rights Watch, 6 July 2006; [http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/06/israel.gaza.occupation.question/index.html Is Gaza 'occupied' territory?] CNN, 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.</ref> The final status of the Palestinian Territories as an independent state is supported by the countries that form the [[Quartet on the Middle East|Quartet]]'s "[[Road map for peace]]". The government of Israel has also accepted the road map but with 14 reservations.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/road1.html Israeli Cabinet Statement on Road Map and 14 Reservations], 25 May 2003</ref>

A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and [[Jericho]] took place pursuant to the Israel–PLO 4 May 1994 [[Gaza–Jericho Agreement|Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area]]. In other areas of the West Bank, transfer of powers took place pursuant to the Israel–PLO 28 September 1995 [[Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip]], the Israel–PLO 15 January 1997 [[Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron]], the Israel–PLO 23 October 1998 [[Wye River Memorandum]], and the 4 September 1999 [[Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum (1999)|Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement]].

The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of [[Israeli settlement]]s and citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by the [[al-Aqsa Intifada]] that began in September 2000.

In 2003, the Israeli government issued a plan for total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the northern West Bank by late 2005. This became known as the [[Israel's unilateral disengagement plan|Disengagement Plan]]. The [[Palestinian Authority]] welcomed this plan, but declared that until final status, it would still consider the Gaza Strip under Israeli occupation. A number of Israelis opposed the plan, and tensions were  high in Israel before and after the Disengagement Plan was approved by the Israeli [[Knesset]] on 16 February 2005.

In August 2005, the [[Israel Defense Forces]] and Israeli police forcibly removed all settlers from the Gaza Strip. Israel completed the disengagement on 12 September 2005. Presently, most of the West Bank is administered by Israel though 42% of it is under varying degrees of autonomous rule by the [[Fatah]]-run Palestinian Authority. The Gaza Strip is currently under the control of [[Hamas]].

The [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) is an independent international treaty organisation with its own legislative assembly. A number of the member states recognise the State of Palestine. The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki presented the ICC prosecutor with documentary evidence which shows that 67 states in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe have legally recognised the State of Palestine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=169152 |title=ICC prosecutor considers 'Gaza war crimes' probe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822154440/http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=169152 |archive-date=22 August 2009 }}</ref>

In January 2010, King [[Abdullah II of Jordan|Abdullah of Jordan]], after a meeting with the Israeli president [[Shimon Peres]] at the [[World Economic Forum]] in [[Davos]], declared that his country does not want to rule the West Bank and that "the two-state solution" to the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] was the only viable option. If rule over the territory was to be transferred to the kingdom, it would only "replace Israeli military rule with Jordanian military rule... and the Palestinians want their own state".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146187.html |title=King Abdullah: Jordan wants no part of West Bank |date=29 January 2010|work=Haaretz|access-date=4 October 2014}}</ref>

On Thursday, 29 November 2012, In a 138–9 vote (with 41 abstaining) General Assembly resolution 67/19 passed, upgrading Palestine to "non-member observer state" status in the United Nations.<ref name="unispal1">{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/0080ef30efce525585256c38006eacae/181c72112f4d0e0685257ac500515c6c?OpenDocument |title=A/67/L.28 of 26 November 2012 and A/RES/67/19 of 29 November 2012 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210160010/http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/0080ef30efce525585256c38006eacae/181c72112f4d0e0685257ac500515c6c?OpenDocument |archive-date=10 December 2012 }}</ref><ref name="aljazeera.com">{{cite web|author=Inside Story |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/01/2013186722389860.html |title=Palestine: What is in a name (change)? |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=2013-01-08 |access-date=2016-06-10}}</ref> The new status equates Palestine's with that of the [[Holy See]]. The change in status was described by ''[[The Independent]]'' as "de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine".<ref name="UNStatehoodBid2012accepted">{{cite news |title=Israel defies UN after vote on Palestine with plans for 3,000 new homes in the West Bank|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-defies-un-after-vote-on-palestine-with-plans-for-3000-new-homes-in-the-west-bank-8372494.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-defies-un-after-vote-on-palestine-with-plans-for-3000-new-homes-in-the-west-bank-8372494.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Independent|date=1 December 2012}}</ref> The vote was a historic benchmark for the [[diplomatic recognition|partially recognised]] State of Palestine and its citizens, whilst it was a diplomatic setback for Israel and the United States. Status as an observer state in the UN will allow the State of Palestine to join treaties and [[List of specialized agencies of the United Nations|specialised UN agencies]], including the International Civil Aviation Organisation,<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/state-of-palestine_n_2425682.html Abbas has not taken practical steps toward seeking membership for Palestine in U.N. agencies, something made possible by the November vote] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111220923/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/state-of-palestine_n_2425682.html?utm_hp_ref=world |date=11 January 2013 }}</ref> the International Criminal Court, and other organisations for recognised sovereign nations. It shall permit Palestine to claim legal rights over its territorial waters and air space as a sovereign state recognised by the UN, and allow the Palestinian people the right to sue for control of their claimed territory in the International Court of Justice and to bring war-crimes charges against Israel in the [[International Criminal Court]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Palestinians' UN upgrade to nonmember observer state: Struggles ahead over possible powers |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/palestinians-un-upgrade-to-nonmember-observer-state-struggles-ahead-over-possible-powers/2012/11/29/8f3c3f78-3a59-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112141355/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/palestinians-un-upgrade-to-nonmember-observer-state-struggles-ahead-over-possible-powers/2012/11/29/8f3c3f78-3a59-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 November 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 November 2012}}</ref>

[[File:12.03.11.P3120502.JPG|thumb|Israeli soldiers in [[Awarta]], West Bank in 2011|left]]
Customary international law, including the International Court of Justice's interpretation of the Fourth Geneva Convention in their July 2004 ruling, has been widely interpreted as prohibiting Israel from building settlements, due to its clauses prohibiting the transfer of a civilian population into an occupied territory.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1632064.stm The Mitchell Report] BBC, 29 November 2001.</ref> This was reaffirmed 5 December 2001, at the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The participating High Contracting Parties called upon Israel "to fully and effectively respect the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to refrain from perpetrating any violation of the Convention. They reaffirm the illegality of the settlements in the said territories and of the extension thereof."<ref name="domino.un.org">{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255a0a0010ae82852555340060479d/8fc4f064b9be5bad85256c1400722951 |title=Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: Declaration |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612045732/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255a0a0010ae82852555340060479d/8fc4f064b9be5bad85256c1400722951 |archive-date=12 June 2012 }}</ref>

Article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits any change of status in occupied territory concluded through negotiations between the occupying power and local authorities under occupation. This finding also suggests that Israel may be in violation of the Rome Statute (one of the primary legal instruments of the [[International Criminal Court]]), Article 8, section (2)(b)(viii): "The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory" see:.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm |title=Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112212730/http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm |archive-date=12 January 2013 }}</ref>

Given that [[United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19]] upgraded Palestine to non-member observer state status in November 2012, representatives of Palestine may now be able to take members of the Israeli government to the [[International Criminal Court]] under violations of the Rome Statute. On 31 January 2012, the United Nations independent "International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" filed a report stating that if Israel did not stop all settlement activity immediately and begin withdrawing all settlers from the West Bank, it potentially might face a case at the International Criminal Court, increasing credibility of any Palestinianin attempt to do so.<ref>Harriet Sherwood, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/31/israel-must-withdraw-settlers-icc Israel must withdraw all settlers or face ICC, says UN report], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 31 January 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44045&Cr=palestin&Cr1= Independent UN inquiry urges halt to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory], United Nations News Center, 31 January 2012.</ref><ref>Human Rights Council Twenty-second session, Agenda item 7, Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, [http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/FFM/FFMSettlements.pdf Report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem](Advanced Unedited Version). Retrieved 1 February 2013.</ref>

The UN has, after granting Palestine observer state status, permitted Palestine to title its representative office to the UN as 'The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/palestine/ |title=Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations – Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations |access-date=12 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131073609/http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/palestine/ |archive-date=31 January 2013 }}</ref> seen by some{{Who|date=April 2025}} as a reflexion of the UN's [[de facto]] recognition of the State of Palestine's sovereignty,<ref name="unispal1"/> and Palestine has started to re-title its name accordingly on postal stamps, official documents and passports.<ref name="aljazeera.com"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Heruti |first=Tali |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/palestinian-authority-officially-changes-name-to-state-of-palestine.premium-1.492065 |title=Palestinian Authority Officially Changes Name to 'State of Palestine' |newspaper=Haaretz |date=2013-01-05 |access-date=2016-06-10}}</ref> The Palestinian authorities have also instructed its diplomats to officially represent '[[The State of Palestine]]', as opposed to the '[[Palestine National Authority]]'.<ref name="aljazeera.com"/> Additionally, on 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that 'the designation of "State of Palestine" shall be used by the Secretariat in all official United Nations documents'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/20/u-n-adds-new-name-state-of-palestine.html|title=U.N. Adds New Name: "State of Palestine"|last=Gharib|first=Ali|date=20 December 2012|access-date=10 January 2013|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101145115/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/20/u-n-adds-new-name-state-of-palestine.html|archive-date=1 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Holy Land 2022 (1) P469 Bethlehem barrier graffiti.jpg|thumb|[[Israeli West Bank barrier]] in [[Bethlehem]]]]

Critics point out that implementation of the Oslo Accords has not improved conditions for the population under occupation.<ref>Occupation, Colonialism, Apartheid?, Human Sciences Research Council, May 2009, page 71</ref> In 2009, the UN considered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to still be occupied by Israel.<ref name=UNOCHADec2009 /> Israel's policies and actions in its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories [[Israel and apartheid|have drawn accusations]] that it is committing the [[crime of apartheid]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=Washington Rallies Behind Israel, but a Lasting Consensus May Prove Elusive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/09/us/politics/israel-hamas-washington-biden.html |access-date=11 October 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=9 October 2023}}</ref>

Israel contends that the settlements are not illegal as the West Bank is considered a "disputed territory" under international law. [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 242]] recognized Israel's rights to "safe and secure borders", which has been interpreted by the Israeli government as meaning that Israel had a right to West Bank territory for secure borders. The [[San Remo Conference]], binding under international law, further envisioned the West Bank as being part of a sovereign [[Jewish state]], and arguably encourages, rather than prohibits Jewish settlement in the area. Furthermore, according to the Israeli government, a number of the settlements were established on the sites of former Jewish communities that had existed there prior to 1947 on land that was legitimately bought, and ethnically cleansed by Arab forces. Israel views the territory as being the subject of legitimate diplomatic dispute and negotiation under international law.<ref name="mfa settlements">{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israeli+Settlements+and+International+Law.htm |title=Israeli Settlements and International Law, Israel Foreign Ministry website |publisher=Mfa.gov.il |date=20 May 2001 |access-date=26 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="DGold1">[http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp470.htm "Occupied Territories" to "Disputed Territories"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709034305/http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp470.htm |date=9 July 2011 }} by [[Dore Gold]], ''Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs'', 16 January 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2005.</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2023}}

[[East Jerusalem]], captured in 1967, was unilaterally annexed by Israel. The UN Security Council Resolution 478 condemned the annexation as "a violation of international law". This annexation has not been recognized by other nations, although the United States Congress declared its [[Jerusalem Embassy Act|intention to recognize the annexation]] (a proposal that has been condemned by other states and organizations). Because of the question of Jerusalem's status, [[List of diplomatic missions in Israel|most states]] base their diplomatic missions there and treat [[Tel Aviv]] as the capital,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/ForeignInIsrael/Continents/ |title=Foreign Missions in Israel -Continents |publisher=Mfa.gov.il |date=30 May 2007 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2023}} though the [[United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel|United States]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://il.usembassy.gov/embassy/|title=Embassy|website=U.S. Embassy in Israel|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref> and [[Guatemala]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/guatemala-to-move-its-embassy-to-jerusalem-on-may-16/|title=Guatemala to move its embassy to Jerusalem on May 16|last=Winer|first=Stuart|website=The Times of Israel|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref> both have embassies in Jerusalem. Israel asserts that these territories are not currently claimed by any other state and that Israel has the right to control them.

[[File:PalestinianLegislativeCouncilGazaCity.jpg|thumb|The destroyed [[Palestinian Legislative Council]] building in Gaza City, [[Gaza–Israel conflict]], September 2009|left]]
Israel's position has not been accepted by most countries and international bodies, and the [[West Bank]] (including [[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,<ref name=autogenerated1/> the rest of the Arab bloc, the UK,<ref>{{cite web |author=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo020510/text/20510w11.htm |title=House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 10 May 2002 (pt 11) |publisher=Parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref> including the EU, the United States (before President Trump),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8262.htm#ot|title=Israel and the occupied territories|first=Bureau of Public Affairs|last=Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information|website=2001-2009.state.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.israelinsider.com:80/bin/en.jsp?enZone=Diplomacy&enDisplay=view&enPage=ArticlePage&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Article%5El1316 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310231654/http://web.israelinsider.com/bin/en.jsp?enZone=Diplomacy&enDisplay=view&enPage=ArticlePage&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Article%5El1316 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2007 |title=israelinsider: diplomacy: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld: West Bank is not "occupied territory" |date=10 March 2007 }}</ref> both the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations,<ref name=autogenerated1/> the International Court of Justice, the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/8fc4f064b9be5bad85256c1400722951?OpenDocument |title=Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention: Declaration – Switzerland text/Non-UN document (5 December 2001) |publisher=United Nations |access-date=30 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504050749/http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/8fc4f064b9be5bad85256c1400722951?OpenDocument |archive-date=4 May 2011 }}</ref> and the Israeli Supreme Court (in a decision regarding the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]]).

Former U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] stated, during his presidency, that he did not expect Israel to return entirely to pre-1967 borders, due to "new realities on the ground."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4436739.stm |title=Israel 'to keep some settlements' |publisher=BBC News |date=12 April 2005 |access-date=26 December 2012}}</ref>

Both US President [[Bill Clinton]] and UK Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], who played notable roles in attempts at mediation, noted the need for some territorial and diplomatic compromise on this issue, based on the validity of some of the claims of both sides.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/clintplan.html Remarks by Pres. Clinton], 1/7/01. (Full transcript available at: [http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/01/08/clinton.transcript/index.html cnn transcript])</ref><ref><!--http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&a=KArticle&aid=1079978882333--> {{cite web|url=http://www.britemb.org.il/News/blair170404.html|title=Tony Blair press conference|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040615112026/http://www.britemb.org.il/News/blair170404.html|archive-date=15 June 2004|access-date=1 June 2016}}, 4/17/04, UK Foreign Office official website, including comments on compromising on settlements. Retrieved 7/12/07. (Scroll down to question that begins with the phrase, "But Mr Sharon sees a final settlement...")</ref> One compromise offered by Clinton would have allowed Israel to keep some settlements in the West Bank, especially those in large blocks near the pre-1967 borders of Israel. In return, Palestinians would have received concessions of land in other parts of the country.<ref name="Clinton">
* Excerpt: [[Bill Clinton|Clinton, Bill]].  [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/clintplan.html "The 'Clinton Parameters.'"] ''Jewish Virtual Library''.  7 January 2001.
* Full transcript: [http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/01/08/clinton.transcript/index.html "Transcript of Clinton's remarks to the Israel Policy Forum gala."] ''CNN.com International''. [[Cable News Network]].  8 January 2010.  Web.  15 October 2010.  Transcript.</ref> The United Nations did not declare any change in the status of the territories as of the creation of the [[Palestinian National Authority]] between 1993 and 2000, although a 1999 U.N. document<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3B8A2154701B3FFA8525683C0056B022 |title=United Nations International Meeting on the Convening of the Conference on Measures to Enforce the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, UN website, Cairo, 14 and 15 June 1999 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=26 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110130530/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3B8A2154701B3FFA8525683C0056B022 |archive-date=10 November 2013 }}</ref> implied that the chance for a change in that status was slim at that period.

During the period between the 1993 Oslo Accords and the [[al-Aqsa Intifada|Second Intifada]] beginning in 2000, Israeli officials asserted that the term "occupation" did not accurately reflect the state of affairs in the territories. During this time, the Palestinian population in large parts of the territories had a large degree of autonomy and only limited exposure to the IDF except when seeking to move between different areas. Following the events of the Second Intifada, and in particular, [[Operation Defensive Shield]], most territories, including Palestinian cities (Area A), came back under effective Israeli military control, making the discussion along those lines largely moot.

In the summer of 2005, Israel implemented its [[Israel's unilateral disengagement plan|unilateral disengagement plan]]; about 8,500 Israeli citizens living in the [[Gaza Strip]] were forcibly removed from the territory, along with citizens from 4 settlements in the northern West Bank; some were compensated with alternative homes and a sum of money. The [[Israel Defense Forces]] vacated Gaza in 2005, but [[Operation Summer Rains|invaded it again]] in 2006 in response to rocket attacks and the abduction of Israeli soldier [[Gilad Shalit]] by Hamas.

In January 2010, King [[Abdullah II of Jordan|Abdullah of Jordan]], after a meeting with the Israeli president [[Shimon Peres]] at the [[World Economic Forum]] in [[Davos]], declared that his country does not want to rule the [[West Bank]] and that "the two-state solution" to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict was the only viable option. If rule over the territory was to be transferred to the kingdom, it would only "replace Israeli military rule with Jordanian military rule... and the Palestinians want their own state."<ref>{{cite web |agency=Deutsche Presse-Agentur |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146187.html |title=King Abdullah: Jordan wants no part of West Bank |work=Haaretz |date=29 April 2010 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>

In December 2010, [[Brazil]] recognized Palestine as a state with its 1967 borders. This move was later followed by [[Argentina]], [[Peru]], [[Uruguay]], [[Bolivia]] and [[Ecuador]]. This action was later criticized by Israel and the United States, who labelled it "counterproductive".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/ecuador-becomes-fifth-latin-american-country-to-recognize-palestinian-state-1.332845 |title=Ecuador becomes fifth Latin American country to recognize Palestinian state |newspaper=Haaretz |date=25 December 2010 |access-date=25 December 2010}}</ref>