Editing West Bank (section)

===Legal status===
{{main|Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Legality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine}}
{{See also|Israeli apartheid|ICJ case on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories|Judea and Samaria Area}}
[[File:1947-UN-Partition-Plan-1949-Armistice-Comparison.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|alt=Map comparing the borders of the 1947 partition plan and the armistice of 1949.|{{Partition Plan-Armistice Lines comparison map legend}}]]
From 1517 to 1917 the West Bank was part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Turkey, successor state to the Ottoman Empire, [[Treaty of Lausanne (1923)|renounced]] its territorial claims in 1923, signing the [[Treaty of Lausanne (1923)|Treaty of Lausanne]], and the area now called the West Bank became an integral part of the British Mandate for Palestine. During the Mandate period Britain had no right of sovereignty, which was held by the people under the mandate.<ref name=JQ2005>{{cite book |last1=Quigley |first1=John |title=The Case for Palestine An International Law Perspective |url=https://archive.org/details/caseforpalestine00quig |url-access=limited |year=2005 |publisher=Duke University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/caseforpalestine00quig/page/n12 15]}}</ref> Nevertheless, Britain, as custodians of the land, implemented the land tenure laws in Palestine, which it had inherited from the Ottoman Turks (as defined in the [[Ottoman Land Code of 1858#The Ottoman Land Code (as used in Palestine)|Ottoman Land Code of 1858]]), applying these laws to both Arab and Jewish legal tenants or otherwise.<ref>''The Survey of Palestine under the British Mandate: 1920–1948'', British Mandate government printing office, Jerusalem 1946, vol. 1, p. 225, of chapter 8, section 1, paragraph 1 (Reprinted in 1991 by the [[Institute for Palestine Studies]]), which reads: "The land law in Palestine embraces the system of tenures inherited from the Ottoman regime, enriched by some amendments, mostly of a declaratory character, enacted since the British Occupation on the authority of the Palestine Orders-in-Council."</ref> In 1947 the UN General Assembly recommended that the area that became the West Bank become part of a future Arab state, but this proposal was opposed by the Arab states at the time. In 1948, Jordan occupied the West Bank and [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|annexed it in 1950]].<ref name="digicoll.library.wisc.edu"/>

In 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the Six-Day War. [[UN Security Council Resolution 242]] followed, calling for withdrawal (return to the 1949 armistice lines) from territories occupied in the conflict in exchange for peace and mutual recognition. Since 1979, the [[United Nations Security Council]],<ref>[[UN Security Council Resolution 446|Resolution 446]], [[UN Security Council Resolution 465|Resolution 465]], Resolution 484, among others</ref> the [[United Nations General Assembly]],<ref name="UNGeneva Convention"/> the United States,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8262.htm |title=Israel and the occupied territories |publisher=State.gov |date=4 March 2002 |access-date=3 October 2010 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418160939/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8262.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> the EU,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/occupied-palestinian-territory/ |title=Palestine – Trade – European Commission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715070820/http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/occupied-palestinian-territory/ |archive-date=15 July 2014}}</ref> the [[International Court of Justice]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory |publisher=[[International Court of Justice]] |date=9 July 2004 |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a |access-date=27 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828174856/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a |archive-date=28 August 2007}}</ref> and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]]<ref name="ICRCGeneva Convention"/> refer to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as occupied Palestinian territory or the occupied territories. General Assembly resolution 58/292 (17 May 2004) affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to sovereignty over the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d9d90d845776b7af85256d08006f3ae9/a2c2938216b39de485256ea70070c849?OpenDocument |title=UN Resolution 58/292 (17 May 2004) |publisher=United Nations |quote=Affirms that the status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, remains one of military occupation, and affirms, in accordance with the rules and principles of international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations, including Security Council resolutions, that the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and to sovereignty over their territory and that Israel, the occupying Power, has only the duties and obligations of an occupying Power under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 1 and the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, of 1907 |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510095509/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/d9d90d845776b7af85256d08006f3ae9/a2c2938216b39de485256ea70070c849?OpenDocument |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

The [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) and the [[Supreme Court of Israel]] have ruled that the status of the West Bank is that of military occupation.<ref name=FD>{{cite book |last1=Domb |first1=Fania |title=International Law and Armed Conflict: Exploring the Faultlines |year=2007 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-15428-5 |page=511 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1ZIIDeEc5AC&pg=PA511 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=3 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303182236/https://books.google.com/books?id=B1ZIIDeEc5AC&pg=PA511 |url-status=live }}</ref> In its 2004 advisory opinion the International Court of Justice concluded that:

{{Blockquote|The territories situated between the Green Line and the former eastern boundary of Palestine under the Mandate were occupied by Israel in 1967 during the armed conflict between Israel and Jordan. Under customary international law, the Court observes, these were therefore occupied territories in which Israel had the status of occupying Power. Subsequent events in these territories have done nothing to alter this situation. The Court concludes that all these territories (including East Jerusalem) remain occupied territories and that Israel has continued to have the status of occupying Power.<ref name=FD/><ref name=ICJ2004>{{cite book |title=Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I. C. J. Reports |year=2004 |publisher=International Court of Justice |isbn=978-92-1-070993-4 |page=136}}</ref>}}

In the same vein the Israeli Supreme Court stated in the 2004 ''Beit Sourik'' case that:

{{Blockquote|The general point of departure of all parties – which is also our point of departure – is that Israel holds the area in belligerent occupation (occupatio bellica)......The authority of the military commander flows from the provisions of public international law regarding belligerent occupation. These rules are established principally in the Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 18 October 1907 [hereinafter – the Hague Regulations]. These regulations reflect customary international law. The military commander's authority is also anchored in IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 1949.<ref name=FD/><ref name=BietSourik>{{cite web |title=Beit Sourik Village Council v. 1.The Government of Israel 2.Commander of the IDF Forces in the West Bank |url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files_ENG/04/560/020/A28/04020560.A28.HTM |publisher=The Supreme Court Sitting as the High Court of Justice |access-date=8 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121218130109/http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/04/560/020/A28/04020560.a28.htm |archive-date=18 December 2012}}</ref>}}

The executive branch of the Israeli government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has defined the West Bank as "disputed" instead of "occupied" territory, whose status can only be determined through negotiations. The Ministry argues that the West Bank was not captured in war because it was not under the legitimate [[Sovereign state|sovereignty]] of any state prior to the Six-Day War (when it was occupied by Israel).<ref name="GovILDisputed Territories"/>

The [[International Court of Justice]] ruling of 9 July 2004, however, found that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is territory held by Israel under military occupation, regardless of its status prior to it coming under Israeli occupation, and that the Fourth Geneva convention applies ''de jure''.<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706021237/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf |date=6 July 2010 }}, see paragraphs 90–101 and p.5</ref> The international community regards the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) as territories occupied by Israel.<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] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415160014/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/007/2009/en/ |date=15 April 2015 }}, Amnesty International. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009; [http://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?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121084340/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/06/israel.gaza.occupation.question/index.html |date=21 January 2009 }} CNN, 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.</ref>

In 2024, the ICJ reaffirmed in an [[Advisory opinion|advisory ruling]] that Israel's military occupation of the West Bank (along with the Gaza strip and East Jerusalem) is unlawful. The ruling also added that Israel's "legislation and measures violate the international prohibition on [[racial segregation]] and [[Israeli apartheid|apartheid]]."<ref name=":1" />

International law (Article 49 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]) prohibits "transfers of the population of an occupying power to occupied territories", incurring a responsibility on the part of Israel's government to not settle Israeli citizens in the West Bank.<ref>[http://www.bbcgovernorsarchive.co.uk/docs/reviews/lubell_law_report.pdf Independent law report commissioned by the BBC Board of Governors] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504022016/http://www.bbcgovernorsarchive.co.uk/docs/reviews/lubell_law_report.pdf |date=4 May 2011 }}, BBC Governors' Archive, February 2006 (pages 48–50)</ref>

As of June 2024, 146 (75.6%) of the 193 member states of the [[United Nations]] have [[International recognition of the State of Palestine|recognised]] the [[State of Palestine]]<ref>Evan Centanni,
[http://www.polgeonow.com/2013/11/map-palestine-recognized-two-more-countries.html Map: Palestine Recognized by Two More Countries (134/193)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202165158/http://www.polgeonow.com/2013/11/map-palestine-recognized-two-more-countries.html |date=2 February 2014 }} Political Geography Now, 2 November 2013</ref> within the [[Palestinian territories]], which are recognized by Israel to constitute a single territorial unit,<ref>[http://www.reut-institute.org/Publication.aspx?PublicationId=1095 'West Bank and Gaza Strip as a Single Territorial Unit,'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924042001/http://www.reut-institute.org/Publication.aspx?PublicationId=1095 |date=24 September 2014 }} Reut Institute.</ref><ref>[http://www.europeanforum.net/country/palestinian_territories 'Palestinian Territories,'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603113808/http://www.europeanforum.net/country/palestinian_territories |date=3 June 2009 }} European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, 31 January 2014</ref> and of which the West Bank is the core of the would-be state.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21603478-aside-israels-fears-palestinian-reconciliation-has-long-way-go 'An awkward new government,'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701194436/http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21603478-aside-israels-fears-palestinian-reconciliation-has-long-way-go |date=1 July 2017 }} [[The Economist]] 7 June 2014.</ref> 
[[File:Jericho from above.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|City of [[Jericho]], West Bank]]